Engaged to Die (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 14)

Very well written. Good story line, moves fast and holds yolur interest.

I really enjoy the Death on Demand series. Some people find the references to other mysteries and mystery writers annoying but I find it fun as I can many times relate to the reference, adding an extra little bit of pleasure to the mystery.I particularly enjoyed this book because it features a lot of interplay between husband and wife Max & Annie Darling without focusing solely on their relationship. A wealthy "older" woman is about to announce her engagement to a much younger man when a murder occurs preventing that event from happening. A good friend of Annie's is the prime suspect for the murder and Annie & Max must, of course, step in to find the real killer. Max, in fact, is deputized to help the sheriff, a fact that irritates Annie to no end.There are a few side issues thrown in for fun and they make for some nice diversions from the main mystery. I must say that one reason I especially enjoyed this book is that Max's mother does not play a big role - I do find her a little irritating as I find her somewhat of a stereotype airhead.Really looking forward to the next entry in the series: "Murder Walks the Plank" and hope to see a new Henri O. mystery soon!

Carolyn Hart, where have you been all my life?Seriously, how is it that I never spotted you on the bookshelves amongst the Sue Graftons and Patricia Cornwells and Sarah Paretskys? Well, I have now rectified that, thank goodness. Carolyn Hart is a mystery lover's dream come true. Her stories are for anyone who will confess to the guilty pleasure of reading serial mysteries (okay, and even for those of you who won't admit it, but secretly indulge nonetheless). ENGAGED TO DIE is Hart's latest installment --- the fourteenth installment, to be exact --- in the Death on Demand whodunit series featuring Annie and Max Darling, amateur detectives reminiscent of Nick and Nora Charles.Annie Darling owns a bookstore, but not just any bookstore. She is the proprietor of Death on Demand, a popular venue on the island of Broward's Rock in South Carolina that specializes in selling leather-bound enigmas and paperback puzzlers. If you have ever walked into a real-life mystery bookstore like The Cloak and Dagger in Princeton, NJ, you know the sheer joy of losing yourself in the thievery, murder and mayhem oozing from the pages authored by Dashiell Hammett, Carolyn Keene or Arthur Conan Doyle.The bookstore setting is ingenious; it affords Hart the opportunity to show off her knowledge of mystery writers, new and old, great and virtually unknown. Conversations in the store between Annie and her customers are peppered with titles and authors, and the reader, if a lover of mysteries, can't help but feel that he or she is part of a special club. Henny Brawley is described as the store's best customer; each of her visits results in the purchase of several books and the exchange of mystery trivia. (Brownie points for anyone who knows the significance of the name "Hepzibah" in the mystery genre.) The bookstore even boasts a cat named Agatha, homage to you-know-who. The mystery at hand in ENGAGED TO DIE: Jake O'Neill, the young, handsome fiancé of widowed --- and wealthy --- Virginia Neville, has been murdered, his body found face down at the end of an oyster-shell path at an ocean overlook. The suspects are many, including Chloe, the young assistant who works in Annie's store and who had fallen in love with Jake. The Neville family is also not without motive. Upset by their father's bequest, which left virtually everything to Virginia, his nurse-turned-second wife, each of the Neville children could have and might have bashed in Jake's head to keep him from benefiting from the family inheritance. Max Darling, a lawyer and devoted husband of Annie, is deputized into duty by the acting police chief and begins to investigate the death. Annie decides to launch a search of her own, hoping to exonerate her co-worker. Their seemingly different paths ultimately intersect, as they become unknowing targets of the murderer.Find Carolyn Hart on the bookshelf. Read ENGAGED TO DIE. Or, better yet, start at the beginning with DEATH ON DEMAND, the first in the series, and work your way u

Nathaniel Neville's family is none too pleased when he marries his nurse, Virginia. Subsequently he dies, and the family knows that eventually the family fortune will come to them. However, they don't count on the fact that Virginia will decide to marry again, this time to a much younger man, who is an artist. She chooses to announce the engagement at the opening of a new exhibit in the family art gallery. However, murder and mayhem get in the way, and before they know it, Max and Annie Darling are in the middle of a murder investigation. Max is officially deputized by Acting Police Chief Billy Cameron, and Annie does some sleuthing on her own. Another murder takes place, and Annie's assistant Chloe is the chief suspect. Annie becomes desperate to exonerate Chloe and she risks her own life to prove Chloe's innocence. This is another good Death on Demand mystery.

Wealthy Nathaniel Neville shocked his two children and their spouses when he married his nurse and later left her with the estate when he died. His wife Virginia promised the irate foursome that they would be her heirs, but that vow seems shaky now. Virginia apparently has fallen in love with artist Jake O'Neill. At the opening of her new gallery in Broward's'Rock, South Carolina, Virginia announces that she and Jake will marry.Already disturbed by their father's will, her stepfamily goes berserk thinking the handsome artist will waste what they believe is rightfully theirs. Chloe Martin is also stunned by the announcement because she thought she was exclusively seeing Jake. However, someone decides to take action, killing the charming artist. All evidence indicates that Chloe committed the crime as she flees the scene and her shawl is found near the victim. Chloe's boss mystery bookstore Annie Darling tries to prove her assistant is innocent while her spouse Max helps the police with the official investigation.Though the who-done-it is relatively easy to figure out by real amateurs like this reviewer, readers will enjoy the latest Death on Demand mystery. Although obvious, the story line is fun to follow, as the darling lead couple wants the same thing even while working on opposite sides of the inquiry.Harriet Klausner