{Review} A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING by Tonya Kappes

ISBN #: 978-0062374646

Page Count: 304

Copyright: February 24, 2015

Publisher: Witness; Reissue Edition

Series: Ghostly Southern Mysteries (Book 1)

Book Description:

(Taken from Amazon)

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.

Mandy's Review:

I'm always up for a good mystery involving murder, ghosts, and surprises. Sometimes it's nice to just read a book for enjoyment instead of trying to figure out what the author's trying to convey.

Emma is in an unusual situation. Her sister, Charlotte, and she run one of the local funeral homes. It was previously managed by their parents, but their parents have decided to move away, travel, and leave the funeral home in the hands of their daughters. All goes well until Emma has her incident with the plastic Santa Claus.

It's this konk on the head that allows Emma to see the ghosts of the recently departed. Ruthie being the most recent, Emma thinks she's starting to have episodes of the "funeral trauma" again until Ruthie convinces Emma she was murdered. Emma, now intrigued, decides to help investigate Ruthie's death ... especially when the local law enforcement office, Jack, subpoenas Emma requesting she not bury Ruthie until the official investigation is over.

Sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong can get you into trouble, as it does with Emma. There's someone in town that's not happy with Emma playing junior detective. Will Emma be able to help Jack solve Ruthie's murder before someone close to Emma goes to jail?

There were parts of the story that moved just a bit too fast for me and I feel like some important elements may have been left out but overall I did enjoy this novel. I have a lot going on in my life right now and reading something just for the pure enjoyment of it was refreshing. It helped me to escape my head for a while, which is something I was sorely needing. If you're looking to escape and visit a new place for purely recreational purposes, then I would recommend beginning this series.


*A physical copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.