Part of Death on Demand, book 7
First published 1992
Annie Laurance Darling organizes a weeklong tribute to Agatha Christie on Broward's Rock Island. The mystery bookstore owner plans treasure hunts, trivia contests, and Christie-themed entertainment for the celebration. Guests arrive ready for literary fun, but Annie senses trouble brewing. Neil Bledsoe crashes the party uninvited. The notorious book critic despises cozy mysteries and champions violent crime fiction instead. Bledsoe announces his plan to write an exposé about Christie herself, shocking the devoted fans. Someone tries to kill Bledsoe twice before the festivities truly begin. Annie and her husband Max work to prevent the murder they see coming. Their efforts fail when a body turns up, though not the victim they expected. More deaths follow as the Christie celebration becomes a real mystery. Annie must solve the case while the killer strikes again among her guests.
Genres: mystery, mystery-thriller, agatha-christie, cozy-mystery
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-detective, murder-investigation
Setting: Broward's Rock Island
Period: 20th-century
370 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Bantam Crime Line