|
Creativity is abundant in Carolyn Hart's latest Death on Demand mystery, MURDER WALKS THE PLANK. Fourteen previous novels in the series have won multiple Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Awards. A founder of Sisters in Crime, Hart recently received a lifetime achievement award by the Oklahoma Center for the Book. Although she is a resident of Oklahoma City, Hart has set her Death on Demand series along the coast of South Carolina. For her, mystery writing is a task for the author to provide enough information so that readers can reach a conclusion.
Along with her belief that the genre should present a dilemma that is solved in an orderly manner, she has provided the right mix in MURDER WALKS THE PLANK. Her heroine, Annie Darling, owns a bookstore that specializes in mystery novels called Death on Demand. Fifteen books have featured Darling as the mystery solver. Darling interacts with husband Max to solve the multiple murders, attempted murder and a suspicious destructive fire in MURDER WALKS THE PLANK. Hart introduces the principal characters in section breaks in her first chapter, a process that switches viewpoints in a distracting manner. Once established, the characters evolve in a more orderly fashion.
Darling's bookstore has chartered a yacht and guests are invited to solve a contrived mystery while on board. Soon after her arrival, a young woman, Pamela, falls overboard into the water and is presumed dead. The cruise comes to an abrupt halt, contrived mystery unsolved. However, the body count rises in the next few days. Darling finds herself in the middle of a multiple murder investigation. She is aided by husband Max, notable local author Emma Lloyd, customer Henny Brawley, and sister Rachel. The second body is that of Meg Heath, dowager recluse of the island community and widow of wealthy Duff Heath.
Darling is convinced that Meg's death, initially reported as a suicide from medicinal overdose, is a homicide. She and Max doggedly track evidence they believe leads to a finding of murder, especially when a third body, Meg's long-time friend, Bob Smith, turns up. Darling's entire family becomes involved in the process in supporting her hypothesis. Their most difficult task is to convince the local police chief, Billy Crandall, that they are right. He has quickly concluded that Pamela's fall was an accident and that Meg's death was a suicide.
The solution is orderly, but viewpoints switch rapidly to propel the action to its logical ending. All players do support Darling's thesis and work with her to achieve its outcome. Little time is spent in the bookstore, but references to works by renowned mystery sleuths are interspersed in the novel. MURDER WALKS THE PLANK is filled with dialogue that moves the story forward. Hart has a new fan of her mystery series in this reviewer, one who will welcome future Death on Demand books.
--- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad
• Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
