Boston began to clap. “Let’s give a cheer for our hostess, the bookseller with the mostest.”
“Annie, Annie, Annie…” came the chant.
Startled, Annie turned.
“That’s right. Bring her down here.” His big face glowing, Boston stamped a foot. “No false modesty permitted. She’s the lady who can tell everyone about my watercolors. You’ve heard about the fastest gun in the west? Well, Annie Darling’s the quickest mouth in the mystery world.”
Annie stopped, her face—as they used to say in Louisa May Alcott thrillers—a study. Surely Boston wasn’t going to ask her to identify the paintings….
“Hey there, young man,” Boston shouted at Bob,
“you’re big enough to escort Annie. You and your girl—oh, yes, the pretty redhead. Folks, I met this young lady when I brought my watercolors to the store, and she’s a delight. Any young man who has her in tow is a dandy fellow. That’s right, you two, bring Annie right up here.”
Laughing, Bob and Chloe each took an elbow and began to propel Annie up the central aisle.
“Annie, Annie, Annie…”
In an instant, Annie stood beside Boston and he was pointing at the watercolors, his face glistening with excitement. He was cheerfully and unashamedly as puffed up with pride and expectation as a papa hawk awaiting the flight of his offspring. “All right, Annie, tell the folks about my selections. These mysteries are as important as any that have ever been written. You know them.”
Annie stared at the watercolors. She knew these books. Of course she did. At least the first and the second and—
Chloe’s eyes widened. She exclaimed, “Boston, wait! That’s not fair. Annie knows the books, but she always lets a customer identify the paintings. And I know Bob can do it.” Proudly, she looked up and up and up at her fiancé.
Bob Winslow awkwardly cracked the knuckles of one hand, glanced quickly at each painting in turn. He looked diffidently at Annie. “Are you sure I’m not butting in?”
“Oh, Bob, be my guest.” Annie’s hands clenched. Did he know them? Would he save her from public humiliation? Even now, she could see Henny leaning forward, her gaze questioning.
“Oh, well.” Bob grinned. “Sure. They are”—and he pointed them out—“A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon, Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett, and The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene.”
Boston’s loud voice announced, “Milestones in the mystery genre and in order of their publication, as any fool would know…”
Annie flung herself at Bob, hugged him, pulled Chloe into their circle, and a cheer rose on the night air.
About the Author
An accomplished master of mystery, CAROLYN HART is the author of thirteen previous Death on Demand novels and has won multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Awards. Sugarplum Dead, a previous excursion to Broward’s Rock, won the 2000 Oklahoma Book Award for Fiction. She is also the creator of the highly praised mystery series featuring retired journalist-turned-sleuth Henrietta “Henrie O” O’Dwyer Collins. Ms. Hart lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is one of the founders of Sisters in Crime. Her web address is ww.carolynhart.com.
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Enthusiastic praise for
CAROLYN HART
and
Engaged to Die
“The reigning monarch of the amateur sleuth mystery.”
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Orlando Sentinel
“One of the most attractive pairs of sleuths since Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles.”
Chicago Sun-Times
“Superior cozy fare…Those who appreciate crime fiction in the Agatha Christie Mousetrap mold will also go for this superb whodunit.”
Publishers Weekly
And more raves for
“Carolyn Hart embodies the spirit of Agatha Christie more than any other contemporary writer.”
Dean James
“Hart is an expert at seamless storytelling.”
Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
“Hart’s laurels need no burnishing.”
Washington Times
“I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for Carolyn Hart’s Annie and Max series.”
Robert Crais
“The Darling duo is as winning as ever.”
Baltimore Sun
CAROLYN HART
“The doyenne of American cozies.”
Margaret Maron
“Hart has always been a fine writer, but her work gets better with each novel.”
Oklahoma City Oklahoman
“The joy in Hart’s novels derives from revisiting recurring characters from previous Annie and Max novels—especially Annie’s rambunctious mother-in-law, Laurel, and her two cats, Agatha and Dorothy L.”
San Diego Union-Tribune
“It’s always a delight to find a new book by Carolyn Hart.”
Chattanooga Times
Carolyn Hart
Death on Demand
DEATH ON DEMAND • DESIGN FOR MURDER
SOMETHING WICKED • HONEYMOON WITH MURDER
A LITTLE CLASS ON MURDER • DEADLY VALENTINE
THE CHRISTIE CAPER • SOUTHERN GHOST
MINT JULEP MURDER • YANKEE DOODLE DEAD
WHITE ELEPHANT DEAD • SUGARPLUM DEAD
APRIL FOOL DEAD
Coming Soon in Hardcover
MURDER WALKS THE PLANK
Henrie O
DEAD MAN’S ISLAND • SCANDAL IN FAIR HAVEN
DEATH IN LOVERS’ LANE • DEATH IN PARADISE
DEATH ON THE RIVER WALK • RESORT TO MURDER
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ENGAGED TO DIE. Copyright © 2003 by Carolyn Hart. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © FEBRUARY 2007 ISBN: 9780061868665
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