Book review: Something Wicked by Carolyn G. Hart

The thirtieth book I read in 2016 was the third book in Carolyn G. Hart's Death on Demand series, Something Wicked.  Amusingly enough, Hart wastes little time dealing with one of the quibbles I pointed out in my review of the previous book: the unspoken distinction between Max Darling (good-rich) and Harley Jenkins III (bad-rich).  Hart herself, through the ponderings of Annie, prefers the terminology "attractively rich" versus unattractively rich, which is frankly even more subjective and self-serving than I gave her discredit for.  But, hey, at least she addresses the hypocrisy.  Ironically, in this book we learn that Harley actually did make his money by earning it, unlike Max, who is an idle heir.  It's not generally my experience that Trips come from nothing, but okay.

The plot in this installment revolves around a ridiculously high-stakes local theater production of Arsenic and Old Lace, which everyone involved seems legitimately to feel could launch their Broadway careers.  Rehearsals are bedeviled by pranks and acts of sabotage which ultimately culminate in the murder of one of the actors.

Hart branches out from her usual hobgoblin of Boss-Hogg-like-small-town-police-chief by introducing a ludicrously over-the-top prosecuting attorney who orates to small groups of people as if they are a courtroom.  Brice Posey is a paper-thin caricature who bears as much resemblance to any real person who might ever have lived as a stick figure does to Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.  My gosh, even Willie Stark laid off the schtick in private.  To make things worse, Mrs. Brawley has suddenly taken to adopting the personae, in dress, accent, and tone, of various literary detectives, a development which Hart seems to think is quirky and endearing but makes me think she has had a mental break and needs to be committed.  Frankly, too many of Hart's supporting characters, like Max's New Age mom Laurel, are straight out of a wacky '80s sitcom for me to develop any suspension of disbelief while reading the novel.

This time, it's Max instead of Annie who is the prime suspect in the eyes of the incompetent authorities, once again on the premise that the pair just wouldn't get involved unless their hands were forced, which is a poor attitude for the protagonists of a detective series.  Chief Saulter, the Boss Hogg of the first book, is Annie's new ally in the quest for justice, which is a bit of an abrupt about-face, but he's a likeable enough gruff-but-helpful sidekick that I forgive it and hope to see him continue in the role.