Dare to Die (Death on Demand, 19) Mass Market Paperback – March 30, 2010

Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand Mystery series continues with Dare To Die, her twenty-second book in the series. The story opens with a number of POV entries, that of Annie and her husband, Max Darling, and several of their friends. At first I was confused by trying to decide why I as a reader needed to know the inner thinking of so many characters, however, as the tale progressed, it became obvious.Annie owns the Death on Demand, a mystery bookshop on Froward's Rock, off the So. Carolina coast. She and her husband Max are nearing the end of a home restoration project and have planned a party. Plans, however, go awry when additional damage delays the completion, so the two plan to hold their party at the Harbor Pavilion. Meanwhile, Annie and Max are temporarily residing at a cottage at Nightingale Courts, the local motel owned by friends Ingrid and Duane. When Ingrid's sister is hospitalized, Annie agrees to help out at Nightingale Courts and leaves the bookshop to be run by her somewhat ditzy mother-in-law.Annie and max have invited members of their social circle to the party, and each has accepted but each has reservations about the event where several of them were present when Jocelyn, one of their schoolmates mysteriously drowned ten years earlier. Now, another member of that group, Iris, has returned to the island. She's booked a cottage at Nightingale Courts, and since she's alone, Annie invites her to come to the party.Later that night, Iris is found murdered, and Annie can't help but wonder what's behind the mystery. Soon, an arson attempt is made on Annie and Max, and the need to discover long-buried secrets becomes foremost in Annie's life. But at what cost to her and Max?Many characters appear in Dare to Die. This is my first Carolyn Hart book, so I was a bit slow in catching up to characters appearing in previous stories in the series. But once their histories and motives were explained, I was well-engaged in learning who and what was behind the murders. Several of their friends had motives to hide the truth. Watching Annie ferret out these motives proved interesting. The ending was suspenseful and kept me guessing. As with a Poirot mystery, all the possible suspects were confronted and the reader was left to wonder until the very end.A well-plotted and entertaining cozy, Dare To Die has made this reviewer a new Carolyn Hart fan.

In the 19th installment to the Death on Demand series, Annie Darling, a bookstore owner, and her husband, P.I. Max, are confounded by a mystery that includes many upstanding local citizens. Annie is helping friends at their hotel when a lonely young woman named Iris reappears after being away for 10 years. Annie befriends her and invites her to a party where Iris meets some of her old friends. Before the night is over, Iris is dead. Are Max and Annie next? They will have to work together to solve a mystery and find a murderer who’s been hiding for a decade. This was an exciting adult cozy mystery. In the beginning, I felt there were too many suspects. I became confused at times. Another drawback was the use of difficult words, which made it hard to stay involved in the story. Otherwise, I loved the plot and the devoted relationship between the two main characters. If only I could go to the Death on Demand bookstore and take a tai chi class.

It had been awhile since I read a Death on Demand mystery. For some reason, the last one I read simply did not hold my interest. But, because I enjoyed the books in the past, I decided to give the series another chance, and I am glad I did. This is a rather sad story of long held secrets and the past deaths of teenagers. A young woman comes back to the island where tragedy happened when she was young. Iris wants to make things right and confirm what she thinks she knows of the deaths that happened when she was in high school. And of course more death occurs, because someone does not want the past brought forward, and they certainly do not want to be confronted on the possibility of murder. It is a good book. Carolyn Hart is a talented writer and this book held my interest. I would suggest that anyone who likes a mystery will enjoy the book.

I purchased this book without reading any of the reviews because for one I like murder mysteries and plus I do not want to read a bad review on a book and start of reading it kind of bias. With that being said I had no idea that this book is a part of a series of books and I am upset that I started with this one without reading the books before. I really do like this story and how the friend goes back home to solve the mystery of her friend Jocelyn "suicide." I love the fact that her husband is her partner in solving her friend's murder and I like the clues. But now that I have read this one I must find the rest and read them also.

"Dare To Die" was my first experience reading this author's work and I was pleasantly surprised. Strong, believable characters made this a charming and heart warming book. I know it is touted as a cozy murder story, which is probably why the police always seem to be lagging one or two steps behind the heroine.I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by Carolyn Hart.

Sometimes I get tired of the race against time for a man/woman to save the world type stories. Smaller scale, more realistic characters can be nice.So Dare to Die started well. I hadn't read any other books in the series so there was a fair amount of references to past events that I didn't know, but I enjoyed getting to know the characters.The problem was the book just got so bogged down when the two main characters (along with the writer and the cop) spent so much time running through all the option with each of the suspects. I got absolutely bored with the repetition and the fact that it felt like the book was going nowhere.I skipped through the last 20% of the book, just trying to find out who it was, only to find out and not care at all and wonder why I didn't give up a couple hours ago.Got it for free...glad I didn't waste 99 cents!

This was one of the best I’ve read so far! While the I have come to know the main characters well in this series, the plot of this book hit especially close to home for Annie and Max. Fast moving and insightful, this book kept me on the edge of my seat! I’d recommend it to any mystery lover!

Anyone who likes Agatha Christie, Patricia Wentworth, Ngaio Marsh, Donna Andrews, Jill Churchill should like any of the 'Death by Demand' series. The books are what I would call 'gentle murders'. There are no 'blood and guts', but there is some attempt at a psychological reason for the murders. As well as this, there are 'down to earth' comments, and also some humour. I do suggest that you read the series in order; each book is a 'stand alone' but there are comments and characters that relate to previous books.