Saturday, June 09, 2007
Yankee Doodle Dead by Carolyn Hart
Thursday, April 26, 2007 "Y" Title If you love light-hearted mysteries, put this "Death on Demand" novel on your list. Annie and Max Darling are one of the cutest couples residing in mystery land. Annie is a hard-working serious owner of a mystery book store with the delightful name of "Death on Demand." They live on the island of Broward Rock off the coast of South Carolina so there are a lot of great southern references. You'd think a small island would be a safe place to live, but people get murdered here regularly. (This is the 10th book in the series.) Usually the victim deserves what he/she gets, certainly in this book; and it's fun to try and guess who the did the dastardly deed. (I was right on this time.) Each book I've read contains a description of the contest Annie holds at her store by displaying pictures local artists have painted depicting scenes from 3 different mysteries. The one who guesses them correctly wins a free book. I have not yet been able to guess one single mystery based on the description of these pictures. And Hart is constantly dropping the names of mysteries by way of Annie's merchandise, or a heroine she is trying to emulate while solving various murders about the island. I've read some fun mysteries that I read about in these books. Here's some enticing titles included in "Yankee Doodle": "AToast to Tomorrow" by Manning Coles, "In the Teeth of Evidence" by Dorothy L Sayers, (One of Annie's cats is named Dorothy L. The other is Agatha) "The Trouble with a Small Raise" by Camilla Crespi, and "Fat-Free and Fatal" by Jacqueline Girdner. This particular story revolves around the power struggle involved with the library board's plans for the 4th of July celebration. Let's just say the fireworks aren't only confined to the night sky. Annie and Max race around the island searching for clues and asking really nosy questions and finally solve the case. Like all the books in this series, Hart includes quirky characters, fun dialogue, and a quick pace. This book won't make you think very hard but it is a fun place to escape. I wanted to share a couple of quotes about mysteries: "Annie knew the fury wasn't directed at her. Nonetheless, she thought plaintively, this wasn't what summer was all about. But, as she took a deep breath and practiced saying no in her mind, this is what mysteries were all about--anger, power and fractured relationships. Annie wanted to contain misery between the bright covers of books where everything came out right in the end." "Annie had plunged into many different lifestyles in the thousands of mysteries she'd read, from Dorothy L. Sayers's England to the World Wars to Robert Van Gulick's exploration of seventh-century China, from Steven Saylor's ancient Rome to Sparkle Hayter's zestfully up-to-date Big Apple, from Alistair MacLean's World War II adventures to Tony Hillerman's Navajo and Zuni reservations, but not a one had give her a pointer on the mores of being an officer's wife. Rating: 4 Posted by Framed at 6:51 PM 2 comments: booklogged said... Sounds good, but I have recently mooched 20 or so mysteries, so I better hold off on this series for awhile. I hope to get back to mysteries sooner than later! 12:01 AM Cassie said... wow, you are moving right along. I'll pass this one up as well as you know my feelings on mysteries. |
# posted by Framed @ 5:57 PM 
