Rating: 
Summary: Fairly Tricky
Review: It's nice to see Annie have some relatives of her own to contend with, though I would hardly expect Ms. Hart to top Max's mother, Laurel. The descriptions of the excesses of the crime scene mansion are a hoot. (My favorite is the dragon.) There's some good, old-fashioned examples of the follies of youth hitting one hard in later life. Although some of our usual cast are relegated to mere cameo appearances, at least they haven't been forgotten. The dominant emotion Annie and Max have to worry about facing is that well-known member of the seven deadly sins, GREED. Greed proves quite deadly, too. What an appropriate choice for a murder set in today's Christmas season. Don't miss the spiritualist's rationalization about his career -- it's a quite interesting, though not exactly convincing, whitewash job. Cat lovers will no doubt enjoy the antics of Agatha and Dorothy L. and cat haters will find more reason to confirm their sad choice to remain catless. Clues and red herrings are sprinkled throughout like nuts in fudge. I'm a bit ticked that the author successfully conned me into thinking that my first choice for the killer was wrong. However, I feel no shame in getting only the last of the contest pictures on target because I hadn't read three of the others. (Number three I recognized as belonging to the series for whom my own feline menace is named, but not which one.) Consider this a Christmas treat that you may enjoy without calories (unless you like to nibble while you read) and sink your teeth in. The dustjacket isn't ugly and Agatha clawing the "G" in "Sugarplum" keeps it from being too dull. However, with that delightfully overblown mansion and some intriguing visual opportunities, such as the Murder in the Maze, it's a shame that the designer and illustrators chose not to take advantage of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Sugarplum Dead
Review: It's the Christmas season, and Annie Darling should be knee deep in getting her store, Death On Demand, ready for the store's annual Christmas party, and for all those lovely Christmas shoppers. Instead of which she find's herself caught up in a murder investigation that involves her estranged father (whom she's sworn never to speak to again) and his stepdaughter. And to top all that, her mother-in-law seems to have finally turned the corner into full flown dementia and is now hanging out at graveyards, talking to dead husbands! It certainly doesn't feel like Christmas. Perhaps Halloween has come around again to Broward's Rock?It all starts off when ex-movie queen, Marguerite Dumaney Ladson, decides to invite all her remaining family over for a Christmas celebration. She then plans to inform them that she is donating all her money to Dr. Emory Swanson for psychic research. Marguerite's sister, Happy, is not too pleased about this. And has come up with a plan to stop her sister. However Happy also has a problem of her own: her daughter, Rachel, is dating a young man Happy is not too keen on. So Happy invites her ex-husband, Pudge Laurance, over to help her make Rachel see sense. And that's how Annie gets involved in the goings-on at the Ladosn mansion. At first, Annie is reluctant to have anything to do with the father who deserted her mother and her. But she allows herself to be persuaded to give Pudge another chance. And in the process, Annie becomes quite close with Rachel. Things are not quite working out to Happy's satisfaction. Neither Pudge nor Annie support her in her effort to keep Rachel and her young man apart. Also the atmosphere at the mansion is poisonous with everyone up at arms over Marguerite's decision to give all her money to Dr. Swanson. However everyone is shocked when Happy of all people is found murdered. The police close in on Pudge as the most likely suspect; but the evidence seems to point to Rachel. Annie is sure that neither of them committed the murder. However it is not until another murder is committed that Annie begins to understand what going on at the Ladson mansion, and why someone would committ murder in order to keep things as they are. This is a nice cosy murder -- not quite as engrossing as the first few Annie Darling mysteries which were, in my opinion, absolutely brilliant. With this novel, I felt that a couple of the side plots got in the way at times; and I'd have liked it better if a couple of characters -- the Ladson siblings in particular -- were developed a bit more. Other than that, I enjoyed reading this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Light, enjoyable mystery
Review: Just when you thought mysteries were becoming dark novels filled with anti-heros comes a book like SUGARPLUM DEAD. Annie Darling discovers a long-lost father and step-sister just as her mother-in-law has wigged out on trying to contact the dead. Annie, along with her husband Max, has got to find a way to bring things together. Max faces the added challenge of getting Annie to even talk to her father (after all, he did abandon her years before). Annie's new family includes a famous ex-movie star who is also talking to the dead and threatening to give away the family fortune to a spiritual medium. If looks could kill, Marguueritte Dumaney would lie dead and before long, murder strikes. Both Annie's father and sister are suspects and Annie has to spring into action to solve the crime and protect her new family. Although the mystery itself is not especially complex or difficult to guess, Carolyn Hart has created a finely crafted story. Max, Annie, and Laurel (Max's mother) are fully developed characters that you'll end up rooting for. Definitely an enjoyable read...
