She came in the rain. Alone. On a bicycle.

After more than a decade Iris Tilford is back in Broward's Rock—and her return has nasty and unexpected repercussions that are rocking Annie and Max Darling's sea island hometown. Years ago Iris disappeared after a fatal high school tragedy. Now that she's home again, Annie's extending the hand of friendship by inviting the sad, beautiful, and mysterious stranger to the Darlings' party at the pavilion.

But Death, as it turns out, is an uninvited guest at their gala. Suddenly Max and Annie are in the middle of a devastating storm of rage, secrets, and murder that they don't understand. All they do know is that now someone is trying to kill them—and it's someone they call their friend.

From Publishers Weekly

In Agatha-winner Hart's winning 19th Death on Demand mystery set in Broward's Rock, S.C. (after 2008's Death Walked In), Annie Darling and her PI husband, Max, invite Iris Tilford, a troubled young woman who used to live in the island community and has recently returned, to a party they're giving at the Broward's Rock pavilion. The party ends in tragedy with Annie and Max's discovery of Iris's strangled body on a path in the surrounding pine woods. Annie promises police chief Billy Cameron she won't meddle in the investigation, but when the killer targets her and Max, she breaks her vow. The plot neatly builds to an exciting climax in the Agatha Christie tradition, with all the suspects gathered near the scene of the crime, each with a strong motive for murder. Hart assembles her usual distinctive supporting cast, including wacky celebrity mystery writer Emma Clyde. Readers will enjoy the many allusions to actual mystery authors and their books, from the classic to the contemporary. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Intrepid duo Annie and Max Darling return for their nineteenth adventure in the Death on Demand series. Annie owns a mystery bookstore in Broward’s Rock, one of the idyllic South Carolina Sea Islands. This time Annie leaves her bookstore in the meddling hands of her mother-in-law and steps in to help her friends Ingrid and Duane Webb by taking care of their motel. One of the motel’s new residents is a lonely and troubled young woman named Iris, who had disappeared from Broward’s Rock more than 10 years earlier, following the tragic deaths of two of her high-school friends. Annie invites Iris to a party that happens to include some other old friends. By the time the evening is over, Iris is brutally murdered, and the best suspects are some of those very same old classmates. The Darlings vow not to get involved, but soon their own lives are in danger, and the body count escalates. As usual, the intricate interrelationships among the characters hold the solution to the mystery. Another strong entry in this popular series. --Judy Coon