New Releases by Carolyn Hart

The show must go on . . . When mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance is invited to stage a Mystery Night for the annual antebellum house tour of the Historical Preservation Society of Chastain, South Carolina, she instead finds herself the leading lady in a flesh-and-blood drama. The play''s the thing wherein the curtain falls on mean-spirited grande dame Corinne Webster. While jeweled fingers point, accusing Annie of murder, the perpetrator lurks within the genteel cast of Murder-Most-Make-Believe . . . and the murder weapon is one of the props. In the tight-laced society of Chastain, Annie is guilty until proven innocent. With her fiance, Max Darling, Annie pieces together evidence to clear her name—until her chief witness is murdered. Now it will take all her sleuthing skills to discover the evil in the heart of Chastain''s Beautiful People.

One of America''s most beloved mystery writers, Carolyn G. Hart, the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning author, returns to her original mystery series that features Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand Bookstore, and her husband, Max, with Mint Julep Murder. Normally, Annie Laurence Darling would be eagerly awaiting her trip to Head Island, where this year''s Dixie Book Festival is being held. But this year Annie has agreed to be the author liaison to five authors honored with the much-coveted Dixie Book Festival Medallions, and she fears she is going to have her hands full juggling murderous egos. What Annie doesn''t count on is the untimely death of ambitious Mint Julep Press publisher Kenneth Hazlitt. Hazlitt arrives at the Festival peddling a proposal for Song of the South, a trashy roman clef that details the indiscretions of some famous Southern authors at a writers'' conference--writers who more than resemble the Dixie Festival Medallion winners. When Hazlitt drops dead after drinking a hit of bourbon from his private stock, the evidence points to Annie--the fatal glass is imprinted with her fingerprints. As more and more evidence points her way, Annie and Max must act fast to catch a wily killer...before the police throw the book at Annie!

Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand bookstore, is shocked to hear talk about her husband, Max, and a beautiful blonde. By the time she’s faced down a hostile police chief and bailed Max out of the Chastain, South Carolina, jail, the lady has vanished and Max is the prime suspect in an unspecified crime. The baffling, bloodstained trail leads straight to the doorstep of Tarrant House, home of the venerable Southern family with a violent history dating back to the Revolution—and ghosts of a far more recent vintage. Annie and Max find that the dignified façade of Tarrant House hides a hotbed of deadly passions as the family turns on itself in a mayhem of murderous motives and angry accusations. But in the end Annie must summon all her sleuthing skills to stop a desperate killer who is ready to strike again to keep the secrets that haunt the Tarrants from the light of day. . . . Praise for Southern Ghost “Tantalizing . . . keep[s] the reader guessing all the way.”—The Denver Post “Pleasing . . . chillingly effective…remarkably satisfying.”—Publishers Weekly “[Annie and Max] make one of the most attractive pairs of sleuths since Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles.”—Chicago Sun-Times

An ageing heiress’s surprise engagement leads to murder in the Agatha Award–winning author’s New York Times bestselling series. Wealthy, widowed art patron Virginia Neville has fallen head over heels for Jake O’Neill, her handsome, charming, and much younger fiancé. But when she announces their engagement at a gala gallery opening, not all the gathered friends and stepfamily are pleased. And before the last champagne bubble pops, murder disrupts the grand celebration. Bookstore owner Annie Darling is shocked to learn that her employee Chloe Martin is the prime suspect. Now she’s determined to untangle an unholy marriage of jealousy, blackmail, and malicious mischief to clear Chloe’s name—even if it means having to cross swords with her policeman hubby Max and cross paths with a cruelly clever stalker.

Six years ago, Henrie O''s beloved newspaperman husband Richard lost his life on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Now, on a brisk March morning, a chilling message has arrived by Priority Mail claiming Richard''s fatal fall from a towering island cliff was no accident--it was murder. Following cryptic clues and her infallible instincts to a lush and verdant tropical Eden--andto the lavish mountaintop estate of wealthy matriarch Belle Ericcson, where Richard spent his final days--the determined sexagenarian sleuth becoems privy to terrible allegations of greed and jealousy, adultery and abuse...and of a mystery surrounding the kidnap-slaying of Belle''s eldes child CeeCee. But now that her search for the truth has brought Henrie O to this lethal paradise where giant palm fronds hide evil deeds from inquisitive eyes, she may never be allowed to leave alive. Because the deaths did no begin or end with Richard Collins...and someone''s dark and enduring homicidal passions have yet to be fully satisfied.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-reporter and journalism teacher at ivy-covered Thorndyke University, Henrietta "Henrie O" Collins demands of her students the same steadfast dedication to the truth that was the cornerstone of her own illustrious career. So when beautiful, ambitious Maggie Winslow decides to investigate a trio of hitherto unresolved local crimes, Henrie O urges her to pursue the story with uncommon vigor. But the gifted future journalist''s zeal may have cost her her life. The next day Maggie''s corpse is discovered in Lovers'' Lane--the very site of one of the unsolved mysteries the extraordinary young woman was exploring at the time of her brutal, premature death. The police and the Thorndyke powers-that-be are rabidly against Henrie O''s involvement in the case. But, for Maggie''s sake, the stubborn, sixtysomething investigator is determined to dredge up a past everyone seems to want to keep buried even if it means placing herself firmly in a relentless killer''s path.

Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-reporter Henrietta O''Dwyer Collins no longer chases hot stories all over the world, but murderous mysteries seem to find her. This time, a frantic phone call from an old and dear friend on the other side of the world sends Henrie O rushing to the fabled city of San Antonio to check out the baffling disappearance of her friend''s devoted granddaughter, Iris Chavez. Iris, employed at the Tesoros Gallery on San Antonio''s famous River Walk, has suddenly dropped from sight without a word. Soon Henrie O discovers that amidst the exquisite objects in the prestigious gallery and among the family members is hidden a dark secret--one Henrie O must uncover if she is to find Iris. Late one dark night on the River Walk, Henrie O sees a sprawled body...and realizes that treachery and disgrace lurk in the shadows of an old and respected business...and death awaits anyone daring to uncover the truth. Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-reporter Henrietta O''Dwyer Collins no longer chases hot stories all over the world, but murderous mysteries seem to find her.This time, a frantic phone call from an old and dear friend on the other side of the world sends Henrie O rushing to the fabled city of San Antonio to check out the baffling disappearance of her friend''s devoted granddaughter, Iris Chavez.Iris, employed at the Tesoros Gallery on San Antonio''s famous River Walk, has suddenly dropped from sight without a word. Soon Henrie O discovers that amidst the exquisite objects in the prestigious gallery and among the family members is hidden a dark secret--one Henrie O must uncover if she is to find Iris. Late one dark night on the River Walk, Henrie O sees a sprawled body...and realizes that treachery and disgrace lurk in the shadows of an old and respected business...and death awaits anyone daring to uncover the truth.

In this charming cozy mystery, a South Carolina island bookstore owner investigates when the local July 4th celebration is halted by murder. Master mystery spinner Carolyn Hart gives us the tenth high-spirited entry in her Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning Death on Demand series. The most delectable sleuthing couple since Nick met Nora, Annie and Max Darling manage to find quite a bit of murder in their allegedly safe and serene South Carolina island resort town. After all, murder is Annie’s business—well, sort of. She’s the proprietor of the popular Death on Demand mystery bookstore and cafe, and her establishment seems to attract trouble like Annie’s pesky felines, Dorothy L. and Agatha, attract hairballs. Now, Annie and Max watch their Fourth of July holiday explode not only with fun and fireworks, but with murder as well. The library board wants to declare its independence from new member, retired Brigadier General Charlton “Bud” Hatch, a man accustomed to being in charge. Hatch’s takeover attitude has alienated everyone in town, especially the women. But Annie finds it difficult to ignore him at a crowded patriotic festival—particularly when he’s shot dead before her eyes... Praise for Yankee Doodle Dead “Rich in Southern atmosphere (lots of live oak, Spanish moss and the ever-present smell of the salt marsh), populated by a diverse and engaging cast, including the fallible, endearing leads, and following a deftly constructed plot line, this tale is charming—and gripping.” —Publishers Weekly

When retired newspaper reporter Henrietta O''Dwyer Collins, Henrie O to her friends, receives a call for help, she discovers that love once kindled never burns to ashes. Although she refused Jimmy Lennox''s marriage proposal, there is still a special place for him in her heart. She wished him well when he found happiness with Sophia Montgomery, world-famous documentary filmmaker and stepmother to the now grown heirs of a great fortune. Sophia is at odds with the heirs, and Jimmy fears for her safety. He asks Henrie O to come along with the family on a Baltic cruise. Henrie O can''t turn down her old friend, though old passions are stirred when he calls. On the voyage she soon realizes this dysfunctional family is plunging toward destruction and one of the travelers has murder in mind. As the ports of call pass—Copenhagen, Gdynia, Tallinn, St. Petersburg—death inexorably approaches. Henrie O works desperately to save Jimmy and to bring hope to lives blighted by anger, resentment, and heartbreak.

