Part of Death on Demand, book 15
First published 2005
Annie Darling runs the Death on Demand bookstore on Broward's Rock and has organized what should be a perfect murder mystery cruise. Participants dress as famous fictional detectives while sailing the coastal waters. The fun stops when a guest falls overboard during the festivities. Annie's husband Max dives in to save the victim, but the rescue fails and what began as entertainment becomes genuine tragedy. More deaths follow in quick succession. Annie grows convinced these aren't accidents or coincidences but carefully planned murders with hidden connections between the victims. She teams up with Max, her loyal friend and customer Henny Brawley, bestselling local author Emma Lloyd, and even her usually scatterbrained mother-in-law Laurel to investigate. The group doesn't realize they're hunting someone far more clever and ruthless than typical killers. Their investigation uncovers a web involving arson, assault, kidnapping, and robbery. Annie and her allies race against time as the danger escalates, knowing that one wrong move could destroy them all and leave them at the bottom of the ocean.
Genres: mystery, thriller, contemporary-romance, amateur-sleuth
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, found-family
Setting: Broward's Rock, Death on Demand Bookstore
336 pages · Mass Market Paperback · William Morrow Paperbacks