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[personal profile] chez_jae
Since it was Friday night, I didn't mind staying up late to finish reading The Chick and the Dead, which is the second book in author Casey Daniels' "Pepper Martin" mystery series.

After successfully helping mobster Gus Scarpetti cross over, Pepper believes her work with the dead is done. She barely has a reprieve before she is visited by the ghost of Didi Bowman. Didi's sister, Merilee Bowman, is world famous for having written the Civil War love story So Far the Dawn. The problem is, Merilee didn't write the book--Didi did, and she wants Pepper to prove it.

With the reclusive Merilee coming to Cleveland to officially open the "SFTD" museum, there is no better opportunity for Pepper to get involved, even though she is at first reluctant to do so. It seems she has no choice in the matter when her boss, who is the president of the SFTD fanclub, basically "loans" Pepper to Merilee as her temporary secretary.

Pepper comes to realize that Merilee did not write the book, but other things that Didi told her turn out to be fabrications. Pepper isn't sure whom or what to believe, and her investigation turns up and uncovers more and more layers to the real story.

This was a fantastic book. I was thrilled that the mystery Pepper was investigating wasn't a murder (at least, not at first!), and the fandom aspect of SFTD was a hoot to read. Screaming fans showed up in cosplay, and there was all manner of SFTD merchandise, including dolls and even a lunch box. So funny! The book was written in Pepper's pov, and I love her wit and her grit.

Favorite line:
High heels. Uneven ground. Gravity.
Not a good combination.


Five stars!

*****

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