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Title: Design for Murder by Carolyn G. Hart ISBN: 0-553-26562-8 Publisher: Crime Line Pub. Date: 01 January, 1988 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Annie plans a mystery night
Comment: Annie Laurance, proprietor of the book store Murder on Demand, is delighted to be asked to put on a mystery night as part of a celebration of the history of Chastain, South Carolina. She is not so pleased at the prospect when she meets Corinne Webster who is in charge of the event. Corinne is a rude and arrogant person who has made enemies of half of the town. It is not surprising, when Corinne is found dead, that there is no shortage of suspects. Unfortunately, the police chief focuses in on Annie as his main suspect and seems unwilling to look any further. As a result, Annie and her fiance, Max Darling, have extra motivation to solve this murder. Annie puts herself in danger by exposing the murderer and the ending is bittersweet.
Rating: 3
Summary: So-so book in a series for lovers of mystery novels
Comment: I've read several books of the Annie and Max series and generally enjoy them immensely. I'm trying to fill the gaps in order. I'm glad I'd read several other books in this series first otherwise, I'd probably not read anymore.
Basically, Design for Murder, is too designed. The blueprint is laidout entirely too clearly to be entertaining. I know the classic cozy has a list of suspects but it felt like that list was repeated over and over and over again in this book. I second the reviewer who commented that it was hard to care who murdered the victim. Indeed, I was simply annoyed that it took about half of the book to knock the obnoxious woman off.
As for the "name-dropping", that is precisely the signature of this series. This is a series for mystery addicts to enjoy all of the references to writers and characters. I get about half of them and there's always a little sense of being "in the club" when I know what she's talking about. However, this is also the reason I haven't passed these books on to my husband. All the references to Poirot and Wimsey and the like wouldn't mean a thing to him.
Bottom-line: Not the best book in an otherwise good series.
Rating: 3
Summary: Disappointment after "Death on Demand"
Comment: I read "Death on Demand" (the first of this series) and absolutely loved it. Then I read this book, the second in the series, and it left me flat. I literally didn't care who killed the victim. After thinking about why this book left me bored, I think part of it was that it was not set on Broward's Island, it was set in a town called Chastain, South Carolina. So Annie and Max were taken out of their "element." Another thing that left me puzzled was that after I read "Death on Demand" I was eager to see how Max finally won Annie over, but we never get to see that, because it is clear right from the beginning of this book that they are engaged. I just wish I knew what happened between "Death on Demand" and "Design for Murder" to cause Annie to make up her mind.
However, Max and Annie are charming as usual in this book and I do intend to continue reading the rest of this series. Unlike the other reviewer, I LOVED the literary name-dropping, it has really made me add a lot of great mystery authors to my reading list I otherwise might not have heard of.
In summary, I still will be a Carolyn Hart fan, although I felt I could have skipped this book.
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Title: Something Wicked by Carolyn G. Hart ISBN: 0553272225 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 May, 1988 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Death on Demand by Carolyn G. Hart ISBN: 055326351X Publisher: Crime Line Pub. Date: 01 January, 1987 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: A Little Class on Murder by Carolyn G. Hart ISBN: 0553282085 Publisher: Crime Line Pub. Date: 01 November, 1989 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Honeymoon With Murder by Carolyn G. Hart ISBN: 0553276085 Publisher: Crime Line Pub. Date: 01 December, 1988 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Deadly Valentine by Carolyn G. Hart ISBN: 0553288474 Publisher: Crime Line Pub. Date: 01 January, 1991 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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