Book 13, 2019

[chez_jae]

Dead Man Calling by Kendra Ashe

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Today, I finished reading Dead Man Calling, which is the first book in the "Undertaker Mystery" series by Kendra Ashe. The main character is Jasmine "Jazz" Sweeney, who has just inherited her grandfather's mortuary, along with his duties as a reaper.

Once Jazz learns she's inherited a mortuary, she has no intention of taking over as an undertaker. Instead, she plans to turn Blackwell Rest into a club. That's not all she inherited, however. Now, Jasmine can see ghosts, her grandfather's pet monkey (and her new familiar) can talk, and she learns that her parents weren't as normal as she'd thought. Soon, Jazz finds herself in the midst of a turf war between motorcycle gangs, dodging the murderous members of Club Nocturne, and trying to figure out her own abilities. And, she still has a grand opening to prepare for.

The story was lite and fun. Not a heavy read at all. Characters weren't fully realized, although this was a novella, and it's the first in a series. Some things didn't make much sense, and the plot just staggered from one scene to another, rather than flowing along smoothly.

Favorite lines:
♥ If someone left a pot of gold in front of her door, she'd complain about tripping over it as she was leaving her apartment.
♥ Although I was a reaper, I didn't actually have a scythe, which seemed a little unfair.

Not a bad story, but not that great, either. Average score.