GHOSTLY REUNION by Tonya Kappes

Publisher:    Witness

Published:   December 27, 2016

ISBN:        978-0062466952

Genre:       Cozy Mystery

Format:     Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher  

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

FOUR HEARTS

In addition to her job as the undertaker of Eternal Slumber funeral home Emma Lee Raines has two other jobs.  One is as a “Betweener” where she helps people who were recently murdered find their killers and have them cross over.  The other is a temporary job of putting together her high school reunion.  That she has undertaken the reunion is actually quite a feat since in high school she was known as “the creepy funeral home girl”, a moniker given to her by the most popular girl in school, Jade Lee Peel. 

Emma Lee has moved beyond all that high school drama…sort of.  Jade Lee dated Emma’s Lee’s one great love, Jack Henry.  Jack Henry definitely feels the same way about Emma Lee. Thing is, no one has told Jade Lee who descends on the town in the hopes of recreating her high school romance…at least for her upcoming reality TV show.  As Jade Lee goes around town stirring up situations for said reality TV show she alienates a number of the townsfolk.  In fact she does so to one person too many because she suddenly becomes one of Emma Lee’s betweener clients. 

On top of Emma Lee needing to help Jade Lee cross over, she’s also dealing with her sister Charlotte trying to take pieces of Eternal Slumber off to her new undertaking job over in Lexington.  While Emma Lee puts family first, Charlotte always puts Charlotte first and latest antic is trying to hold Jade Lee’s funeral at her funeral home. Between the reunion and Charlotte’s actions can Emma Lee find the killer and get Jade Lee crossed over?

I never thought I’d see the day I would say a book starring an undertaker would be one of my favorite reads.  Tonya Kappes Ghostly Southern series is totally one of my favorites.  Kappes has such a great voice—definitely has the “Southern” down with some great phrases.  Her characters are a great mix of steadfast and realistic to hilariously quirky.  Then again, Zula Fae Raines Payne could be anyone’s grandmother who is determined to live life to the fullest no matter what it takes.  Some of her antics are a bit much, but Emma Lee reins her in and turns what could be a really bad outcome into something that works well. Their relationship adds a lot of dimension to the stories.

I like how Kappes has developed the main characters both in and of themselves as well as how they interact with each other. 

Charlotte ticks me off, big time.  In each book she gets more and more self-absorbed, but it works because she’s the perfect foil for Emma Lee to come into her own.  Charlotte is one of those people who always has to be perfect and expects the world to fall at her feet.  I have to admit I had a nice fist pump moment when at one point in the book she looked pretty dishevelled.  Yup, I really enjoyed it.  And Charlotte still doesn’t seem to have learned her lesson.

Jade Lee, however, does go through quite a change once she’s on the other side.  Kappes has some great imagery when it comes to Jade Lee – for instance when she talks about her tiara looking a bit tarnished (you’ll have to read the book to see what I mean.)

MINI-SPOILER…..there was one scene where I had an inkling of what was to come towards the end.  And when I saw I was right I had to go back and read the last chapter not once, but twice more…then had to go back and read a few other passages in the book because, well, it just can’t be!  No cheating if you pick this one up…do NOT read ahead….sit back and take it page by page and be surprised.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

A GHOSTLY MURDER by Tonya Kappes

Publisher:     Witness  

Published:    September 29, 2015

ISBN:      978-0062374936

Genre:    Cozy Mystery

Format:   Print

Obtained via:  Publisher  

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

FOUR HEARTS

Emma Lee Raines’s life is moving along pretty well.  In fact, the undertaker of the Eternal Slumber funeral home is living the life she’s wanted for some time.  Boyfriend Jack Henry Ross has declared his love, business is doing okay and she’s pretty much gotten her “funeral trauma” Betweener gift under control.  After all, she’s helped three murder victims complete crossing over to the other side within minutes of solving their murders.  Now she’s ready to put aside that Betweener … gift … and just run her business and plan her future with Jack Henry. 

But that’s not going to happen, at least not today.  Within minutes of sending Cepheus Hardy on his way Emma Lee is rung up, so to speak, by one Mamie Sue Preston…also deceased.  While Mamie Sue’s epitaph reads “I told you I was sick”, what the little lady wants is for Emma Lee to find her killer.  Oh yeah…and her teeth.  As Emma Lee investigates just what happened to Mamie Sue more bodies, errr, ghosts, start showing up and they all seem to have one thing in common, besides being dead.  Can Emma Lee find just what that common thread is before it ties her up – permanently?

Tonya Kappes Ghostly Southern mysteries is one of my all time favorite cozy mystery series.  With Kappes blend of modern girl and old fashioned southern expressions she tells some truly entertaining stories.  From Emma Lee and her down home girl-next-door personality to uppity sister Charlotte Rae to their quirky grandmother and hunky Jack Henry her characters are nicely developed and three dimensional.  The secondary characters—including the parade of ghosts waiting to cross over add to the dimension and growth of the “regulars.”  I like how Kappes has kept Emma Lee’s “betweener” status a secret between she and Jack Henry and not opened it up to a host of other characters so that it is no longer special.  And their relationship has moved along at a nice pace.  They haven’t been rushed but have kept with Emma Lee’s personality. 

