Tomb with a View (Pepper Martin Mysteries, No. 6)

"Tomb with A View" was one of my favorites in this series! Well worth the read.

I have long been a fan of Casey Daniel's Pepper Martin series. The books are always worth reading and I am happy to say this newest installment "Tomb With A View" is my favorite so far. Honestly, I haven't enjoyed one as much since the first book "Don of the Dead" or "Tombs of Endearment", book #3. Pepper is one of the most likeable female characters in any series I read. She is fashionable, but not so over the top that all we hear about is Gucci or Prada. She is tenderhearted and sassy at the same time. And the girl sure can snark with the best of them. She wants to do the right thing even when she really doesn't like what that means in certain situations. Here, one of the most annoying volunteers at the cemetary is found murdered in President Garfield's tomb. Marjorie Klinker wasn't justa a know it all volunteer but also a huge collector of all things Garfield (the President, not the cat, points out Pepper in the book) but she also claims to be a decendent of Garfield from an affair he once had. Of course, Pepper can't resist investigating especially when she has help from the President himself. The stronger and more fun the ghosts in each book are, then stronger the particular installment. James A Garfield is one of the best ghostly characters to date. He is a stuffy old president who has a great backstory to tell, both historically accurate one and 'fictionalized for fabulousness' version created by Ms. Daniels. I wanted to immediately wiki him and learn more about the short-lived president after I finished reading the book. I like that Pepper has relationships and I really ejoy the fact that they are never bigger than the plot and the sex, when there is sex, is understated. This particular mystery had several reveals and a couple I guessed correctly at but it never lessened the fun. I can't wait to read the next book "A Hard Day's Fright" coming in April. I always forget how much pure fun this series is until a new one is released.

Cemetery tour guide Pepper Martin works at Cleveland's Garden View Cemetery; whose most famous resident is President James A. Garfield. The job seems like an ideal match for Pepper as she has the uncanny ability to communicate with ghosts. Pepper's boss Ella assigns her to work with Marjorie Klinker on the 179th Garfield birthday bash. Pepper wants out of the mental strenuous task as Marjorie is a lunatic, a Garfield fanatic, and a dominating drainer of others. She gives Pepper some worthless papers to take to the exhibit; she will provide more memorabilia when the time is right. The next day Pepper finds Marjorie dead. The police investigate and conclude someone murdered her by throwing her off the balcony. Pepper is dubious of this conclusion. She vows to solve it before her former boyfriend Police Officer Quinn, who hurt her when he scorned her about her so-called psychic skills. This time the FBI is involved and they want Pepper to extract a confession from the suspect when she finds out who it is. She remains clueless as she cannot understand the motive because all Klinker had from what she seen was junk. Pepper regards herself as a private investigator for ghosts who need her help to cross over by solving their murder. In this amateur sleuth whodunit, the ghost is Garfield who does not want to leave as he is still the President within the mausoleum. He gives her clues to assist her into the noises she hears at night denoting criminal activity at the museum and she finds she likes the old codger. With wit and a wink, Casey Daniel entertains her fans with a fun lighthearted paranormal whodunit. Harriet Klausner

I am not an eloquent reviewer, but I do know when I read a great book. I have read all the Pepper books and they keep getting better. I love the way Casey Daniels writes. Her books flow, they are engaging and Casey Daniels makes you care about Pepper. I am normally not a mystery fan, but paranormal mystery is fun! Throw in a little romance and I am in heaven. Pepper butts heads with Quinn (ubercop, uberhot, just uber) she is always getting involved in his murder cases or maybe he just keeps getting mixed up in her investigations. See, Pepper can talk to ghosts and has become a kind of private investigator for the undead. Unfortunately, Quinn needs to be taken down a peg or two. I hope in the end they end up together (did I mention ubersexy, alpha-male detective?), but not before Pepper gets the satisfaction of making him grovel . Everyone can enjoy this book.

Pepper becomes involved with the most famous ghost in the cemetery in which she works. President Garfield's ghost haunts his memorial and sees the aftermath of a murder. The victim, a supposed descendant of the president, is an expert on Garfield. On the outs with her former detective boyfriend, Pepper wants to solve the case before he does. The appearance of phoney credit cards and a supposed surprise historic document add to the mayhem. Being a history buff, I liked the historical aspect of this book about President Garfield. I also greatly enjoyed the interaction between Pepper and the President. It was fun! Pepper, throughout this series, is a real person. She isn't perfect, but she is quite likable. She has her faults which makes her more real to me. The climax of the story really wove all the threads of the plot neatly together. This was a great read; I recommend it!!! Thanks, Ms. Daniels for a terrific book!