Death on Demand

Rating:
Summary: tripping the lights fantastically
Review: "Death on Demand" was disappointing for two reasons. First, the main characters, Annie and Max, were simply annoying. Annie conducts her investigation in an utterly unrealistic fashion, even for an amateur sleuth. And Max just spends his time tearing around the island in his Porsche. Secondly, the book disappoints because a pivotal plot element simply doesn't work. In order to commit the first murder the killer must turn off the lights in a bookstore while a group of people are there. He/she does this by tying a string to the circuit breaker and pulling it from 15-20 feet away. The problem is that you can't shut off a circuit breaker that way. Try it yourself, as the author should have done. Overall, a very disappointing and over-rated book.

Rating:
Summary: First in an enjoyable series
Review: A delightful book, with endearing characters, this is the first in a series. The setting, an island off the South Carolina coast, is pleasantly unusual, and Annie's affection for it and for her mystery bookstore, Death on Demand, "the best mystery bookstore this side of Atlanta," as well as the whole genre of mysteries, are contagious. The comments on various mystery authors on whom she dotes have me dogearing pages so I can hunt up books by enticing authors I've never tried. I look forward to Annie's comments on books I have read or the appearance of books I recognize in her monthly mystery painting contest. The courtship is a lot of fun, and Max Darling's winning move in the campaign will bring a smile to the face of anyone who treasures books.

Rating:
Summary: Not great, but may be worth to try
Review: Annie Darling is the owner of a bookshop located on a small island that hosts an unlikely large number of crime fiction writers. During a meeting of those writer one of them got killed and Annie is eager to investigate about the murder, especially because she is one of the prime suspects.
In my opinion the book is nothing special and the mystery in itself is rather disappointing. At times things are far too obvious and at others they simply does not make sense (you can spot a few minor contradictions in the story).
However the setting is really nice, the idea of the bookshop is appealing and the continuos references to famous detective stories and mystery writers may attract fans of the genre. For these reasons it may be worth to explore some other books of this series, hoping that the quality improve.

Rating:
Summary: Debut novel in the series
Review: Annie Laurance runs a mystery book store, Death on Demand, which she inherited from her beloved uncle. Once a week she has a meeting of the Sunday Night Regulars, local mystery writers from the South Carolina island where she lives. One of the writers, Elliot Morgan is a disagreeable fellow who threatens to reveal things about his fellow writers which they would prefer to keep quiet. Before he has a chance to do so he is killed, presumably by one of the Sunday Night Regulars. The local police suspect it is Annie herself but with her friend Max Darling, she sets out to find the real murderer. Max and Annie discover that each of the Regulars has avoided a brush with the law and each has something to hide which Elliot could have known about. There are lots of wonderful references to classic mysteries and mystery writers as Annie and Max work to solve the case. This is the first book of a justly popular series.

Rating:
Summary: Solid rainy day read...
Review: I love mysteries, and the premiere of the Death on Demand series is a winner. The author makes "whodunit" a little easier to figure out than I like, but the strength of the book far out weighs any faults.

Rating:
Summary: What a great beginning to a series
Review: I TOTALLY loved this book. It kept you engrossed until the end. Everytime you think you have it figured it out something else happens and you have to start all over again. The ending was a BIG surprise! Can't wait to read the next book.

Rating:
Summary: fun but full of inaccuracies
Review: Overall, I felt that this book was fun and clever, but certain elements of it, like the literary name-dropping, could be annoying at times. What got me, though, were all the little errors, even when they didn't really have anything to do with anything. Just as an example: In 1987, when this book came out, School of the Ozarks had not yet changed its name to College of the Ozarks, and it is located south of Branson, *not* in the town of Ozark, which is some distance *north* of Branson. I know, minor errors in the grand scheme of things, but if those are the easy facts to check, I have to wonder what all else Hart screwed up.

Rating:
Summary: fun but full of inaccuracies
Review: Overall, I felt that this book was fun and clever, but certain elements of it, like the literary name-dropping, could be annoying at times. What got me, though, were all the little errors, even when they didn't really have anything to do with anything. Just as an example: In 1987, when this book came out, School of the Ozarks had not yet changed its name to College of the Ozarks, and it is located south of Branson, *not* in the town of Ozark, which is some distance *north* of Branson. I know, minor errors in the grand scheme of things, but if those are the easy facts to check, I have to wonder what all else Hart screwed up.

Rating:
Summary: Especially for mystery buffs
Review: Since milieu is such an important part of a mystery novel, avid mystery readers will like Hart's Death on Demand book store and the cozy little island community in which it is located. Most of the characters are mystery novelists, and if the crimes and solutions are not brain teasers of the first order, mystery fans will enjoy the familiar references.

Rating:
Summary: A fabulous addition to the world of female sleuths!
Review: This book has everything a reader could want: suspense, intrigue, lovely setting, and a hilarious cast of characters...I love the Annie Darling mysteries and this book is no exception!