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Review: Carolyn Hart's 17th mystery in the Death on Demand series, Death Walked In, has mystery book store owner Annie Darling in a quest for a treasure of lost gold coins.

It is February on Broward's Rock, the resort island off the South Carolina coast, it's damp and cold and there are few visitors. When Annie is called to go to the home of Gwen Jamison who says that she is afraid of something, Annie finds her shot and dying. Without any proof, the police immediately arrest Gwen's son, Robert, for her murder. He is a high-school dropout and a rabble rouser. He has been in trouble before, but nothing violent. Though Annie's husband Max is able to obtain an alibi for Robert from the minister of the local Baptist Church, it's a mixed blessing. Much to the minister's chagrin, Robert was with his daughter during the time of the murder. This does not completely satisfy the police as some of Gwen's blood was found in his car as was the gun used to shoot her. The questions still unanswered are: if Robert is innocent, who planted the gun and blood in his car? And where is the fortune of gold coins that has gone missing from a historic house that the Darlings are restoring?

The mysteries in this series have typically been in the style of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple stories, some more so than others, and with varying degrees of success. Death Walked In is one of the better ones and deservedly so. The plot is tightly constructed, and the suspects, though numerous, are well delineated. The romantic interplay between Annie and Max is a bit overdone at times, but they make a good investigative team. When Annie figures out where the coins are and their link to Gwen's murder, it's a puzzle worthy of the grand master herself.

Death Walked In by Carolyn Hart — A Death on Demand Mystery

Publisher: William Morrow
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-072405-4
Publication Date: March 2008
List Price: $23.95