Death at the Door

March 3, 2014
In Hart’s engaging 24th Death on Demand mystery (after 2013’s Dead, White, and Blue), bookstore owner and sleuth Annie Darling is convinced that the apparent suicide of a local doctor and the murder of Jane Corley, an imperious, wealthy 30-something, are connected. Jane’s husband, Tom Edmonds, a painter and sculptor, is the logical suspect, not least because his mallet was the weapon that did Jane in. But is Tom really behind the sudden spate of deaths in tiny Broward’s Rock, S.C.? Perhaps the killer is Tom’s lover, Frankie, who seems to realize that Tom would never leave his wife. Or perhaps Jane was murdered by Kevin Hubbard, an employee suspected of malfeasance at her company, Corley Enterprises—or by Kevin’s wife, who stands to lose a lot if her husband’s shenanigans are exposed and his livelihood threatened. Understated local color and a charming cast of supporting characters will keep Annie’s fans glued to the page. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency.

May 1, 2014
It's a lovely October day on Broward's Rock, the offshore island where Annie Darling has her bookstore, Death on Demand. Jane Corley and Irene Hubbard are playing golf, enjoying a midweek game and looking forward to a birthday party for Jane's younger brother. Within the week, however, Jane will be dead, bludgeoned with a mallet used by her artist husband; her murder follows by a couple days the presumed suicide of Dr. Paul Martin. The mayor announces that the police chief has arrested Jane's husband and believes the case to be wrapped up, refusing to listen to the protests of the doctor's sister, or to believe that the two deaths are connected. But Annie and her husband, Max, do listen and puzzle over the sketch Martin had left. So Annie and Max, with help from the Intrepid TrioHenny Brawley, Emma Clyde, and Max's mother, Laurel Roethkego into action to find the real killer. They enlist Marian Kenyon, the reporter for the island's newspaper, to help ask the questions they cannot. Fans know it's always nice to visit Broward's Rock, especially in the off-season.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)