Don of the Dead

I thought this book was great. I was a little skeptical of the silly title, but the main character, Pepper, was instantly likeable, and I was drawn into her life. The mystery she worked on solving was interesting, but not "on the edge of my seat" stuff. There were several exciting and serious parts of this book. One thing I really liked about this book was that it was not a "guy gets the girl" romance book. There was a lot of focus on Pepper's good looks, but I felt it just made the book more fun and interesting. I liked that the ending opened the door right up for the sequel, which I plan on reading. This book will be enjoyable if you like chick lit with quirky female characters, and if you are interested in ghosts!

Our hapless heroine, Pepper Martin (nicknamed Pepper because she's got red hair and a temper), is down on her luck. Her doctor daddy's gone to jail for Medicare fraud, her mother's fled the disgrace, and Pepper - always one to shop at Saks and blissfully enjoy a privileged socialite life - is landed with the dead-end (pun intended) job of tour guide in the local cemetery. When she falls over and smacks her head on mobster Augustine Scarpetti's tomb, she sees stars - and Gus himself, keen to solve the mystery of who whacked him so he can go to his eternal rest. What with talking to Gus, investigating his murder, and treading on some very ginger mob toes, life gets hectic down in the ol' graveyard. One bonus is Dan, the geeky but gorgeous psychologist very interested in her brain injury - until he brings her brain scans on their first date! Another bonus is hunky policeman, Quinn, but he thinks Pepper's a total flake. Bullets whiz, ghosts walk, and we guarantee you'll be reading with a smile on your face! Stephanie Plum move over.

This novel is light and gritty with humour laced through it .....Pepper is a socialite whose father fell from grace by fraud.Now she must earn a crust and where better to earn than in the local cemetary where a bang on the head gives her more than a conventional headache.Suddenly pepper is seeing dead people with problems bigger than the livings although the first of her "customers"the local Don brings the living into her life with blasting guns and police.Pepper also finds a rather weird young man attaching himself to her and making her wonder what he is after.This book is great for a winter night read tucked up in the covers while the rain falls Looking forward to more Pepper mysteries

"Don of the Dead" is a lot of fun. Sure, the heroine isn't the brightest bulb in the box, but that's part of the reason the story works so well. Pepper Martin has to learn to be a detective while she's detecting. And since this is a series, I'm guessing she'll get better at detecting as time goes on. Snappy dialogue, a tightly plotted mystery and just enough twists and turns to keep me reading through the night. Can't wait for the next installment in the Pepper Martin mystery series.

Who hasn't wondered what it would be like to see a ghost? Well, maybe not Pepper Martin, whose existential thoughts revolve around Prada, Armani and finding a hot guy with a bank account. Then Pepper "stumbles" on to a world she'd rather not think about. Talk about a reluctant sleuth? I was hooked from page one. I love the premise, the plot, and the colorful characters. I laughed my way through the book and can't wait for the second. Thanks, Casey Daniels, for a cozy series to look forward to.