Death on Demand Books in Order (Carolyn Hart)

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If you have ever wished you could step inside a mystery bookstore and never leave, Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand series was written for you. Annie Laurance runs the Death on Demand bookshop on Broward’s Rock, a small resort island off the South Carolina coast, and she seems to stumble over a body every time the island throws a party. Luckily, she has Max Darling at her side, along with a shop cat named Agatha and a crowd of book-loving friends.

The series began in 1987 and ran to 26 novels, ending with Walking on My Grave in 2017. It is also one of the most bookish cozy series ever written: almost every chapter name-drops a classic mystery author or title. Below you will find every book in order with a short, spoiler-free note on each, plus where to start and what to read next.

Death on Demand Books in Order

1. Death on Demand (1987). Annie’s regular Sunday-night gathering of mystery writers turns deadly when one guest promises to spill everyone’s secrets. A clever opener that introduces the shop, the island and Max.
2. Design for Murder (1988). Annie is invited to stage a pretend murder for a historic preservation house tour in nearby Chastain, and then a real one leaves her as the top suspect. Lovely Lowcountry atmosphere with old Southern homes.
3. Something Wicked (1988). A community-theater production of Arsenic and Old Lace goes badly wrong, and Annie has to clear her fiancé Max. This one won the Agatha Award for Best Novel, a good sign the series hit its stride early.
4. Honeymoon with Murder (1988). Annie and Max finally tie the knot, but the celebration is cut short when Annie’s shop assistant goes missing. Winner of the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original.
5. A Little Class on Murder (1989). Annie teaches a college course on the great women of the mystery, from Christie to Sayers, and trouble follows her onto campus. Winner of the Macavity Award, and a treat for readers who love Golden Age crime.
6. Deadly Valentine (1990). A glamorous Valentine’s ball on a wealthy estate ends with a guest dead in the gardens, and Max’s free-spirited mother, Laurel, lands on the suspect list. Laurel steals every scene she is in.
7. The Christie Caper (1991). Annie throws a week-long celebration for Agatha Christie’s centennial, complete with trivia and treasure hunts. A real murder crashes the party. Pure joy for Christie fans.
8. Southern Ghost (1992). Annie and Max head inland to look into a disappearance that ties back to an old family and a decades-old killing. A moodier, more gothic entry with plenty of Southern secrets.
9. Mint Julep Murder (1995). At a Southern book festival, a pushy publisher touting a gossipy tell-all does not make it to the end of the weekend. Fun for anyone who has been to a book event and watched the egos collide.
10. Yankee Doodle Dead (1998). The island’s Fourth of July festivities end with a sour retired officer dead and a young man arrested who Annie is sure is innocent. A perfect summer-holiday read.
11. White Elephant Dead (1999). Someone has been quietly blackmailing respectable islanders, and when the blackmailer turns up dead, the list of suspects is long. Great small-town secrets.
12. Sugarplum Dead (2000). Christmas on Broward’s Rock brings Annie’s long-absent father, some surprise relatives and, of course, a murder. Winner of the Oklahoma Book Award for Fiction and a fine holiday pick.
13. April Fool Dead (2002). Fake flyers copying a Death on Demand store promotion start circulating around town, and the prank soon stops being funny. A neat setup that puts the shop itself at the center.
14. Engaged to Die (2003). A wealthy island widow announces her engagement to a charming newcomer, and the island’s gossips are proved right to worry. A classic money-and-motive puzzle.
15. Murder Walks the Plank (2004). Annie hosts a murder-mystery cruise, and one of the guests ends up overboard for real. Everyone calls it an accident; Annie does not buy it.
16. Death of the Party (2005). Annie and Max are invited to a remote private island to work out what really happened at a fatal party one year earlier. A clear nod to Christie’s isolated-house mysteries.
17. Dead Days of Summer (2006). This time it is Max who goes missing, and his car is linked to a murder. Annie’s search for him makes this one of the most personal books in the series.
18. Death Walked In (2008). A frightened caller says she hid something valuable in the old house Annie and Max are restoring, and then she is found dead. Old houses, hidden treasure and a puzzle worth savoring.
19. Dare to Die (2009). A woman with a troubled past returns to the island, and Annie’s kindness in inviting her to a party has dangerous consequences.
20. Laughed ’til He Died (2010). Annie and Max juggle several tangled puzzles at once, including a missing teenager the island is worried about. A busy, twisty entry.
21. Dead by Midnight (2011). A death on Broward’s Rock is ruled a suicide, but Annie and Max are not convinced. A thoughtful story about what people hide from those closest to them.
22. Death Comes Silently (2012). A fellow volunteer leaves Annie urgent messages about some juicy news, and Annie arrives too late to hear it. Annie’s charity work gets her pulled into a real puzzle.
23. Dead, White, and Blue (2013). During the island’s Fourth of July fireworks, a local woman disappears into the pines, and she is not the last. A good pair with Yankee Doodle Dead.
24. Death at the Door (2014). A doctor’s sister asks Annie to prove his death was not what it seems. Henny and Laurel both pitch in, and the shop’s famous paintings contest makes an appearance.
25. Don’t Go Home (2015). A hometown author returns to the island promising a novel that will expose the real people behind his characters. Many readers expected this to be the last book, but Hart came back for one more.
26. Walking on My Grave (2017). Annie’s wealthy friend stands to inherit a fortune that would help several islanders, and after a suspicious accident she vanishes. The most recent book in the series.

