Carolyn Hart

Carolyn Hart is an American mystery writer whose Death on Demand series, set in a mystery-bookshop on the fictional Broward's Rock, South Carolina, helped establish the modern cozy mystery's fondness for bookshop and small-business settings as a backdrop for amateur sleuthing. Beginning with Death on Demand in 1987, the series follows bookshop owner Annie Laurance (later Darling) and her husband Max as they investigate murders on their small island community, with each title dropping references to classic mystery writers and titles for genre-savvy readers to spot.

Hart worked as a journalist and later taught journalism at the University of Oklahoma before turning to fiction full time, and her decades of prolific output span several series beyond Death on Demand, including the ghost-detective Bailey Ruth Raeburn books and the Henrie O series featuring a retired investigative reporter. She has won multiple Agatha Awards and is a founding member of Sisters in Crime, the organization supporting women crime writers.

A new reader should start with Death on Demand, which sets up Annie's shop, the island setting, and the mystery-trivia game that runs through the series. There is no film or TV adaptation; the appeal is purely on the page, sustained by Hart's steady pace of new entries across nearly four decades.