Customer Reviews

Tombs of Endearment (Pepper Martin Mysteries, No. 3)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pepper Martin should have known the ghosts wouldn't let her alone. After all, Gus, her first client ("Don of the Dead") has been telling everyone in the Afterlife how smart and brave she is--even if she didn't personally feel that way when she took on the Mob to solve Gus' murder. And Didi Bowman's granddaughter, Harmony, is happy enough with Pepper for discovering her Mom actually wrote the famous Civil War novels that her aunt Merilee took credit for that she's paying her a finder's fee. ("The Chick and the Dead")

In this third book of the series, things definitely warm up when the ghost of a sexy deceased rocker named Damon Curtis approaches Pepper for help. It seems his old group is channeling him to write their songs. Damon wants Pepper to contact Vinnie Palucci from the group and have him stop--so he can have enough essence to pass on.

Just as Pepper manages to get Vinnie to see what he's doing to his old friend, someone kills Vinnie. Now, Pepper and the whole band is in danger.

To make matters more complex, Pepper's ex-fiancee, Joel, has come back to tell her he's getting married and wants his ring back. Plus, Quinn the detective is still hot on her case. And there's Dan Callahan, the mysterious man who's trying to get Pepper to admit that she believes in ghosts.

The setup for this novel takes some time and by the time things get interesting, I was about ready to nod off and give up. Most of the action happens in the last quarter of the book. Pepper herself has gained some depth in these novels and she's got some serious potential as a sympathetic character. The storyline between her, Quinn, and Dan is also interesting. I'm hoping we eventually find out who Dan is and what he wants.

This third novel is not quite as good as "Chick and the Dead," but it's still an entertaining read. At 307 pages, it'd make a great doctor's office or airplane book and for the most part it will hold your interest.

As a reader of sci-fi/fantasy, I was hesitant to pick up a mystery novel based on a supernatural premise, but I am so glad I discovered Casey Daniels! I would describe her as "fantasy-light"; no horror, no in-depth explanations of Pepper Martin's power, but enough mystery, action and intrigue to make you want to keep up with her life, particularly her complicated "almost-romances". I have read reviews of her other novels dismissing her as a second to Mary Janice Davidson; I couldn't disagree more. These novels have more substance and far less uninteresting fluff (i.e. gratuitous sex and banter) than those found in the Romance section.

I read "Don of the Dead" and "The Chick and the Dead" prior to this book. I nearly stopped with the first - it was uninteresting for me, but I am happy to say that each book is better than the last. Casey Daniels has a wonderful sense of humor with an incredible talent for describing her characters such that you will retain a mental image of each one. Overall, this is a very entertaining series in my quick-read category.

What a laugh Poor Pepper kissed by a ghost and finding out just what a dead kiss is like.I laughed till I cried as she tried to speak her way through this section.Casey Daniels has created a brilliant character in Pepper sassy and smart mouthed she breaths life into this genre.We know there will be more and each time Pepper reappears in a new tale something is added to her personality and her skills.She is a real gas just like Stephanie Plum the only thing missing is a gerbil.Worth reading if only to laugh out loud at great read.

I discovered the Pepper Martin series early on, and have only been disappointed with one of them. This one, however, is head & shoulders above the others in my book! With a "Jim Morrison-esque" ghost how can you lose?? If you like your mysteries with a bit of the supernatural, along with some humor, you can't go wrong with this series, or this book in particular!

Damon Curtis, the lead singer of 60s psychedelic pop group Mind At Large, may have died from a drug overdose in 1971, but he's still hanging around. He is hanging around Cleveland's Rock Museum to be specific, so for the past few month's Pepper has been avoiding said museum as helping ghosts always leads to people trying to kill her. But as Halloween approaches and ghost hunters start frequenting her workplace at Garden View Cemetery, Pepper becomes worn down by Damon's attempts to grab her attention, so she goes to the Rock Museum to confront him and tell him that no, she doesn't want to get involved with whatever it is that he wants her to do.

However he insists that all he wants her to do is talk to his old band-mate Vinnie for him and wouldn't look have it? Mind At Large will be playing an outdoor concert at the Rock Museum. You see, Vinnie keeps channelling Damon's ghost and making him write songs for the reformed band. It's not the channelling itself which irritates Damon; it's the fact that his songs come out all wrong when they are channelled through Vinnie.

And, oh yeah, there's the small matter that this weird hold Vinnie has from him is keeping Damon trapped on earth and he is - slowly but surely - fading away. So a desperate Damon is asking for one thing and one thing only; he just wants Pepper to ask Vinnie to stop channelling him, so he can go wherever it is that ghosts go when they go into the light.


But we are talking about Pepper here, so naturally just talking to someone to aid a fading ghost leads to her stumbling across a murder. But she doesn't back away from the case as she is falling For the handsome Damon - fading ghost or not. So even if she can help him with his unfinished business before he fades away entirely, will Pepper be prepared to let him go?

Yeah, this has happily ever after written all over it...



Pepper first notices Damon at the end of The Chick And The Dead, which took place in early summer. It's now just before Halloween and she has been attempting to ignore him for all that time, despite him managing to pull a few tricks that neither of the previous ghosts she has reluctantly helped has been able to do. When she finally does speak to him, it's to tell him to leave her alone. If she'd just run from one case straight into the next one I'd probably get frustrated with her, and [although reality is stretched already] it just wouldn't be at all realistic how she innocently stumbles into her various adventures.

