Yankee Doodle Dead

I found myself with no new books to read yesterday --- sometimes happens, although not often because I like to keep some unread treasures on my shelves at all times.

Anyway, I don't mind at all rereading books, and I have whole collections by favourite authors that I often go back to. Yesterday I was in the mood for Carolyn Hart's Annie and Max Darling, so I picked up "Yankee Doodle Dead" and I'm enjoying it just as much as on the first reading. I can't remember "whodunnit", but even if I did I would still enjoy it.

The Annie and Max books are set on a fictitional island in the "low country" of South Carolina called Broward's Rock, where Annie owns a mystery bookstore called "Death On Demand". For such a small community, Broward's Rock sure has its share of murder and mayhem! This one takes place around the Fourth of July holiday --- hence the title --- and involves a whole new set of characters as well as regulars such as Miss Dora, the dowager from Chastain on the mainland, Max's mother Laurel, and Henny Brawley, Annie's favourite customer. Annie and Henny are both ardent mystery lovers, and are fond of firing quotations at each other to see if they can recognize them. I must admit, I am not in their class and don't know many of the authors, let alone the books and quotations.

As I said, I started the book yesterday and will probably finish it tonight, which is one of the joys of mystery stories. On the weekend I'll make sure I stock up on some new ones to start next week. I'll keep you posted.