Death on demand Design for murder

Summary: In Death on demand, Annie Darling is thrilled at the opportunity to visit Golden Silk, the luxurious private island estate of wealthy Jeremiah Addison. She leaves her bookstore in the hands of her employees and sets sail from Broward's Rock with her husband, 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 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. In Design for murder, Annie is asked to stage a murder for the annual spring house tour sponsored by the Historical Society of Chastain, South Carolina. Her only problem is deciding which fictional murder to stage -- until a corpse turns up in the town pond -- and Annie is singled out as the murderer. Annie had hoped to clear her name with Max's help -- until her chief witness is also murdered. Design for murder is the second Annie Laurance/Max Darling mystery.