Mint Julep Murder

Death on Demand #9

by Carolyn G. Hart

A husband and wife team of bookworm-sleuths, Annie and Max Darling, investigate a murder at a book festival

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Southern

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1995

About the author

Also writing as Carolyn Hart.

An accomplished master of mystery with 46 published books, Carolyn Hart is the creator of the highly acclaimed Henrie O,Death on Demand, and Bailey Ruth Raeburn series. Her books have won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. Letter from Home (2003), her standalone mystery set in Oklahoma, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her latest book is Dead by Midnight (William Morrow/HarperCollins, 2007). She is one of the founders of Sisters in Crime, an organization for women who write mysteries. She lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma."
New Books: Dead By Midnight Carolyn Hart


DEAD BY MIDNIGHT by Carolyn Hart On Sale March 29

The police say suicide. Annie Darling suspects murder. Max is unconvinced until Annie follows a trail behind the dead woman's house.

Annie unravels the mystery of a towel hidden at midnight in a gazebo, the interesting lack of fingerprints on a crystal mug, blood on a teenager's blue shirt, and the secret of a lovers' tryst. Max plunges deep into the woods to find incriminating evidence.

Annie sets the perfect trap for a merciless killer, but her cell phone rings and Death is on the line.

www.CarolynHart.com

And for cat lovers:

DEAD BY MIDNIGHT by Carolyn Hart

I love to have fun when writing a mystery. If I laugh, I think a reader will laugh. In the Death on Demand series, I especially enjoy writing about Annie Darling's ditzy mother-in-law, Laurel Roethke. Laurel is usually excited about a new interest, something that surprises and often confounds Annie.

In Dead by Midnight, Laurel creates Cat Truth Posters, which she wants Annie to hang in the bookstore. Annie thinks books should be the store's focus, but the posters enchant her.

Each poster features a cat's photograph with a caption. Here are three of the Cat Truth posters;

. . . a silky furred, mitted, and bicolored Ragdoll stretched out on a red silk cushion, looking as comfy as Eva Longoria in a Hanes ad: Go with the Flow.

A rectangular-muzzled, green-eyed, cholocolate colored cat appeared as brooding as a Gothic hero: Always Say Yes to Adventure.

. . . a thick-furred, piebald Siberian forest cat, its white front a brilliant contrast to a charcoal back and head. Its face appeared almost angelic: Always try a Smile First.

And yes, one of the posters points to a killer.

Fun for me and fun, I hope for readers

Reviews

[Dez Nemec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in 3-4 hours. A nice light summer cozy.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4 Stars.

[Erika Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not like to give any published book a bad review. I struggled through this book, (hence why it took so long to read it.)

Here is what I would like you to imagine:
You and a few friends get together to play a game of clue. (Your name is Annie) Then someone turns on a tape recorder and then transcribes the game. That is what I thought about as I read this book. It was a lot of book names (fake books) and pages (fake pages) and quoting and authors talking about books at a convention style setting. It was long really long. It was clear where the actual author (Hart) stands politically, WHEW talk about slanted. I mean I am all for a strong character but she truly makes known her feelings about conservatives. - it's a bit much.
Finally the use of the character's name "Annie" - I think if one were to remove all the other words in the story what would be left is at least 50 pages filled with just that name.

So while as a child I did enjoy playing clue. Reading it was not that much fun!
My apology to Ms. Hart for the stronger comments, I admire you for your published works but this was a long book and the final scenes were not climatic and left me unsatisfied. Good luck in the future. I am sure there are many people that will devour your writing, I am just not one of them.

[M0rfeus]

ok i want to write a letter to the author telling her i will never purchase another of her books because of the gratuitous way in which she slanders conservatives. I don't know the demographics of the audience for mystery "cozies" which is what this is, but I guess it must be overwhelmingly liberal.

I see no reason to shell out money to have my political beliefs insulted. Hart makes conservatives out to be:

alcoholic
sneaky
swaggering
cowardly
ill-mannered
frauds

And while this makes for a good "red herring" in the book, she's lost a customer in me.

Not to mention--and this is perhaps more important for the goodreads crowd--the book is not well written. It is I think 9th in a series and by this time apparently Hart was just "phoning it in" so to speak. There is not even a single Mint Julep in the whole book! How misleading is that????

And the motive for the crime isn't revealed until the next to last chapter--no way anyone could have solved it just by reading it.

So--DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. Buy a good Dorothy L. Sayers or Agatha Christie--the classics never go out of style.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fine little romp despite (and it's a big "despite" in my book) ONCE AGAIN the novel resorting to suspecting one of the series' lead characters of murder. Really? how about someone else be suspected for a change? Just saying. We're all mystery fans, I think we'd be able to suspend our disbelief long enough to go with people-tend-to-die-around-Annie-and-Max-a-lot as an adequate reason for a nw book -- it really does NOT have to always be Annie and Max suspected of murder.

That being said, I really did enjoy this. It was light. It was fun. The MIL wasn't nearly as annoying as usual. The plot ran well and and was engaging. All in all, I leave it looking forward to the next installment---in which, I suppose, it will be Max's turn to be suspected of murder.