She also opens up about her old life and Joel - her ex fiance, and how she was left broken hearted by him and was abandoned by her old friends, so now she is gun shy with everyone. It's not a huge storyline and there aren't any shocking revelations, but it helped me to understand where she's coming from and why she is unwittingly creating a messy triangle between her, Dan and Quinn.


Now for the good stuff, mainly that the main plot-line introduces black magic into the mix - in this instance it takes the form of channelling. I'll let Damon explain channeling; "As far as I can see, this is how it works. The body is sort of like a car, and a car needs a battery to run, right? But a car doesn't care where that energy comes from. You could buy a battery anywhere, from any manufacturer, and your car would still work... it's the same thing that happens when Vinnie channels my spirit. His body still works, but the energy comes from me. Vinnie's been doing it for years, he's got it down pat .He calls on my spirit, and like it or not, when he calls, I have to go. I get drawn into his body, and I become the energy that runs it. When I do, he makes me write the songs for him."

So we know that Pepper's 'gift' isn't the sole source of paranormal elements in her world, so the possibilities for future books has just become pretty much limitless: other people may have any number of paranormal abilities and if ghosts and witches exist, what other supernatural beings do as well?


I was pleased that Dan was involved in this book much more than the previous ones. There's still big question marks around him and his real work, but we [and Pepper] all know that he is knowledgeable about the supernatural, so Pepper can be open and honest around him. Plus the readers haven't yet learnt anything new about Pepper's 'gift' and any answers are likely to come from him, so I'm very interested in Dan's Character.

I'm still not a fan of Quinn, but this time I can see why he's short with Pepper; this is the third homicide investigation he's been working on where she has popped up, so it's natural that he is suspicious. And - whilst Pepper has reasons for doing so - I do feel sorry for him, as they are attracted to each other, but she keeps pushing him away, so he is hurt and his pride has been taking a bruising. I'm more convinced then ever that they are wrong for other, as all they seem to do is hurt each other and Pepper can't be honest or share any real concerns with him.

But both guys lose to Damon; I mean sure, he did spend months harassing Pepper [or did he? It could have easily been her own conscience], but once he gets to know her he is more concerned about her well being then his own. He gets her to open up and talk about her past and fears for the future, as well as telling her that her 'gift' is now part of her and makes her unique, so shut up and put up [he does word it nicer]. At first the whole love angle made me roll my eyes, but I did get suckered in. In one book her connects with Pepper - and the reader - much more then either Dan or Quinn.


TOMBS OF ENDEARMENT does contain a few light references to characters from the first two books, but it is able to be read as a stand alone book as the mystery element of each different case are all contained in each single book.

I've really enjoyed the previous two books in the series, but I'd be lying if I said that I was starting to get a little antsy. Not only has Pepper still not made any real moves towards either of her two hotties (ok, so one is unpredictable) but she also hasn't learned anything about her powers or the warnings that Dan keeps harping about. Hopefully this book's promise of changes to the series will be fulfilled in the next book.

The book picks up right on the heels of the second book, with Pepper getting contacted by the hunky ghost of a dead rock star. All he wants is for Pepper to persuade his ex-band member to stop channeling his ghost while he still has the ectoplasm to move on. Meanwhile Pepper's ex is back & he wants something from her- his grandmother's ring.

The book's premise really wasn't that different from the previous two as far as mystery goes & it delivered nicely on that part. I also liked that this book has Pepper finally getting some closure in at least one part of her life. We also learn in this book how bad it can be if the living & the dead "interact" with each other. (Not a huge plot point, but an interesting one.)

Now what did I think wasn't as good? Well, the love triangle needs to get sorted out. Not that Pepper needs to make a choice immediately, but the tension between her & her two guys is getting a little dull. (It gets dealt with in this book but not solved.) The mystery was a little slow to develop as well. I just wish that it'd been introduced a little sooner in the book.

Overall though, I still enjoyed this enough to give it 4 stars. I don't really expect this series to be the next ghostly Sherlock Holmes, so I can give it a little leeway on the cheesecake fluff factor. If you liked the last two books, you'll enjoy this one. If you haven't, then I recommend picking up the first two & reading those before getting into this book- there's just enough plot mentioned that you'll probably wonder what went on previously.

I admit it, I'm a guy who loves to read paranormal romances. I'm at a stage in my life where when I sit down to read, I want to be taken away from this world's strife, bad politics on all sides of the spectrum, and lose myself. Casey Daniels did that for me, especially with this book. This is without a doubt one of the best romance novels I've ever read. Thoughtful, insightful and downright tear jerking I recommend it highly.

I really enjoy this book series. The protagonist is a lot of fun and the books are very exciting. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. They are a lot of enjoyment for the dollar.

Pepper Martin sees ghosts. That can be a real problem since she works for a graveyard as a tour guide.
When her car gets a flat in front of the Rock Hall of Fame, she caves in.
She asks Damon what he wants, and it is not what she expected. Damon want fellow band member vinnie to stop writing songs under the assumption of Damon. He is channeling Damon.
Pepper confronts Vinnie and he is contrite. He vows to give up the black magic, and maybe Damon can be put to rest.
Vinnie is killed the next day by someone mysteriously and Pepper enlists the aid of Ghost busters to get a Voice recording of vinnie from the dead.
More bizarre things start to happen and Pepperis in the big mix not the mention falling in love with the dead rocker's ghost.
Talk about complicated.

Good cosy mystery, 5 star!

I really enjoy this series...Pepper Martin is a character. I am surprised no one has developed a series based on her character. Very enjoyable read,looking forward to the next series of Pepper Martin investigations.