Casey Daniels

Pepper Martin Mysteries — (2006-2012) Publisher: She sees dead people. Beautiful, smart, and chic, Pepper Martin never had to work a day in her life — until her surgeon daddy was convicted of fraud, her wealthy fiancé took a powder, and the family fortune ran bone dry. Suddenly desperate, the inexperienced ex-rich girl was forced to take the only job she could get: as a tour guide in a cemetery. But a grave situation took a turn for the worse when a head-on collision with a headstone left her with an unwanted ability to communicate with the disgruntled deceased... and now Pepper has a whacked Mafia don demanding that she hunt down his killers — and threatening to haunt her until she does.

Don of the Dead: Fun, Fluffy, Forgettable

Former rich girl Pepper Martin, reduced to dire financial straits, takes a job as a cemetery tour guide. When she falls and hits her head on late mobster Gus Scarpetti's mausoleum, she gains the (rather inconvenient) ability to see Gus's ghost. Gus enlists Pepper to solve the decades-old mystery of his murder. While trying to get to the bottom of the case, Pepper learns that a ghostly "boss" can be hazardous to a girl's love life and job prospects, and maybe even her life itself.

I was often annoyed by Pepper. She's ditzy, she's obsessed with her own bust size, and she needs a lot of rescuing. However, Gus is more obnoxious still. Their bickering is sometimes funny and sometimes irritating. Some of my favorite moments were when Pepper read Gus the riot act.

It's not hard to solve the crime a few steps ahead of Pepper, but I had fun unraveling the tangle, and the eventual revelation is a surprisingly touching one. The plot does, however, rely a bit too much on Pepper getting in over her head and being saved by deus ex machina.

One thing that's original and refreshing in the current urban fantasy climate: Casey Daniels hasn't thrown the entire paranormal kitchen sink into Don of the Dead. There are ghosts, but there aren't vampires and faeries and demons and incubi and succubi and werewolves and werehyenas and werepigeons and so on, all stuffed into the same story. Pepper has two love interests, and while I'm pretty sure at least one of them is a jerk, neither is a vampire or a were! They're just normal guys.

Don of the Dead was a fun, light read, and I'll probably read more in the Pepper Martin series in the future. —Kelly Lasiter

The Chick and the Dead

Pepper Martin thought her newly acquired ability to see ghosts was a one-shot deal. That once Gus Scarpetti moved on to the great hereafter, she could go back to her normal life where only the living talked to her. She was wrong. It seems Gus has been talking her up in the afterlife, and sends Didi Bowman her way.

Didi died in the 1950s and was the sister of Merilee Bowman, Cleveland native and bestselling author of the Civil War novel So Far the Dawn. Didi claims she, not Merilee, actually wrote the book, and wants Pepper to prove it so that Didi's disadvantaged teenage granddaughter can collect the royalties. After some hesitation, Pepper agrees. She soon learns that Didi may have been the victim of murder as well as plagiarism. Did Merilee do it, or was Didi's married lover a little too eager to cover up their affair, or is Didi lying about everything? And can Pepper figure it all out before she's as dead as Didi?

Trouble is, there's very little mystery in this mystery. It's too easy to armchair-solve. Pepper valiantly chases down several red herrings, but they're never quite convincing to the reader. Other quibbles: the ages of characters don't always make sense — if someone is born in 1956 and becomes "a mother too young," her child is not going to be a high schooler in 2004 — and I found myself wondering whether you can really die of suffocation by too-tight corset. (Internal damage if you wear one for years, sure, but...)

The Chick and the Dead is at its best when poking gentle fun at obsessive book fandom. Casey Daniels is specifically referring to Gone with the Wind fans, but her descriptions fit other groups of fans who idolize their favorite authors, collect tons of book and movie memorabilia, etc. I also enjoyed the plotline involving the mysterious Dan Callahan, whose brief appearances in this book raise more questions than they answer. I look forward to seeing what happens with him.

The Chick and the Dead is a funny, quick read that can be enjoyable if you read it with accurate expectations. Think of it as chick lit with a paranormal twist, and don't expect too much from the mystery plotting. —Kelly Lasiter