6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Loving the 'dead'..., January 11, 2009
This review is from: Night of the Loving Dead (Pepper Martin Mysteries, No. 4) (Mass Market Paperback)
I feel like I have waited forever for the next installment in Casey Daniel's Pepper Martin mystery series. In actuality I read the third installment only about five months ago. Since the third book "Tombs of Endearment" was published, the series has actually switched publishers. The first three came out from Avon and the new installment "Night of the Loving Dead" comes to us from Berkley Crime. Some other things seemed to have changed in the actual story as well. "Night of the Loving Dead" finds Pepper dating Quinn, the policeman. She hasn't seen Dan 'the brain man' in quite awhile. Pepper is sent to Chicago to a Cemetary convention. There she meets a ghost named Madeline who is obnoxious and hateful. Pepper is more than willing to walk away from Madeline unitl the ghost mentions Dan...Soon Pepper finds herself meeting up with Dan again as she investigates Dan's partner Dr. Gerard. Dr. Gerard also studies brains and it appears that some of the patients in his study just...disappear. One of the stregnths of the Pepper Martin stories has been the ghost/Pepper relationships. Pepper is a wonderfully sincere, lovable character who is a real softie when it comes to her ghosts. The dynamic between Pepper and the ghosts always make for the most interesting scenes. The ghost here is not likable in any way and therefore there seems to be a lack in the plot that I don't expect in the Pepper books. Also, while Pepper's character is the same lovable girl as always, the story wasn't as funny as the previous volumes. After three stories filled with laugh aloud moments, here I had just a couple quiet grins. I also didnt' care for the fact that Pepper seems to care for both Dan and Quinn but the one she cares for best ends up being whichever one she is with at that moment. I'm afraid that is going to make Pepper seem trashy and I so don't want that for her. The mystery here is pretty good. There are a couple of unexpected twists that I enjoyed a lot. Daniels didn't try to take the easy way out in solving this mystery and she should get kudos for that. This mystery is much more rooted in the present instead of the past which is also a change of sorts. Still the story left me satisfied and wanting more Pepper! These books are still a cut above any other 'I see ghost' mystery novels on the shelves right now. If you haven't read a Pepper Martin mystery, I suggest you start with the one that started it all "Don of the Dead" and continue to this one. Heres to hoping that Daniel's is a speedwriter and we get another visit with Pepper soon.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed in Dan, July 19, 2009
This review is from: Night of the Loving Dead (Pepper Martin Mysteries, No. 4) (Mass Market Paperback)
I have to say I was very disappointed in this book. After enjoying the first three novels in the series, I was eagerly awaiting this one. Generaly when the author creates a love triangle like the one between Pepper, Quinn and Dan, every other novel deals mainly with one man or the other, so I was expecting this to be about Dan. I was not expecting, however, Dan to turn out to be such a lovesick wimp! Prior to this, the author had given subtle hints that Dan wasn't what he seemed to be. He appeared with the ghost hunting group even though they didn't know him, he rescued Pepper with some kind of martial arts move, he had the mysterious photo of Pepper talking to the ghosts. I began to think that maybe he was some kind of mysterious government agent. Instead, he turns out to be a sappy, sentimental puppy dog. And who is he lovesick over? His dead wife, who turns out to be a nasty, evil minded wench. Dan is supposed to be so smart, but he falls for all her machinations anyway? This just ruined the series for me. I was really rooting for Dan in the triangle, and not I seem to have lost all respect for him. I'm not sure I'll buy the next book.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
It feels like a lot of Chick Lit was injected into this paranormal mystery, May 25, 2009
This review is from: Night of the Loving Dead (Pepper Martin Mysteries, No. 4) (Mass Market Paperback)
Plot Summary: Pepper Martin is a cemetery tour guide who can talk to ghosts, and she's made it her mission to solve the mysteries that keep these maligned spirits earthbound. This time around, she's met a spirit in Chicago who believes that a homeless mental health clinic is snatching destitute people for some evil purpose. No one knows, because these people are never seen again. Pepper wants no part of this mystery until she learns that Dan Callahan is involved in the research at this clinic, and Pepper feels personally committed to helping the sexy brain doctor any way she can.
The danger of telling a story in the first person is that the reader must truly like the character, a lot. In my case, I quickly became disenchanted with the heroine, Pepper Martin, and spending hours inside her head was quite unpleasant for me. This is not to say that everyone would feel the same way, but to me, Pepper is a vain, fashion conscious clothes horse, and she's not nearly smart enough to pull off the whole private investigator shtick. I like my heroines tougher, a bit scruffy, and instilled with a fighter's instincts. Pepper's always moaning about being too cold, breaking a nail, or getting her cashmere (insert sweater, gloves, or coat) dirty.
This novel felt like a cross between a chick lit novel and a paranormal mystery. I love the paranormal mystery part, but chick lit happens to be my least favorite genre. Please, no more talk about grossly expensive brand names on everything from shoes to makeup. It's not my thing, but someone into chick lit might like how this book takes a ravishing girlie-girl and gives her a supernatural power, like talking to ghosts.
My distaste for Pepper's personality extends to her relationships with men. I'm a romantic through and through, and I'm not too happy when I read about casual hook ups. It sounds kind of funny coming from someone who enjoys well-written sex scenes (and there aren't any here, so don't look for them), but I like sex and romance to go hand in hand. If it doesn't, I don't want to see it. So, between Pepper having a one-night stand, and then later coming on to Dan, needless to say I was disappointed by the heroine's relationships. It all felt empty and meaningless, which depressed me no end.
The end has a nice twist that I never saw coming, and readers willing to embrace the paranormal aspect of the story will have no problems swallowing the premise. I thought it was quite inventive, but I couldn't help noticing that even when Pepper was in extreme peril, she couldn't drop her shallow, material concerns.
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