A note on dates: we list the year each book was first published, checked against FantasticFiction, FictionDB and Goodreads, with the order confirmed on the author’s own book list. A couple of sources give 1989 for Design for Murder or 2001 for April Fool Dead; most list 1988 and 2002, which we use here. The order is the same everywhere.

Meet Annie, Max and the Regulars

Annie Laurance (later Annie Darling) inherited the Death on Demand bookstore and treats it like the love of her life, right after Max. She is practical, a little stubborn and very good at noticing what people leave out. Max Darling is handsome, wealthy and happily unbothered by work, which leaves him plenty of time to help Annie investigate.

The supporting cast is a big part of the fun. Laurel, Max’s dreamy and unpredictable mother, pops up with surprising insights. Henny Brawley, Annie’s best customer, has read just about every mystery ever printed and is not shy about saying so. Island police chief Billy Cameron is a steady presence in the later books. And then there is Agatha, the sleek black shop cat named for Agatha Christie, who runs the store as far as she is concerned.

Fans also love the store’s monthly paintings contest. Five paintings by a local artist hang in the shop, each showing a scene from a famous mystery, and the first customer to name every title and author wins free books and coffee. It is a sweet, very bookish detail, and you will find yourself playing along.

Do You Need to Read Them in Order?

Each book has its own case that is solved by the last chapter, so any single title works on its own. But Annie and Max’s relationship moves from courtship to marriage in the first four books, and the island’s regulars grow over time. If you want the full experience, start at the beginning. If you only want a taste, any book from the late 1990s onward is an easy jumping-in point.

Where Should I Start?

Death on Demand (1987) is the natural first stop. It sets up the shop, the island and Max, and it shows off the series’ love of classic mysteries. If you are a Christie devotee, you can also skip ahead to The Christie Caper (book 7). For seasonal reading, save Sugarplum Dead for December and Yankee Doodle Dead or Dead, White, and Blue for the Fourth of July.

If You Like the Death on Demand Mysteries

Carolyn Hart also wrote the lighthearted Bailey Ruth ghost mysteries and the Henrie O series about a retired reporter. For more bookshop and library sleuths, see our cozy mysteries set in bookshops and libraries, the Library Lover’s Mysteries in order and the Cat in the Stacks books in order. If Annie’s love of Golden Age crime is what hooks you, try the Agatha Raisin books in order or the Murder, She Wrote books in order.

FAQ

How many Death on Demand books are there?
There are 26 novels, from Death on Demand (1987) to Walking on My Grave (2017).

Is there a new Death on Demand book coming?
Not that we know of. Walking on My Grave (2017) is the most recent title, and no new book has been announced as of October 2026. We will update this page if that changes.

Where is the Death on Demand series set?
On Broward’s Rock, a fictional resort island off the coast of South Carolina, with some books visiting nearby mainland towns.

When do Annie and Max get married?
In book 4, Honeymoon with Murder (1988). They are engaged in book 3, Something Wicked.

Have you ever tried to solve one of Annie’s paintings contests? Follow The Teacup Sleuth on Facebook for new series guides, reading lists and cozy mystery chat, and tell us which Death on Demand book is your favorite!

Sources

For reading order and publication years on this page our source of record is Penguin Random House’s Death on Demand series page. We checked the newest entries on this page against it on 27 October 2026. Books that are announced but have no confirmed release date are marked as such rather than given a year. We also cross-check Carolyn Hart’s own Death on Demand page. If anything here is out of date, tell us in the comments and we will fix it.

Keep reading: cozy mysteries set in bookshops and libraries · Booktown Mysteries in order · every cozy series in order (full index)