DEATH WALKED IN:
A Death on Demand Mystery
Carolyn Hart
William Morrow
Mystery
ISBN: 9780060724054

Max and Annie Darling are at it again, plunging into the middle of a murder scene, in DEATH WALKED IN, Carolyn Hart’s 18th Death on Demand mystery.

The curious couple has backed away from scandal in the tiny island community where they live and work. They have poured their energies into the remodeling of a historic mansion, an antebellum house known as the Franklin House. Restoring the dilapidated place has been a welcome distraction from a murder investigation the previous year, when Max was the key suspect. However, he has been cleared and released and keeps a low profile while working on their new home. Busy with the end of remodeling in sight, Max’s business, Confidential Commissions, is slighted. Being accused of murder puts a damper on an investigative operator.

Annie’s business, on the other hand, has thrived. Her Death on Demand bookstore is a popular choice for both vacationers and permanent residents of Broward’s Rock. Local mystery author Henny Brawley is a regular customer, with often too much advice. But her theory has merit in solving the newest island murder case.

Max is preoccupied with the home refurbishment and ignores a phone call from a woman who sounds desperate. Apologetically, the caller indicates she has hidden something in the Franklin House, a short distance from her residence. Unable to contact Max, his secretary passes the word to Annie. Arriving at Gwen Jamison’s house, Annie enters when the doorbell is unanswered and finds the woman dying from a gunshot wound. Gwen’s last words point to a clue that will unravel the mystery of her death and the whereabouts of a stolen coin collection.

Gwen has worked as a housekeeper for Geoff Grant for years. Valuable Double Eagle gold coins are missing from his collection. Annie’s quick mind focuses on the dead woman as either a willing accomplice or an innocent victim of the theft scenario. Robert, Gwen’s youngest son, becomes the prime suspect when he cannot account for his whereabouts prior to the crime. His past history includes minor brushes with the law, no steady job and a reputation for picking the wrong friends.

The Darlings leap headfirst into the mystery foray. A witness to Robert being informed of his mother’s death, Max is convinced of the young man’s innocence. Hal Porter and Max see a figure fleeing from the Franklin House, the possible thief and murderer. Author Carolyn Hart utilizes the best tricks of an Agatha Christie-type solution to the crime. Speculation is rampant on the island concerning the assailant’s identity. The haughty but spoiled Grant siblings each have motive but provide ready alibis. Grant’s wife, Rhoda, is not on the island at the time of the murder.

DEATH WALKED IN is full of much speculation and minimal action, best classified as a “whodunit” but not a thriller. The convenient skepticism of the local police authority brings in automatic conflict between the Darlings and the magistrate. Max would prefer little contact with the police due to his unpleasant experience a year earlier. Scene breaks in each chapter are printed in bold font, an easy format to break from one character’s involvement to another. The sole glitch to an easy world flow is overuse of an occasional verb.

For Hart’s fans, DEATH WALKED IN will entertain and give them a thirst for more of the Darlings’ mystery adventures.

    --- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad

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