[Kitana · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay this is one of my mischievous BOOKS that i really like because it tells you about a mysterious murdering story and if you are interested in strange story i CONSIDER you to read it or buy it ;) !!!!!
Author: Carolyn G. Hart !!

[SandyL · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annie Darling is tasked as an author liaison for the Dixie Book Festival. When a bookseller and author proposes a tell-all book about the author's she assisting, and then turns up dead, Annie gets involved in yet another mystery. The book kept me guessing, but I like the ones that feature more of Max best.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

"People who don't read mysteries are puzzled by them. They want to know why any writer would focus on crime. They don't understand that crime isn't the point of the mystery.... Christie once said that the modern mystery was the equivalent of the medieval morality play... Mysteries serve as parables to readers.... A good mystery - aside from its structure - is never predictable except for one absolute: Justice will be served."

I always enjoy Annie and Max, and the endings of Hart's books are always pretty satisfying. In this book, they are in Hilton Head; Annie is the author liaison for five Southern authors who are being honored by receiving something called the Medallion Award. Coincidentally, these five people are also being featured in a roman a clef novel by Mint Julep publisher and author wannabe Kenneth Hazlitt, who claims to be revealing their deepest darkest secrets. Over the weekend of the book conference, Kenneth is killed. It appears someone put nicotine into the bottle of bourbon he opened at an open house party he throws. Naturally, Annie is suspected by local detective Wheeler (who also has gray eyes!) because she was seen arguing with him about his book proposal. Later, another man is found murdered in Annie's Volvo. Thankfully, Annie has her Dauntless Trio (Miss Dora, Laurel and Henny) to help her figure out what's going on. As terrible as the five authors are (and we never really get to know them very well, the exception being Emma Clyde since we've met her before), they didn't kill Kenneth - that was his step brother Willie, who wants control of his money (finally). By killing Ken, he is able to come into his trust. Alan Blake, one of the five writers, does kill the man in the Volvo because he doesn't want his good boy image ruined with his secrets being revealed (this was kind of a weak point to me, only because it just didn't seem like the stakes were high enough for him).

[The Keepers of the Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verity is a ghost hunter who can see and interact with the realm of the dead. Frankie is a gangster ghost who reluctantly helps Verity solve cases. When Verity, her boyfriend, Ellis, and Frankie head to an insane asylum to pick a criminally insane mob boss ghost for information, they end up stranded during a storm. During the storm, the new owner of the asylum is found murdered. Washed in from the rains, no one could’ve gotten in or out. Who did it? The two eccentric wannabe ghost hunters? The husband and wife looking to buy the place from Barbara? Things take an even deadlier turn when one of the ghosts locks down the facility and refuses to let anyone out until the murder is resolved. Can Verity find the killer before it’s too late? Can she help some of the ghosts in the asylum to find their way to the light? This book is engrossing and impossible to put down. The plot is not only well developed, but full of twists, turns and cliffhangers. The characters are delightfully hilarious, lovable, and easy to root for. The character dynamics are engaging and help to bring the story to life. The writing style is unique and the author doesn’t miss a beat. A must-read for fans of ghost stories, cozy mysteries, and humor. It isn’t necessary to read the other books in the series to read this one, but you’ll be dying to read the others before you’re done.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given to us in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley and the publisher. No other financial compensation was received. All opinions expressed are our own

For more reviews, recommendations, or online librarian advice, please visit us at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK3v...

[Rachaelbookhunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie and Max Darling are attending the Dixie Book Festival. Annie is acting as an author's liaison for five writers who are set to receive an award. She is having a hard time of it as all the writers give her trouble in some form or other. Many of them are unpleasant. A publisher at the festival is also stirring up trouble as he announces that he is writing a book about famous Southern authors. The five authors set to receive an award believe the book is based on them and none of them are happy about it.

Mint Julep Murder is the 9th in the Death On Demand series but you can absolutely read them out of order. The returning characters are always talked about in what they are currently doing and their current behavior. You don't have to worry about missing actions from the past.

I really love this series. It is always high energy while also feeling like you're lounging in a chair while sipping a cool drink. It would be exhausting living in Annie's world but Annie herself would exhaust you as well. She is always going, going, going, thinking about what needs to be done. Other delightfull characters are always helping out as well.

The settings are always described well. They are always funny. There is a lot of fun in this series. I didn't enjoy this one as much. Something major happens late in the book that seemed to happen just to move the main plot along. However I still enjoyed it and recommend it.

