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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

BBReview: "Ghostly Southern Mysteries 1: A Ghostly Undertaking" By Tonya Kappes

Genre: Mystery & Detective / Cozy / Ghost / Woman Sleuth
Publishing Date: February 24, 2015
Page Count: 304
Source: Sent for review
Format: E-book

Description:
From USA Today bestselling author Tonya Kappes, comes a brand new hilarious and fun paranormal mystery series about Emma Lee Raines, a funeral home director who can suddenly see dead people!

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 s he 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 risk being haunted forever.


Purchase:

Review:
I absolutely love medium, "those who see the dead" type of books, and A Ghostly Undertaking was right up my alley. I love that it takes place in the south, because I love the small town gossip they automatically come with. Stories like this really need to take place in a small town or else how in the world are you supposed to help the ghost make amends, and go into the light?

It was so interesting to try and piece together the clues to figure out who did it. I kept trying to be one step ahead Emma, but only every so often did I accomplish it. You would think I would be frustrated about it, but actually it made the story that much better. I have been in a little bit of a reading slump - mostly because it's my last semester at my university - but this book made me need to pick it up. I found myself about to fall asleep, but then my eyes would pop open and I would think I need to figure out who killed Ruthie.

The only problem that I had with this book was that Emma took a little bit to like. There was nothing wrong with her, but she wasn't  immediately likable. I think it was mostly because she kept doing things that I would never do. She would come up with dumb excuses when she was talking to dead people like that she was singing, or in fact crazy like everyone thought. Why didn't she just say she was talking to herself? I do it all the time, but I guess that doesn't mean it is necessarily normal. Plus the singing excuse does help the storyline so, I guess it's ok. It just took a little warming up until I finally came around to liking Emma. Now that I do, I am sure the rest of the books in the series will be great!

Overall:
I am really happy I got the chance to read A Ghostly Undertaking. It was right up my alley with the whole "talking to dead people" thing. I love the small town the story takes place in, and I love all the gossip and drama. Emma took a little time to get used to, because she kept doing things I would never do, but once we finally clicked everything was golden. I really enjoyed this story and I can't wait to read more from the series! I highly encourage you to check this series out!

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 4/5


**The books cover, description, and info was all found on Goodreads. A link back has been provided. All other work and ideas are of my own creation. This book was sent to me by Literati Author Services, Inc. in exchange for an honest review.**