Southern Ghost

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat bizarre
Review: It gets a little annoying when mysteries become politically correct and are used to make societal statements. If you are politically correct, try this and some of Nancy Pickard's books. They have the same effect.

Rating:
Summary: Skeletons in the family closet
Review: Max Darling receives a panicky phone call from his client, Courtney Kimball. She urges him to meet with her immediately but when he arrives at the agreed-upon place, she does not show up. When they do some investigating Max and his wife Annie find that Courtney has just discovered that she is part of the wealthy and powerful Tarrant family. She wants Max to find out who murdered her father and grandfather in 1970. Max and Annie figure that it has to be either a family member or one of the servants, since they were the only ones with motive and opportunity. They travel to the family home and interview each of the suspects, finding that each person has a motive for the murders. Max and Annie discover many secrets in the Tarrant family and that wealth and prominence do not make them immune from tragedy, greed, and deceit. This is a page-turner that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Rating:
Summary: Skeletons in the family closet
Review: Max Darling receives a panicky phone call from his client, Courtney Kimball. She urges him to meet with her immediately but when he arrives at the agreed-upon place, she does not show up. When they do some investigating Max and his wife Annie find that Courtney has just discovered that she is part of the wealthy and powerful Tarrant family. She wants Max to find out who murdered her father and grandfather in 1970. Max and Annie figure that it has to be either a family member or one of the servants, since they were the only ones with motive and opportunity. They travel to the family home and interview each of the suspects, finding that each person has a motive for the murders. Max and Annie discover many secrets in the Tarrant family and that wealth and prominence do not make them immune from tragedy, greed, and deceit. This is a page-turner that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Rating:
Summary: Quite Enjoyable Quandry
Review: Southern Ghost was one of the stronger books in the Death on Demand Series. It seems the characters and the stories get stronger as the series progresses. This story includes a large number of local ghost stories that add a real flavor for the past to the mystery at hand. The story has Hart's usual references to a multitude of mystery authors and books, as well as some of the more colorful characters from past books in this series. Including characters like Miss Dora and Sybil added zip to what was already a well planned mystery and gave readers a deeper sense of the area that the books are set in.

Rating:
Summary: Uninteresting and weak
Review: The style did not appeal to me the way she injected useless information and in doind so breaking dialouge into segments. This weakened the dialouge and the flow of the book. The ending seemed unimaginative after the creative beginning. I had high expectations for this book but the book fell far short.

Rating:
Summary: An engrossing tale of how death continues to affect a family
Review: The style Ms. Hart chose for this mystery kept me on the edge of my seat. It wasn't as funny as her previous tales, but certainly suspenseful. I loved her method of travelling back in time to give tidbits of information that would puzzle and then illuminate. As always, her setting is intricately woven into her story and you can feel and smell South Carolina before you are done. One of her best in this series.