[Chanel Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was another good one, nothing to offensive.
Annie is helping to take care of five different authors. None of these authors are great people. The only one that was some what interesting was the one would kept changing her back story.
Anyway the authors are all coming for a book fair, the book fair sounded amazing because it takes place sometimes one the each which just sounds amazing, and this is coming from mom who is a librarian and knows that sand can be rough on books, and salt water is just deadly.
Anyway the authors come and the are threatened by another publisher who says he is going to write story that though it does not use their real names, it evidently the authors and he is going to reveal their secrets, yes this is where mom and I said have you author done this exact same plot line before, oh well here we go again, and low and behold the author to be winds up dead at a party. This book differs a little because Annie and Emma are in cahoots and with each other and the murder is out to frame Annie. The last thing was is the police chief in the book who we have not met yet was very civilized even though he thought he was going to have to arrest Annie.
A good read and worth reading just to see Emma and Annie work together.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annie Darling has been talked into being the author liaison to the medallion winners at this year’s Dixie Book Festival held on nearby Hilton Head. While the authors have been a bit demanding before things start, it’s nothing like their reaction when a publisher announces plans to publish a novel fictionalizing the scandals in their past. However, when that publisher dies at his own party that evening, all the evidence seems to point to Annie. Can she and her husband, Max, prove her innocence?

This is another fun mystery in the series. I kept landing on a different suspect until Annie figures things out for us, at which point everything made perfect sense. The characters in this book can be a little thin, but in this case there was one that was an over the top conservative cliché and wasn’t at all fun. On the other hand, the subplot involving three of the supporting characters was hysterical and kept me laughing. I’ve also started catching a few more of the references to other books and authors, which is fun. Overall, this is another good entry that will keep fans entertained.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Liz V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A publisher announces his intention to write a tell-all book about five award winning authors, who have secrets they don't want shared. As author liaison to the authors at the book convention where the awards are to be made, Annie argues with the publisher and naturally is a suspect when he is poisoned.

A book convention seemingly was too great a temptation for Hart, who slips back into her earlier mode of mentioning numerous authors and books with little or no elucidation on who or what. I suspect that, as the years pass since publication, fewer and fewer readers, other than mystery buffs, will recognize the names or care to research them. I didn't.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a great plot, but the author lost it somewhere. There were far too many suspects. The listing of the subjects, the questions, and backgrounds of each suspect only needs to happen once. The multiple times happens just adds unnecessary pages. The author does give a vivid description of all characters and the Hilton Head area. No detail is lost.
A book festival does seem a perfect to have a murder. The dropping of real-life authors and the characters they created brings a sense of reality to the story. All in all it was an okay read.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not crazy about this one. The heroine was nosy and stupid and most of the trouble she got into was of her own making. The cops, like usual, had tunnel vision. The solution was one of those where there were a half-dozen perfectly good suspects. The author could have chosen any one of them to
throw under the bus.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK. I listen to it on tape there is a book convention and a murder of a man who was going to write a novel about fictionalize authors and their skeletons in their closet. The authors are all suspected but it ends up being the brother of the man who is going to write the book. C

[Glynda Wilson · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s just not that good for someone who has been compared to authors like Agatha Christie. For a mystery, it was too confusing. The characters are really stereotypical and have really weird names. For only 277 pages, it was still too long.

[Dianne Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a lot of twists and keeps the reader guessing about the murderer. I enjoyed it!

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set on Hilton Head Island. If you like cozies, this one might interest you.

[Tommie Nicholas]

A fine summer read. Provides a good reason for staying inside in the air conditioning. Holds your attention

[Allie Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it!!! I kind of predicted the ending but it was still really good! I loved how it was set at a good festival!! I loved how dedicated Annie was!

[Nancy]

Such a fun read. I need to find others of her Death on Demand mysteries.

[Jenny Doyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun mystery story.

[Kiersti · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable murder mystery. I had a hard time learning all the names- so the faxes included in the beginning did not add to the plot for me.

[FangirlNation · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ninth book in the Death on Demand series by Carolyn G. Hart, Mint Julep Murder, takes place at the Dixie Book Festival, a celebration of writers from the South, at the luxurious Hilton Head Island. Annie has volunteered to be the liaison between the festival and the five winners of the prestigious Dixie Book Festival Medallions, authors who write very different styles of books: two styles of mystery books, romance novels, Civil War fiction, and flaming redneck political commentary.

Read the rest of this review, more reviews, and other wonderful, geeky articles on FangirlNation

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

""

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

#9 in the Max & Annie Darling death on demand mystery series. Every year, Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand Bookstore, attends the Dixie Book Festival on nearby Hilton Head island. But this year, she'll be the author liaison to five writers with deadly egos honored with the coveted Dixie Book Festival Medallions. When a publisher, who arrives with a tell-all book proposal, turns up dead, the evidence points to Annie and her husband.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the nine books so far in the series, I liked this one the least. It was good, but it felt repetitive. Really, she has kind of done this story, in the first book. A group of authors, and a wanna-be author writing a tell-all book. Been there, read that, in this series. It was good, and there were plot twists and differences from the other story, but it felt a little stale.

[Anita (Hearts and Whodunits) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great mystery, although I knew who the culprit was from the beginning. It wasn't bogged down with information of other mystery writers and their novels, which I have found in previous installments. I will read more from this series due to my love of the quirky characters and the writing style.

[Vondraya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good fun read. Annie Darling, mystery book store owner, goes to the Dixie Book Festival and of course when a book publisher announces he's willing to write a "tell all" book about the five authors who are being honored...oops, he's murdered by poison.

A charming yet high spirited cozy.