Giving up the Ghost (Brilliant Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Helen Chappell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Brilliant Series | Publication Date: June 8, 1999

Elvis lives! Until someone starts killing off his impersonators, one by one...

As a reporter for a local newspaper on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Hollis Ball sees more of life than most. As an amateur sleuth, she also sees more of death...especially since her partner is a ghost.

Sam Wescott, Hollis's living-impaired ex-husband, is prone to materialize at awkward moments--like when Hollis is out on a date. But he's indispensable at a crime scene. And when an Elvis impersonator, in town for a gala contest, is murdered at a sleazy motel, Hollis needs Sam's divine intervention. Her ne'er-do-well godfather, Albie Lydekker, flew in from Vegas just to emcee the Elvis competition...and he made an unwitting Hollis one of the judges. Now, surrounded by sequined singers, Hollis is wondering if she is also a patsy...as an unpopular gambling referendum, a missing mobster, and an old memory set her up to shake, rattle, and die.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Crime reporter Hollis Ball forecasts trouble when her long-lost godfather, Albie Lydekker, a washed-up ballplayer, reappears in town to organize an Elvis impersonator contest. When one of the many competing Elvises who have converged on the seamy Lock and Load Motor Inn turns up dead, Lydekker, who's know for his gambling debts and ties to a minor crime family, becomes a prime suspect. As the King killings mount and Ball is forced to protect her godfather from jail, Chappell's (Ghost of a Chance) talent for comical characterizations, sarcastic dialogue and absurd fiascoes comes to the fore. Particularly amusing are a drug-addicted prostitute with dreams of becoming a rock star named Snow White, and Ball's co-worker, who has a penchant for peach potpourri and Precious Moments figurines. Ball begrudgingly initiates an illegal investigation of her own under the guidance of her ex-husband's cantankerous ghost, putting herself in imminent danger. Chappell is in fine form here and her characters don't disappoint. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A brilliant series."
--Publishers Weekly

"This delightful combination of Topper meets The Thin Man brings a new twist to mystery fiction. Most enjoyable."
--Sharyn McCrumb, author of If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him

"I hope this series lasts an eternity."
--Penny Warner, author of Dead Body Language

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dell (June 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440225752
• ISBN-13: 978-0440225751
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,329,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down - what a treat!, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Giving up the Ghost (Brilliant Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this the best yet in Chappell's mystery series, which continues the madcap tradition of Cary Grant in Topper. In this book, we learn more about Hollis' feelings for Sam, and his for her, but this wistful aside does not detract from the hilarity of the Elvis impersonators and life on the Eastern Shore. You really can't afford to skip over one bit of narrative in Chappell's work, because you're sure to miss a laugh if you do.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top notch entry in a great series., May 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Giving up the Ghost (Brilliant Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

Hollis, reporter on Maryland's Eastern Shore is back. What bothers many people is that her gambling godfather, Albie is also back. Albie played one year with the Orioles,but his life style and gambling ended his baseball career abruptly. He lives from opportunity to failed opportunity. This time he is setting up an Elvis interpreter contest for a mobster to whom he owes money. When these Elvis impersonators begin to turn up murdered, Albie is the logical suspect. Hollis must clear him with the help of her ghostly ex-husband Sam, accompanied by stern warnings of her policeman boy friend to stay out of it. This book will keep you trying to come up with the solution while laughing out loud. A wonderful concept for both comedy and mystery that Chappell handles with a light professional touch. Great reading especially for those of us who grew up with George and Marian Kirby in the Topper series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Always an Elvis Impersonator, Never an Elvis, March 28, 2000

By 

Sires "I enjoy mysteries, historical and proc... (Chesapeake, OH, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Giving up the Ghost (Brilliant Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

Or, "this Elvising is hard work."

Every small townprobably has a Lock and Load Motel on its outskirts. A haven forprostitution, drugs and unwary travelers who are looking for a cheap night's sleep. In Helen Chappell's mystery Giving Up the Ghost it also comes complete with the corpse of one minor mafioso, a superannuated doper ex-prom queen and a whole clutch of Elvis impersonators (or Elvii as Uncle Albie calls them).

Forget about the mystery it's not that important, just sit back and enjoy a great ride with Hollis Ball, her dead ex-husband, Sam, and all the other denizens of Watertown, living and dead.