A Ghostly Undertaking

Ghostly Southern Mysteries, Book 1

By: Tonya Kappes

Narrated by: Tiffany Morgan

Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

A funeral, a ghost, a murder...It's all in a day's work for Emma Lee Raines...

Bopped on the head from a falling plastic Santa, local undertaker Emma Lee Raines is told she's suffering from "funeral trauma." It's trauma all right, because the not-so-dearly departed keep talking to her. Take Ruthie Sue Payne - innkeeper, gossip queen, and arch-nemesis of Emma Lee's granny - she's adamant that she didn't just fall down those stairs. She was pushed.

Ruthie has no idea who wanted her pushing up daisies. All she knows is that she can't cross over until the matter is laid to eternal rest. In the land of the living, Emma Lee's high-school crush, Sheriff Jack Henry Ross, isn't ready to rule out foul play. Granny Raines, the widow of Ruthie's ex-husband and co-owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn, is the prime suspect. Now Emma Lee is stuck playing detective or risks being haunted forever.   

Contains mature themes.

©2013, 2015 Tonya Kappes (P)2019 Tantor

GOOD READ

I KNOW THIS SERIES HAS AT LEAST 7 BOOKS, AND I HOPE AUDIBLE PLANS TO RELEASE THE OTHERS. THE CHARACTERS ARE FUN WITHOUT BEING CORNY. THE DIALOGUE FLOWS WELL, AND THE MYSTERIES ARE INTERESTING. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING.

Fun Mystery

Emma Lee co-owns a funeral home with her sister. Emma recently suffered a head injury. Since the head injury, Emma can see ghosts not just any ghosts but ghosts who were murdered. Recently deceased Ruthie Sue died in what everyone believes was an accidental fall. However, Ruthie wants Emma to help find her killer. Everyone in town knows everything about everyone and gossip regularly. Most people in town believe Emma has a case of funeral trama and needs to seek medical help. Although Sheriff Jack Henry Ross finds Emma talking to no one, he doesn’t think Emma is nuts. Sheriff Ross believes Emma is truly speaking to Ruthie ghost and asks Emma to help in solving Ruthie’s murder.

This is a unique cozy mystery. The characters are wonderfully quirky. The plot moves at a quick steady pace with well-placed red herrings and misdirections. The mystery kept me engaged until the end, I was surprised at whodunit. There is plenty of humor included in this supernatural southern cozy. I listened to the audio version of the book and the narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life.

All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced by anyone.

Good but predictable

I liked the book but when I guessed who did it after the first paragraph describing this person - I was a little disappointed.

Needs more work

I couldn't force myself to finish this book. The characters are flat and stereotypical. The plot is uninteresting and predictable. The dialogue lacks wit and the interactions between the characters seem forced. The only positive thing about this book is the narrator. Tiffany Morgan does a good job giving the characters life, but she can't save this story.