A Ghostly Undertaking (A Ghostly Southern Mystery #1)

A funeral, a ghost, a murder . . . It's all in a day's work for Emma Lee Raines . . .

Bopped on the head from a falling plastic Santa, local undertaker Emma Lee Raines is told she's suffering from “funeral trauma.”   It's trauma all right, because the not-so-dearly departed keep talking to her. Take Ruthie Sue Payne—innkeeper, gossip queen, and arch-nemesis of Emma Lee's granny—she's adamant that she didn't just fall down those stairs. She was pushed.

Ruthie has no idea who wanted her pushing up daisies. All she knows is that she can't cross over until the matter is laid to eternal rest. In the land of the living, Emma Lee's high-school crush, Sheriff Jack Henry Ross, isn't ready to rule out foul play. Granny Raines, the widow of Ruthie's ex-husband and co-owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn, is the prime suspect. Now Emma Lee is stuck playing detective or risk being haunted forever. 

HarperCollins Publishers

Ghostly Southern Mysteries Book 1

February 24, 2015

I was lucky enough to get a review copy from Edelweiss thanks to the publisher. I've always enjoyed books by Tonya Kappes and was excited to get a chance to read the first book in her new series early.

I absolutely loved A Ghostly Undertaking. This book was a great mystery that had me laughing out loud at times from the humor. Emma Lee Raines is such a fun character. The fact that she suffers from "funeral trauma" and can see dead people was so much fun.  I also loved how close Emma Lee became with Ruthie while working to solve who killed Ruthie.

The mystery was really well done in A Ghostly Undertaking. I had my suspicions as to who the killer was and have to say the clues throughout the story were very well done. 

I also loved the budding romance between Emma Lee and Jack Henry. Mostly I loved that Emma Lee couldn't believe that Jack Henry wanted to actually date her. Jack Henry made me fall just a little bit in love with him as he romanced Emma Lee.  There was such a sweet chemistry between them and I look forward to seeing this relationship grow as the series progresses.

I've been a fan of Tonya Kappes for some time and absolutely love her new Ghostly Southern Mysteries series. I can't wait to read the rest of the books in this series.