It''s getting to look a lot like Christmas on the sea island of Broward''s Rock, South Carolina. At the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, owner Annie Darling''s Yuletide preparations have to be put on hold thanks to several rather inconvenient distractions -- including murder. Across the windswept isle, in the spacious, spooky mansion of Marguerite Dumaney Ladson, a motley crew is gathering for the onetime movie star''s gala Xmas/birthday bash. And when it turns deadly, it''s Annie who has to prove the innocence of the most disturbing suspect: her own deadbeat dad.

Ex-reporter Henrietta "Henrie 0" O''Dwyer Collins joins a wedding party in glorious Bermuda -- only to discover that death is an uninvited guest. Warm turquoise waters and balmy ocean breezes do little to ease Henrie O''s discomfort at having to attend the wedding of her ex-son-in-law Lloyd to Connor Bailey, a beautiful widow with a dark past and a knack for attracting men. Recently recovered from pneumonia, the retired Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist joins her grandchildren at an elegant oceanfront hotel -- and is soon embroiled in a deadly puzzle that touches everyone connected with the impending union.

A pleasure cruise for mystery buffs soon becomes a playground for a devious killer in the acclaimed author’s beloved series. Mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling has planned a murder mystery cruise in the waters off her not-always-idyllic isle of Broward’s Rock, South Carolina. Everything is going swimmingly—until one of the revelers plunges overboard. And despite hubby Max’s courageous rescue attempt, make-believe murder turns into real-life death. As the body count rises over the next few days, Annie begins to suspect that all the victims were murdered most foully, and that they are all connected in some unknown way. But the killer she seeks is more ingeniously efficient than most—having packed an intricate time bomb with an explosive mix of arson, assault, kidnapping, robbery . . . and homicide, naturally.

Someone is playing a rather nasty April Fool''s prank on mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling. A felonious forger on the idyllic -- if rarely tranquil -- South Carolina island of Broward''s Rock has made it appear as if Annie is accusing some of her neighbors of murder. In the wink of a bloodshot eye, the Darling name is mud . . . and then the Broward''s Rock body count starts mysteriously increasing. And now it''s up to Annie to follow the well-hidden trail of the vicious trickster -- or a secret slayer''s next lethal "joke" may very well be on her!

Four of mystery''s reigning matriarchs have joined together to concoct a delectable stew of clues, corpses, and felonious hijinks -- all spectacularly seasoned with a mother''s loving touch! In this witty and winning quartet of all-new mysteries, the incomparable Mary Daheim gives harried mom Cousin Renie from the bestselling "Bed-and-Breakfast" series a triple dose of the murderous wedding bell blues; the inimitable award-winner Carolyn Hart of "Death on Demand" fame lets madcap mother-in-law Laurel Darling take a turn at the investigative chores; the remarkable Jane Isenberg sets menopausal mother Bel Barrett loose to solve a dastardly case of nanny-cide; and the fabulous Shirley Rousseau Murphy -- whose "Joe Grey" mysteries are the cat''s meow -- enchants once again, as a delightful duo of feline mamas sinks their clawsinto a murder investigation. So sit back and enjoy the Mother of All Mystery Collections!

“A sassy heroine . . . [Henrie O] says what she thinks (when it serves her purposes) and pulls no punches.”—Chicago Sun-Times When arrogant media magnate Chase Prescott is nearly killed by a box of cyanide-laced candy, he dials his long-ago lover, retired newshound Henrietta O’Dwyer Collins, with a simple request: He’ll assemble all the suspects if Henrie O will kindly point out the would-be murderer. It’s a case—her first—that fills Henrie O with grave misgivings, especially when she arrives on Chase’s private island off the South Carolina coast to meet the players in this deadly drama. Among Prescott’s unstable young wife, his sullen stepson, and his toady of a secretary, she has trouble narrowing the field of suspects—even when a second attempt is made on Chase’s life. As Henrie O unearths a will and fascinating new evidence, a killer hurricane sweeps up from Cuba, threatening to maroon them in this vacation hell . . . where the trappings of luxury are put to lethal use and the secrets of the past have the power to engulf them all.

She came in the rain. Alone. On a bicycle. Annie and Max Darling are completely unprepared when the arrival of a mysterious young woman shocks their sea island and stirs up more than just gossip. It turns out that Iris, the beautiful stranger, is a former resident of Broward''s Rock. Her arrival throws the normally happy town into a downward spiral that pits neighbor against neighbor. Things take a turn for the worse when Annie befriends Iris and invites her to attend the Darlings'' party at the pavilion where Death is the uninvited guest. Suddenly, Max and Annie find themselves in the middle of a fight they don''t understand and at the mercy of an unknown assailant who''s trying to kill them—and all they know is that it is one of their friends.

Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, is understandably upset. It isn''t like her p.i. husband Max to abruptly disappear—and homicide is definitely not his style. But when his car is found abandoned on a remote road with a brutally slain, once-beautiful young woman nearby and the murder weapon stashed in the trunk, Annie''s worst fears seem justified. The police have Max all but tried and convicted—except for Chief Billy Cameron, whose unshakable belief in his friend''s innocence prompts his removal from the case. And as a media circus descends on tiny Broward''s Rock, Annie will have to place her own life in jeopardy to clear her husband''s name. But time is running out—and she has only one slim chance to unmask a killer who just may have committed the perfect crime.

Murder is, surprisingly, not all that uncommon on timy Broward''s Rock, an idyllic sea island community off the South Carolina coast. Annie Darling''s popular mystery bookshop, Death on Demand, is where the locals come to discuss the juicy details of each criminal offense--under the watchful gaze of a pampered feline prima donna named Agatha. But now Annie''s dear friend (and best customer) Henny Brawley stands accused of murdering a Women''s Club volunteer-cum-blackmailer. So Annie rouses her husband Max into action, and together they dive into the shark pool of dotty eccentrics and imperious belles who constitute the island''s smart set. Because only there can the Darlings prove hapless Henny innocent--by detemining who among the well-heeled had the dirtiest little secret...and would kill to protect it.

Bailey Ruth Raeburn has always been great at solving mysteries. Why should a little thing like her death change anything? In fact, being dead gives her more of an opportunity to be on top of events. Bailey Ruth is delighted that her unique position as a ghost makes it possible for her to lend a helping hand, sometimes seen and sometimes not. And if anybody needs a little help, it''s Kathleen, the pastor''s wife. There''s a dead man on her porch, and once the body is discovered, the pastor is sure to become a suspect. Uncharitable people might call it meddling, but Bailey Ruth knows Kathleen needs her help! As a member of Heaven''s Department of Good Intentions, Bailey Ruth goes back to earth to extricate Kathleen from a dire situation. If Bailey Ruth has to bend a few rules to help Kathleen save her family, Wiggins, her fussbudget supervisor, will make sure it all turns out right in the end.

When Annie and Max Darling leave for a private island to solve a case, Annie might just become the killer''s next victim.

WINNER OF THE AGATHA AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL “Bittersweet...Set in a small-town America that lives only in memory, this artfully narrated whodunit observes the residents of an unnamed Oklahoma hamlet over the hot and dusty summer of 1944 as they ration their food, count their war dead and turn on their neighbors.”—TheNew York Times Book Review World-renowned journalist G.G. Gilman does her best not to think of the past. But one day she gets a letter—sent from the small Oklahoma town where she grew up—that brings it all back. Memories of people she had once known and loved dearly—and of the sultry summer when her life changed forever...

When mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance is invited to teach "The Three Great Ladies of the Mystery" class at Chastain Community College, the sometime sleuth discovers that all is not strictly academic in Chastain''s hallowed halls of learning. And when a shocking scandal in the school newspaper erupts in a suicide and two violent deaths, Professor Laurance enlists the talents of her new hubby, private eye Max Darling, and dons her thinking cap to probe intrigue and vengeance among Chastain''s faculty. A Dangerous Thing Max and Annie, with dubious help from three of their own great ladies of the mystery -- Annie''s pixilated mother-in-law, a batty local dowager, and a Christie crime fanatic -- learn that just about everyone at the school had means, motive, and access to the murder weapons. From the secretly boozing professor of advertising to the muscle-bound campus cad who barters passing grades for a little extracurricular activity, anyone on the faculty is a possible killer -- waiting to strike again!

Everyone--including mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance--loves Arsenic and Old Lace. But something wicked is poisoned a local summer stock production as cast members stab each other in the back and props are sabotaged. Worst of all, the star, aging Hollywood beach-blanket hunk Shane Petree, butchers his lines--while getting top billing in bed with wives and teenage daughters around town. No wonder somebody wants to draw his final curtain. With a little help from Miss Marple, Poirot, and Agatha the Bookstore Cat, a pompous prosecutor tries to pin a murder on Max, Annie''s own leading man. Unless Annie can prove her darling''s innocence, their wedding date''s off! Invoking the tried-and-true methods of her favorite literary sleuths, Annie snoops around the greasepaint and glitter of the show-stopper scene if she doesn''t watch it, because theatrical murderers never play fair.