Dead by Midnight, a mystery by Carolyn Hart

Teaser Tuesdays asks you to choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.

A frown touched Henny's narrow face. There had been enough time for Pat to answer the door. The dachshund's yelps continued, faster and faster. ( p. 35)

Dead by Midnight: A Death on Demand Mystery by Carolyn Hart

Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (March 29, 2011)
Source: Publisher

Comment: I've enjoyed many of the books in Carolyn Hart's mystery series featuring the owner of a mystery bookstore. This is the most recent.

Publisher's description: Solving puzzles comes naturally to Annie Darling, cheerful owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore on the lovely sea island of Broward's Rock. Annie is aided and abetted by her admiring husband, Max, who runs an unusual business that offers help to people in trouble.

A recent death appears to be suicide, but Annie suspects murder. To solve the case, she unravels the mystery of a towel hidden at midnight in a gazebo, the lack of fingerprints on a crystal mug, blood on a teenager's blue shirt, and the secret of a lovers' tryst. Annie believes she has set the perfect trap for a merciless killer until her cell phone rings and Death whispers in her ear.

About the author: This is the 21st Death on Demand novel written by award-winning mystery writer, Carolyn Hart. Hart has also created two other mystery series, and is the founder of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Oklahoma City.

Book Review: Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart

Death Walked In

Carolyn Hart's Death Walked In, 2008, is an uncommonly good mystery, with an idyllic island setting, interesting characters, and a well turned plot. I only guessed one of the perpetrators of the crime in the second to last chapter, and predicted the second crime in the second half of the book.

Main character Anne runs a mystery book store on the island; her husband Max is a private investigator who does the gourmet cooking in the household. Her mother in law and her friends provide more interest to the group of island residents, as do her two cats, the aggressive sharp-clawed Agatha and the gentle Dorothy L., both named after, you guessed it - mystery writers.

In the plot, several valuable Civil War gold coins are stolen, two people are killed, and Anne and Max try to solve the crime and find the location of the coins, which have been hidden in the Franklin House, a two hundred year old dilapidated mansion they are in the process of refurbishing as their new home.

There are some scary moments. I always wonder why writers have their characters make risky decisions - investigate on their own rather than call the police or waiting for backup before they head for danger. But this adds to the suspense!

I give this mystery five stars!!