Laughed 'Til He Died

A Death on Demand Mystery

By: Carolyn Hart

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Intrigue and foul play are no strangers to the idyllic South Carolina sea island of Broward's Rock. Mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling and her husband, Max, who specialize in solving problems, plunge into a startling web of danger and deceit when a trio of deaths is linked to the island's youth recreation center.

With the evidence mounting against her, the center's director seeks out Max to clear her name. When it comes to intrigue, where Max goes, Annie isn't far behind. To save an innocent woman, the pair scrambles to unravel three complex interlinked puzzles: the mystery of three guns, the pulled-out pant pockets of one victim, and the disappearance of a teenager whose stepfather always had the last laugh - until he died.

©2011 Carolyn Hart (P)2011 Random House

little weak

didn't seem suspenseful. . felt like the story was rushed like she was hurrying to make a deadline instead of when the book was ready.

but it was worth reading and since it is part of series I am not sad I got it.

OK But Not Quite

Some of the dialogue just drags along at a very very slow pace. Because it dragged a bit in several spots I did have to go back to see what I missed. It took almost three days to listen to it enough to understand the story..

Improving all the more on the previous books

Jean Hughes, the director of The Haven, a place for youth to spend their afternoons and summers in a safe place with lots of fun activities, seeks out Max Darling’s help to keep her job in Laughed ‘Til He Died by Carolyn Hart. Max learns that she was hired when Booth Wagner, the richest member of The Haven’s board, joined the board and decided to annoy a fellow member with an unqualified director by faking Jean’s resume. But now the joke has worn thin, and he wants to get rid of Jean. Won over by the woman’s love for the children and teens of The Haven, Max decides to help Jean by convincing the other members of the board to support her.

But then a teenage boy falls to his death in a wooden platform built to enjoy the view in the woods, a location Click would never have visited, leaving Max with his suspicions, though the police have no evidence of foul play.

Now Max puts all his efforts into getting the board to renew Jean’s contract, and just as he is ready to announce success, Wagner gloatingly declares that Jean has submitted her resignation, a result of coercion by Wagner. Thus when at The Haven’s talent show, the lights unexpectedly go out and a shot rings out, striking Wagner dead instantly, the police chief considers Jean to be his first subject. But Max still supports Jean and fights hard all the way to prove her innocence.

This book is read by Kate Reading, who has read all 20 books thus far in the series, to the point that she really embodies the characters, and I cannot imagine anyone else being able to narrate this series as well as Reading does.

Laughed ‘Til He Died continues the Death on Demand series effectively. Many times by the 20th book, a series loses momentum as the author uses up her or his key ideas. However, Carolyn Hart seems to pick up momentum instead of lose it. She made a shift from cuter material to more serious material in book 17 when Max is framed for murder, and the shift has gone well. I enjoyed this book greatly and give it five stars.

Good, but some of it was a bit much.

The story is good, but I feel like this book makes Billy Cameron look like an absolute idiot. I don’t really like that. I don’t think he’s stupid but this book makes him look stupid. Also, the word dour is pronounced like sour not poor.

WORST Narrator EVER

I want to preface this review by saying that I've NEVER written a negative review for any book I've ordered from Audible over the years. I've enjoyed most of them throughly.

Frankly, I don't know exactly how this book ends...I don't even know what happens in the middle...The narrator is so horrible that you almost cannot believe the annoyance you'll feel at the vocal pacing, the world's worst southern accents, and the absolutely freakish way she pronounces some of these words. NO ONE talks like this, and you'll not get through the first chapter before you'll hear exactly what I'm talking about. I found myself shouting at her--and so disconnected from the story that I couldn't ditch this book fast enough. I felt foolish for having such strong feelings about a book (and a person I've never met)...but the reality is, you're looking to spend about $20, and 8 hours of your life with this person, supposedly entertaining yourself--if the narrator is so bad that you become angry, you should RUN AWAY-- what a waste of money and time.