Rating:
Summary: A darling mystery
Review: Margaret Ladson looks forward to the upcoming Christmas holidays inviting all her relatives to spend the Yuletide with her at her mansion on a South Carolina barrier island. On Broward's Rock, Margaret lives with her assistant who was once her double when the former was a movie star, her sister Happy, and her teenage niece Rachel as well as assorted other step-relatives and servants. All the Ladson extended family members are coming to Broward's Rock in hope of finagling some cash out of Margaret. During her birthday party, Margaret announces that she will leave her fortune to con artist Emory Swanson of the Evermore Foundation for enabling her to talk with her deceased husband. This angers and shocks her relatives. The next day, someone murders Happy with the evidence pointing towards Pudge Lawrance. He is Annie Darling's estranged father who left his daughter and wife years ago. Annie and her spouse Max begin sleuthing, as they believe Pudge and the alternate suspect Rachel are innocent. A DEATH ON DEMAND mystery is always a treat because the plots tend to show the forgiving side of humanity as well as the deadlier perspective. This time the heroine and her father reconcile enabling Annie to find some inner peace. Annie also embraces her stepsister for the first time. However, do not think this is a relationship drama only. The entertaining who-done-it is loaded with suspects on an exotic locale as the amateur detective duo searches for the truth. With a well designed mystery augmented by a family drama and a great teen character, SUGAR PLUM DEAD highlights Carolyn Hart at her delightful best. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A pleasing Christmas tale
Review: Sugarplum Dead is one of the best books in the Death on Demand Series. In this edition, Annie Laurence is reunited with her long-lost father, and discovers her step-sister Rachel. Rachel is living with her mother at the home of her aunt, Marguerite Dumaney, a former movie star. Annie's father, Pudge, is visiting for the holidays. When Pudge's ex-wife is found dead, he and Rachel are the chief suspects. A complicating factor is that Marguerite is in the clutches of an unscrupulous man who is stealing her fortune under the guise of enabling her to communicate with her dead husband. Her immediate heirs are all present for the Christmas season, and all of them want to inherit her money. This is a well-crafted and ingenious mystery which has the added charm of acquainting readers with Annie's long-lost family.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasing Christmas tale
Review: Sugarplum Dead is one of the best books in the Death on Demand Series. In this edition, Annie Laurence is reunited with her long-lost father, and discovers her step-sister Rachel. Rachel is living with her mother at the home of her aunt, Marguerite Dumaney, a former movie star. Annie's father, Pudge, is visiting for the holidays. When Pudge's ex-wife is found dead, he and Rachel are the chief suspects. A complicating factor is that Marguerite is in the clutches of an unscrupulous man who is stealing her fortune under the guise of enabling her to communicate with her dead husband. Her immediate heirs are all present for the Christmas season, and all of them want to inherit her money. This is a well-crafted and ingenious mystery which has the added charm of acquainting readers with Annie's long-lost family.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Holiday Novel
Review: Though unfamiliar with the author's work, I must admit this is a very enjoyable novel. When a friend suggested it, I thought "Oh, why not?" and am very glad I did. The plot follows Annie Darling, who owns a mystery novel shop (Death on Demand) and her husband Max. When Annie's father finally shows after deserting Annie and her mother so many years ago.. the plot thickens. Annie is thrown in the middle of a (somewhat corny, and only slightly suspenseful) mystery with bland clues and very few plot twists. I was a bit surprised by the ending, but looking back, I really wasn't paying much attention. I was trying to be a "filter" and not a "sponge" and in this case, it was a bad decision. Well worth reading, but more a work of fiction than a murder mystery novel.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Holiday Novel
Review: Though unfamiliar with the author's work, I must admit this is a very enjoyable novel. When a friend suggested it, I thought "Oh, why not?" and am very glad I did. The plot follows Annie Darling, who owns a mystery novel shop (Death on Demand) and her husband Max. When Annie's father finally shows after deserting Annie and her mother so many years ago.. the plot thickens. Annie is thrown in the middle of a (somewhat corny, and only slightly suspenseful) mystery with bland clues and very few plot twists. I was a bit surprised by the ending, but looking back, I really wasn't paying much attention. I was trying to be a "filter" and not a "sponge" and in this case, it was a bad decision. Well worth reading, but more a work of fiction than a murder mystery novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Definetely not her best
Review: Well, this book was a bit of a disappointment. The mystery was good, but Annie was a bit of a wimp. Let's see. Your father dumps you for over twenty years. Your mother takes care of you alone. Then, after you are an adult, dear old dad comes back, you accept his ridiculous excuse that he didn't know where you were all those years. Excuse me? Her uncle lived on that island for all those years! Dear old dad had relatives there! It never once occured to him, while he was desperately searching for his "lost child", to go to the island to look for her? Heck, Annie lived there for several years? What was dear old dad doing all this time? Nothing. Like so many deadbeat dads, he dumped his family, then came back after the hard work was done, expecting love and acceptance. If a mother dumps her child, she is a villain and a monster. A father does the same, and is promptly welcomed back into the family. Sorry. It is wrong, and distracting. This kind of series is supposed to have the good guys win.
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