Death in Paradise

doesn't mean you are dead - or worse, boring.Carolyn Hart's series starring Henrietta O'Dwyer "Henrie O" Collins is an excellent and worthy read. Why?This mystery series offer great characters with believeable dialogue, nice little plot twists, a kiss of humor, and a heroine - Henry O - who is NOT a gal in her 20's or 30's, with a fast mouth, a clumsy foot always determined to trip over one corpse after another, and a love interest that somehow always seems to elude the final stage of commitment - have any of you noticed just how many mystery novels seem to have this same type of heroine?!?It is difficult to find truly good mysteries where the main character is actually a woman who is over 50, intelligent, clever, sometimes humorous, and even a little grouchy; yet if you are a true fan of mysteries you will know exactly how terrific it is to stumble across heroines like: Henri O, an Amelia Peabody, Mrs. Jeffries, Agatha Raisin, OR a Mrs. Polifax!!

I have read "Deadly Valentine", "Southern Ghosts", "Death on Lovers Lane", "Death in Paradise", and now I'm reading "The Christie Caper". I put Hart in the same category as Agatha Christie. "Death in Paradise", starts slowly, but builds to an unexpected conclusion. It's a clean, old fashioned mystery and I highly recommend it.

Remember when - you heard a noise and got behind someone else because you were afraid to go first! Well, I followed "HENRIE O",with that same feeling. BUT, as in "Lover's Lane", Ms. Hart, got me, with all the clues and the "it could be, ANYBODY", the twist was fantastic. I have purchased 3 more Hart books and will eventually read them ALL. I love to read and there are very few Gifted writers, as Ms. Hart. She writes a particular style of mystery books, as good as Christy, and I love her. Thank you, Ms. Hart. M. Strong

The opening sentence of Death in Paradise nearly leapt off the page, pulling me into the story as if I were the one who had just opened that horrible piece of mail. There was never a dull moment and there was nothing in the story that didn't belong. The plot was very well thought out, and set against a breath-taking backdrop, making the reader feel as if he/she were right there with Henri-O looking out over the Hawaiian mountainside from her lanai. Every bit of scenery had a purpose as did all of the characters, who were as easy to visualize as their surroundings. All of the characters were someone each one of us has met at one time or another. They were real. Carolyn Hart has entertained her readers exceptionally well with this story. Through Henri-O, she has not only entertained us but has also taught us that you are never too old to learn something about yourself, good or bad, and grow from it.

Ms. Hart's writing is superb. She catches you in the introduction and pulls you into the search for the truth. Her word pictures of Hawaii are breathtaking and filled my head with the sounds and scents of Ahiahi. I rarely can form an affection for a new series from an already-favorite author, but Henrie O has been a wonderful surprise and I can't wait for more. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.