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.