Will This Party Be the Death of Someone?
When cozy authors take their series characters out of the normal setting, the results can be uneven. Often, it’s the familiar supporting characters we miss. But sometimes, the time away and focus on just a couple of the main characters works well. That was the case for Death of the Party, the sixteenth book in Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series.
The series features Annie Darling, the owner of a mystery bookstore on the island of Broward’s Rock off the coast of South Carolina. However, this book takes her to the smaller, private island of Golden Silk when her husband, Max, is hired to help find a killer. A year ago, media mogul Jeremiah Addison died when he fell down the stairs of his mansion. At the time, only his sister-in -law knew it was something more than an accident. But now, she’s inviting the guests from the weekend back, and she’s hoping that Max will be able to help her find the killer despite his insisting that this is a job for the police. With Annie tagging along, can they determine which guest turned it into a killer party?
To be perfectly, clear, the only regular characters we spent much time with are Annie and Max. While I did miss the other, it wasn’t as much as I might normally. Annie and Max are great leads, and new characters, aka the suspects, were given more time to develop this way. I quite enjoy that.
Having said that, I felt like the story could have started a little faster. There was repetition before everyone got on the island and things really got started. Once that happened, I was hooked and along for every twist. The ending was a little abrupt, but it works to answer all our questions.
I was a bit surprised to find that we hardly had any references to other mystery novels in this book. While I found it a bit overwhelming in the early entries in the series, I’ve enjoyed them in the more recent books. Here, it was almost non-existent. I hope they come back in the next.
On the other hand, I’ve been getting tired of Annie’s antagonistic relationship with the police in the recently entries. Here, that wasn’t an issue. This is one thing I hope carries forward. Or is at least toned down.
I loved the setting for this one. The private island came wonderfully to life. I think I’d enjoy a visit - when there isn’t a killer on the loose, of course.
Annie and Max really do make a good detective team. As always, they are both heavily involved in the investigation, and we follow the story from both of their points of view, helping us capture every detail.
Normally, this is the point where I mention having listened to this one as an audiobook. Except, I didn’t this time. None of the libraries I have access to have it as an audio. So I managed to find my hardcover in my condo (which was a minor miracle). It was interesting reading what I would normally listen to. Since we really didn’t see most of the regulars, I’m wondering how I would have felt reading the book if they’d been here. Normally I don’t switch up audio vs regular book like this. I’m hoping to go back to audio for future volumes, but we will see what happens.
Death of the Party is another entertaining entry fans of the series will love. It’s been out a while, but if you haven’t read it yet, you are in for a treat.
Demand the rest of the Death on Demand series.
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