Death of the Party (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 16)

The murder of an unloved media magnate maroons the crime-solving Darlings on a remote island with a killer in the latest Death on Demand delight from the incomparable Carolyn Hart.

Annie Darling is thrilled at the golden opportunity to visit Golden Silk, the luxurious private island estate of wealthy Jeremiah Addison. She leaves her Death on Demand bookstore in the capable hands of her employees and sets sail from Broward's Rock with her hubby, Max. Unfortunately, Addison himself won't be there to greet them, since he is, at present, quite dead. After tampering with evidence that suggests the widely despised curmudgeon's death was no accident, Addison's sister-in-law, Britt Barlow, is inviting back everyone who was in attendance during the victim's last weekend -- as well as locally known sleuth Max Darling, whom Britt has hired to uncover the killer. And, of course, Annie wouldn't miss this party for the world!

There is certainly no lack of suspects among the guests gathered on Golden Silk. Each had a substantial motive for wanting to do in their late host -- from disinherited sons to the cuckolded husband of an adulterous politician to a jilted girlfriend who dreamed of being the next Mrs. A. to a scandal-mongering TV investigative reporter with a talent for character assassination and, quite possibly, blackmail.

But the party is well and truly pooped when a mysterious houseman vanishes, along with the boats that are the only escape off Addison's island. Suddenly Annie and Max -- who are getting too close to a solution for comfort -- are up a creek without a canoe, stuck on a rock in the middle of nowhere, and stalked by a crafty murderer who hides fiendish bloodlust behind an innocent smile.