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Dead Man Talking by Casey Daniels

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Since it was a Friday night, I stayed up until the wee hours to finish reading Dead Man Talking by Casey Daniels. It is the fifth book in the "Pepper Martin" paranormal mystery series, featuring Penelope "Pepper" Martin--cemetery tour guide and PI to ghosts.

After the debacle that was #4 in this series, it took me awhile to pick up another. This one redeemed itself nicely, however. Pepper's boss, Ella, puts her in charge of a restoration project at the Monroe Street Cemetery. Pepper thinks it's just another part of her job, until Ella drops her bombshell. As a publicity stunt, Ella has gotten a local PBS station on board to treat the project as a sort of "Cemetery Survivor" contest. One team is comprised of uppercrust society ladies, while Pepper is stuck leading a team of convicts who are on probation. As if that wasn't vexing enough, a ghost appears to Pepper in the Monroe Street Cemetery. Jefferson Lamar was imprisoned for murdering a young woman, and he insists he didn't do it. He wants Pepper to clear his name. Since Lamar was a prison warden, there is no shortage of people who may have wanted to frame him for murder, most of whom are hardened criminals. Nevertheless, Pepper throws herself into the investigation, hoping that her digging into the past won't get her killed.

This book had a lot going on. There was the restoration project, and Pepper's efforts to get some teamwork out of her team. The investigation led her all over and into some sketchy situations. Her kinda sorta relationship with police detective Quinn was at times good and then not-so-good. Her television exposure has resulted in a stalker, and all of her friends and family calling her more often. I enjoyed how Pepper's team came together eventually, and I was cheering for them to beat out the rich bitches to win the contest. I admired her pluck when it came to questioning some shady characters, and I really liked how her team started backing her up. It was interesting to see that one of the teams wasn't above cheating, and it wasn't Pepper's team of convicts.

( One thing really got my panties in a wad, however...(Spoiler!) )

Favorite lines:
♦ Lucky him, he had no concept of reality TV. He'd died years before some sick-minded person thought it up.
♦ I gagged and sputtered and did my best to talk myself down from the edge of a full-blown case of the screaming meemies.
♦ Maybe Team One has a hitman on staff and the nerve to send him to snuff me out because we raided their precious picnic baskets?

I enjoyed this story, for the most part. Giving it a solid four.

Today, I polished off the rest of Tombs of Endearment by Casey Daniels. It's part of her "Pepper Martin" series.

Pepper has been trying to avoid any more ghosts, and she's been successful, until a flat tire lands her at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There, she encounters the ghost of Damon Curtis, legendary bad boy of the legendary band Mind at Large. Problem is, Damon died decades ago, of a drug overdose. He doesn't need Pepper to solve the mystery of his death; what he wants is for her to stop a former bandmate from channeling him and stealing his songs.

It's a different sort of investigation for Pepper, but it's not without its danger. She speaks to Vinnie, who's been channeling Damon, and shortly thereafter, he's stabbed to death. Now, Pepper is convinced that Damon's death and Vinnie's murder are connected. She is warned away from the case by handsome cop Quinn, and by Dan, whom Pepper is still trying to figure out. The only person who seems willing to speak to her is a burned out hippie chick, Belinda, who is still fangirling for Damon.

To compound her problems, Pepper is trying to duck a ghost hunting crew at the cemetery, and her ex-fiance shows up to demand back the ring he'd given to Pepper when they were engaged. On top of all that, Pepper finds herself falling for bad boy Damon...too bad he's dead.

Needless to say, there was a lot going on! Pepper had her hands full trying to look into Damon's death and Vinnie's murder, while avoiding Joel's demands and trying to ignore her growing attraction to Damon.

Favorite line: My self-confidence made a splat sound when it hit rock bottom.

Very good, four stars!

****

Last night, I stayed up late to finish reading Don of the Dead by Casey Daniels. It is the first book in the "Pepper Martin" mystery series.

Penelope "Pepper" Martin was once an entitled society girl with a perfect home life and the perfect fiance. That is, until her father was convicted of Medicare fraud and sent to prison. Pepper's perfect life crashed around her, and she was forced to seek employment. The only job Pepper can find is as a tour guide at Garden View cemetery. After a misstep causes her to fall and strike her head on a mausoleum, Pepper is now seeing the ghost of dead mobster Augustino "Gus" Scarpetti. He was killed in a mob hit thirty years before, but he can't move on until he finds out who killed him. Gus strong arms Pepper into helping.

Pepper agrees to look into the matter, but she never anticipated that doing so would put her own life in jeopardy. Now, Pepper is dodging mob hitmen and the FBI, while juggling a mutual attraction to police officer Quinn, and a not-so-mutual attraction to doctor Dan.

The story was peopled with many colorful characters, and even gruff Gus came across as charming and sympathetic. Pepper was a bit scatter-brained, which could be blamed on her head injury, but it didn't detract from her likability. I enjoyed the story, and I even put some puzzle pieces together before Pepper did. However, the ultimate "who dunnit" surprised me and was fitting.

Giving this one four out of five:

♦♦♦♦