The method of murder and how the story finding the killer unfolds in each book keeps you turning the pages to see how it ends.  Each book is a stand-alone with a nicely woven backstory so you don’t feel bored by reading how Emma Lee became a betweener in the first place and the books do not necessarily have to be read in order.  If you are new to cozies Kappes Ghostly Southern series is a good one to introduce yourself to them.  If you are already a fan, this is a do not miss series.

This is an objective review and an endorsement of this book.

A GHOSTLY DEMISE by Tonya Kaapes

Publisher:    Witness (Harper Collins)

Published:   August 25, 2015

ISBN:      978-0062374912

Genre:    Cozy Mystery

Format:  Print    

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

FIVE HEARTS

Emma Lee Raines has her hands full between running the Eternal Rest funeral home even before her granny, Zula Fae Payne Raines started to run for mayor of Sleepy Hollow.  On the more positive side, her long time amorous feelings toward Sheriff Jack Henry Ross are finally being rewarded since Jack Henry has felt the same way about Emma Lee.  And then there’s the funeral trauma—aka her being a Betweener.  A Betweener is a psychic who can see people – ghosts actually – who have died in a violent manner.  Now is not the most convenient time for the Betweener thing to kick in – but it’s not like Emma Lee gets to pick.  When she sees the long missing Cephus Hardy in the local grocery she’s only too happy to have a moment to catch up with them.  That’s until she realizes no one else can see him…Cephus is dead.  Apparently violently so because he’s heard around the hereafter that Emma Lee has a knack for solving mysterious murders.

As Emma Lee digs deeper and deeper into Cephus’s disappearance and his ultimate death the body count starts to go up and the answers become more and more bizarre.  Could her beloved granny be behind what’s going on in Sleepy Hollow?  Can Emma Lee find the killer before he or she finds her?

I got hooked on Tonya Kappes Ghostly Southern Mystery series with the first book in the series, A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING.  I was looking forward to her latest, A GHOSTLY DEMISE, book 3 in the series and Ms. Kappes did not disappoint.  Part cozy mystery, part comedy and a smidge of romance make this series on that has something for everyone and anyone.

I like Emma Lee a lot.  She’s comfortable in her own skin and while not exactly happy with her “gift” she deals with it.  She knows she’s not perfect and never will be and that’s just fine with her.  Emma Lee knows what is important in her life and lives it that way.  She’s a refreshing character that you feel like you would like to have as a friend. 

Kaapes doesn’t rush her characters into their next level or situation.  Emma Lee and Jack Henry are a great example – she hasn’t rushed their relationship but taken it step by step at a nice pace.  The mystery unfolds in a logical way – with just enough clues to keep you guessing but not so many that you figure it out too early on. 

Each book in this series is a standalone and you do not have to read them in order.  If you are new to cozies this is a great series to start with.  If you know cozies this is a definite one to add to your must reds.

This is an objective review and an endorsement of this book.

A GHOSTLY GRAVE by Tonya Kappes

A Ghostly Southern Mystery – book 2

Publisher:    Witness

Published:   March 31, 2015

ISBN:     978-0062374813Genre:   Cozy Mystery

Format:  Print

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

With now boyfriend Sheriff Jack Henry Ross firmly in her corner and believing she isn’t crazy with her ability to see ghosts, Emma Lee is pretty happy and secure in her life.  Sure, she still wishes she had that gorgeous red hair her sister Charlotte has and wouldn’t mind it if her Granny stopped zooming around town on her moped, but life is pretty good.  That is, until, Chicken Teater shows up from the great beyond telling Emma Lee she needs to find his killer.

Emma Lee shouldn’t have been so surprised to see Chicken.  After all, he was the first ghost she saw after the plastic Santa bopped her on the head and she was diagnosed with the “Funeral Trauma.”  The Funeral Trauma being part and parcel with her job as the local undertaker along with above-mentioned sister Charlotte.  When Chicken asks Emma Lee to find her killer she isn’t too keen to delve into the mystery, but she also knows he won’t move on to his just reward if she doesn’t find the wrongdoer. Despite Jack Henry and her family telling her to stay out of it, Emma Lee continues on with her investigation.  Was it Chicken’s wife who did him in out of jealousy because he loved his prize chicken Lady Cluckington?  Or the creepy guy who hides behind trees and lurks around Marla Marie Teater’s double wide?  Or is it someone else who had it in for Chicken?  More important, can Emma Lee find the killer before the killer finds her?

After reading Tonya Kappes first Ghostly Southern Mystery, A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING I quickly became a fan and immediately picked up book 2, A GHOSTLY GRAVE.  I really enjoyed book 1, particularly the “southernisms” coming from Emma Lee by virtue of Ms. Kappes’s writing.  There is some nice development in Emma Lee’s personality and the characters around her develop a little more depth.  I enjoy it when an author adds more to the secondary characters as a series goes on and Kappes does this nicely.

I liked how she took what is often the single-minded craziness we sometimes hear about in the background of beauty pageants and focused it on Lady Cluckington.  The tie in to a human beauty pageant was a nice one.

I pretty much figured out who did it early on, but that didn’t take away from a really fun read. I’ll be picking up book 3 in this series as soon as I can.

This is an objective review and an endorsement of this book.