Sugarplum Dead (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 12)

Sugarplum Dead is one of the best books in the Death on Demand Series. In this edition, Annie Laurence is reunited with her long-lost father, and discovers her step-sister Rachel. Rachel is living with her mother at the home of her aunt, Marguerite Dumaney, a former movie star. Annie's father, Pudge, is visiting for the holidays. When Pudge's ex-wife is found dead, he and Rachel are the chief suspects. A complicating factor is that Marguerite is in the clutches of an unscrupulous man who is stealing her fortune under the guise of enabling her to communicate with her dead husband. Her immediate heirs are all present for the Christmas season, and all of them want to inherit her money. This is a well-crafted and ingenious mystery which has the added charm of acquainting readers with Annie's long-lost family.

I really enjoyed this latest offering of Carolyn Hart's. I liked the addition of some of Annie's family into the mix and I really didn't think it was too improbable for the most part. It did leave me craving raspberry brownies and on a quest to make them! The book really puts you in the Christmas spirit plus the plot gives a great twist towards the end. I was completely wrong on my guess for the murderer!

In the latest of the Death on Demand mystery series, Annie's long lost father turns up as the ex-husband of the sister of a retired movie queen living on the island(what a mouthful). Since the series often focuses on the family of her husband Max, it is nice that the author has finally given Annie a family of her own. The mystery is fast paced, the characters quirky and interesting, and the descriptions of the movie queen's mansion are wonderful. A great Christmas mystery!

It's nice to see Annie have some relatives of her own to contend with, though I would hardly expect Ms. Hart to top Max's mother, Laurel. The descriptions of the excesses of the crime scene mansion are a hoot. (My favorite is the dragon.) There's some good, old-fashioned examples of the follies of youth hitting one hard in later life. Although some of our usual cast are relegated to mere cameo appearances, at least they haven't been forgotten. The dominant emotion Annie and Max have to worry about facing is that well-known member of the seven deadly sins, GREED. Greed proves quite deadly, too. What an appropriate choice for a murder set in today's Christmas season. Don't miss the spiritualist's rationalization about his career -- it's a quite interesting, though not exactly convincing, whitewash job. Cat lovers will no doubt enjoy the antics of Agatha and Dorothy L. and cat haters will find more reason to confirm their sad choice to remain catless. Clues and red herrings are sprinkled throughout like nuts in fudge. I'm a bit ticked that the author successfully conned me into thinking that my first choice for the killer was wrong. However, I feel no shame in getting only the last of the contest pictures on target because I hadn't read three of the others. (Number three I recognized as belonging to the series for whom my own feline menace is named, but not which one.) Consider this a Christmas treat that you may enjoy without calories (unless you like to nibble while you read) and sink your teeth in. The dustjacket isn't ugly and Agatha clawing the "G" in "Sugarplum" keeps it from being too dull. However, with that delightfully overblown mansion and some intriguing visual opportunities, such as the Murder in the Maze, it's a shame that the designer and illustrators chose not to take advantage of them.

Margaret Ladson looks forward to the upcoming Christmas holidays inviting all her relatives to spend the Yuletide with her at her mansion on a South Carolina barrier island. On Broward's Rock, Margaret lives with her assistant who was once her double when the former was a movie star, her sister Happy, and her teenage niece Rachel as well as assorted other step-relatives and servants. All the Ladson extended family members are coming to Broward's Rock in hope of finagling some cash out of Margaret.During her birthday party, Margaret announces that she will leave her fortune to con artist Emory Swanson of the Evermore Foundation for enabling her to talk with her deceased husband. This angers and shocks her relatives. The next day, someone murders Happy with the evidence pointing towards Pudge Lawrance. He is Annie Darling's estranged father who left his daughter and wife years ago. Annie and her spouse Max begin sleuthing, as they believe Pudge and the alternate suspect Rachel are innocent.A DEATH ON DEMAND mystery is always a treat because the plots tend to show the forgiving side of humanity as well as the deadlier perspective. This time the heroine and her father reconcile enabling Annie to find some inner peace. Annie also embraces her stepsister for the first time. However, do not think this is a relationship drama only. The entertaining who-done-it is loaded with suspects on an exotic locale as the amateur detective duo searches for the truth. With a well designed mystery augmented by a family drama and a great teen character, SUGAR PLUM DEAD highlights Carolyn Hart at her delightful best.Harriet Klausner