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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than the first in the series..., July 23, 2007
Pepper Martin's life has definitely taken some unexpected twists. Her father's unexpected imprisonment and bankruptcy has turned her life of leisure into one spent as a tour guide at the Garden View Cemetery. Worse yet, she has started seeing ghosts! This time her ghostly visitor is Didi Bowman, sister of the bestselling author of So Far the Dawn. Or is she? Didi alleges that Merilee took credit for writing the manuscript that was actually Didi's. Pepper doesn't want to investigate, but money issues force her into it. Unfortunately, some secrets may be worth dying for....
THE CHICK AND THE DEAD is the sequel to DON OF THE DEAD and has a lot more depth to it than the first book. Pepper is still focused on the luxuries in life, but she seems to have more spunk than in the first novel. In DON OF THE DEAD, Pepper seemed to blunder her way into things but she is starting to think things through a bit better in THE CHICK AND THE DEAD. I enjoyed seeing the growth in her character and it made me much more appreciative of the storyline.
Casey Daniels does a good job at maintaining the quirkiness of a character talking to ghosts. Pepper isn't handed all of the answers by Didi and it is fun to see Pepper uncover the mystery. THE CHICK AND THE DEAD isn't a hardcore mystery but is a fun and lighthearted story. I had some concerns in the previous book about the men in Pepper's life, Quinn Harrison and Dan Callahan, but Casey Daniels seems to have some ongoing threads developing that are quite intriguing in THE CHICK AND THE DEAD.
THE CHICK AND THE DEAD is a solid sophomore effort for the series. Pepper Martin is turning into a very entertaining amateur sleuth. What a fun story!
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining mystery series targeted at a younger generation, April 16, 2007
The second book in Casey Daniels' mystery series about former rich girl Pepper Martin picks up right where Don of the Dead, the first book in the series, left off. In the last book, Pepper took on a job as a tour guide in a Cleveland cemetery and--in one of the hazards of the job, hit her head on one of the headstones. When Pepper woke up, she discovered that she could see dead people, and one of them, a Mafia don named Gus Scarpetti, sought her help in solving his murder. In exchange for $9000, Pepper took on the role of amateur sleuth, but after nearly being killed vowed to get out of the crime solving business.
That was before famous author Merilee Bowman came into town and caused Pepper to be laid off from her job as a tour guide. Merilee, the author of the successful novel So Far the Dawn, brings paparazzi and press with her and the rash of publicity means that there's no need for tours of the cemetery. Dejected, Pepper has to find a new way to make money, since she's spent nearly all of the $9000 she made from solving her first case on new clothes and old debt. When Merilee's deceased sister, Didi, shows up and asks Pepper to help her prove that she is the true author of So Far the Dawn, Pepper is hesitant. At least, until she realizes she might get a small cut of the millions of dollars in royalties earned by the book if she helps prove that Didi is the real author.
The Pepper Martin series is a fun, entertaining mystery series aimed at the younger generation. It just goes to show that there is more to mystery than Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes. Pepper is a young, vivacious 20-something who is fun-to-read about and interesting to boot. The scrapes she gets caught in are increasingly hilarious and closer to chick lit than a stodgy old mystery. I didn't read the first book in the series, Don of the Dead, but I caught on fine when I started with this book. I'd recommend the Pepper Martin series to anyone in the mood for a light mystery series targeted at a younger generation that is just as much romantic comedy as it is super sleuth story.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great cozy series with a ghost, March 13, 2007
Pepper Martin has just finished solving Gus' murder and is happy she won't be seeing ghosts any more, until Didi Bowman shows up who's been dead for fifty years. She claims she's the real author of the Civil War novel "So Far The Dawn" by Merilee Bowman, her sister. Merilee is coming to town for the opening of the new museum related to the book and Pepper's boss Ella at the cemetery turns out to be a huge fan of her book.
Pepper decides to look into Didi's claims, but is often unsure of whether she believes Didi. She ends up working for Merilee which is no picnic. When there's an attempt at Pepper's life, she decides there must be something to this and starts digging deeper. She knows this is probably putting her in more danger. Detective Quinn Harrison was watching her back, wasn't he? Could she figure out who the real author of the novel is without ending up in the cemetery permanently?
I love this fun cozy series. Pepper is such a great character. She's funny but definitely not stupid. There aren't many ghost mysteries I like, but I love this series. I like how Pepper often says things in public to a ghost and has to quick cover up the fact that she was talking to a ghost. I like the sexual tension between Pepper and Quinn. The mystique of Dan adds to the series as well.
I can't wait for the next one. I highly recommend this book and series.
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