Broward's Rock, South Carolina, is again the setting for the latest adventure involving married sleuths Max and Annie Darling. Max has tried to stay out of island politics, but when Jean Hughes, director of the island's youth center, Haven, approaches him for help, he jumps in with both feet. Everyone knows Jean was brought to the island and given the job because of her relationship with board member Booth Wagner. Though thought of as Booth's bimbo by many, Jean gives the job her all, and is successful on many levels. She's certainly the most popular director Haven has seen in years. Unfortunately, Booth soon tires of Jean and decides to have her dismissed, leading Jean to seek Max's assistance in keeping her job.

Where Max leads, Annie soon follows, and the couple begins a campaign within the community for Jean to keep her job. Pressure is added when a Haven youth turns up dead, with no clues to the identity of the killer. When Booth is murdered the night he plans on handing Jean her walking papers, at a benefit attended by most of the community, and his teenaged stepson disappears, it seems like an open-and-shut case. But Max and Annie believe the two murders might be connected and set out to prove it, setting the real killer on their trail.

LAUGHED 'TIL HE DIED by Carolyn Hart is a cleverly crafted whodunit. Max and Annie are a likable pair of amateur detectives, devoted to one another and to their island community. Ms. Hart's writing style makes for an enjoyable read as she sets up the story by introducing her cast of characters before leading the reader into the story. This latest in the Death on Demand mystery series will delight both longtime fans and those new to the series.