Review of APRIL FOOL DEAD by Carolyn Hart (see her website)
A DEATH ON DEMAND MYSTERY
William Morrow, 2002
Annie Darling has a perfect promotion for the upcoming book signing in her store. It's a mystery game where the players identify the author and title of the mystery based on the clues Annie gives. The game takes a nasty turn when someone distributes imitation fliers with a different game--a game identifying very real and local 'crimes.' Author Emma Clyde is horrified and Annie knows she has to find the person behind the prank before Emma withdraws from the book signing. Except it doesn't take long for the 'prank' to turn into something more serious--murder.
Author Carolyn Hart (see BooksForABuck.com reviews of more novels by this author) delivers an engaging romp of a mystery. Annie and her charming, if somewhat worthless and helplessly rich, husband search for clues, try to deal with teen-aged angst of Annie's adopted sister, and investigate whether any of the so-called crimes in the fake flier actually match facts. Hart's descriptions of her town and characters are charming as is the relationship between the primary characters.
Three Stars
Purchase APRIL FOOL DEAD from Amazon.com (hardback).