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    A Ghostly Demise: A Ghostly Southern Mystery
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    A Ghostly Demise: A Ghostly Southern Mystery
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    A Ghostly Demise: A Ghostly Southern Mystery
    Ebook215 pages3 hours

    A Ghostly Demise: A Ghostly Southern Mystery

    By Tonya Kappes

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    The prodigal father returns—but this ghost is no holy spirit

    When she runs into her friend's deadbeat dad at the local deli, undertaker Emma Lee Raines can't wait to tell Mary Anna Hardy that he's back in Sleepy Hollow, Kentucky, after five long years. Cephus Hardy may have been the town drunk, but he didn't disappear on an epic bender like everyone thought: He was murdered. And he's heard that Emma Lee's been helping lost souls move on to that great big party in the sky.

    Why do ghosts always bother Emma Lee at the worst times? Her granny's mayoral campaign is in high gear, a carnival is taking over the town square, and her hunky boyfriend, Sheriff Jack Henry Ross, is stuck wrestling runaway goats. Besides, Cephus has no clue whodunit…unless it was one of Mrs. Hardy's not-so-secret admirers. All roads lead Emma Lee to that carnival—and a killer who isn't clowning around.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateAug 25, 2015
    ISBN9780062374929
    Author

    Tonya Kappes

    Tonya Kappes has written more than fifteen novels and four novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, two very spoiled schnauzers, and one ex-stray cat in northern Kentucky. Now that her boys are teenagers, Tonya writes full-time but can be found at all of her guys' high-school games with a pencil and paper in hand. Come on over and FAN Tonya on Goodreads.

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    Reviews for A Ghostly Demise

    4/5

    42 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The first in the series: I like the characters, I like the humor, I like the ghosts, & I like the stories....Emma Lee & her sister Charlotte have taken over the family's undertaker & funeral parlor business.... Charlotte on the business side & Emma Lee on the undertaker side. When Emma Lee is hit on the head by a falling plastic Santa Clause and she begins seeing the ghosts of people her family has buried... unfortunately all those she sees have been murdered and it is up to her to help solver their murders so that they may cross over.In this first book, Emma Lee, helps Ruthie Sue Payne find who pushed her down the stairs. Unfortunately Ruthie's biggest competitor is Emma Lee's granny, who was the 2nd wife of Ruthie's ex-husband & co-owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn.With the mayor pushing for redevelopment, a shady real-estate agent, & Emma Lee's granny there is a long list of suspects.A light, fun, & entertaining read
    • 5/5
      Emma Lee with her sister runs the family Funeral Home but she didn't expect to be able to see ghosts. When Ruthie dies and Emma finds herself face to face with Ruthie's ghost at her veiwing things get interesting. Ruthie tells Emma she has to help her find out who killed her that her death was not an accident. After the initial shock of being able to see and talk to a ghost Emma gets down to snooping to find out who did Ruthie in and has to find out fast before her Granny is blamed. Will she find the answers before Granny is arrested and what is Granny hiding? Will she solve the mystery before anyone else is hurt? Can she help Ruthie so she can cross over and all before the whole town thinks she is crazy?I loved this book. I love the small southern town dynamics and charm. Emma Lee is just spunky enough to be able to handle the town gossip, yet you get drawn in to feeling how shy she is when the good looking Sheriff is around. This book has all the right elements a good mystery with a few surprises, good characters that you can relate to, I mean who hasn't known a gossip or a Granny that rules the roost. Throw in a spunky somewhat bossy ghost and you have the makings of a good book that you can't put down. It is funny, with a little romance and a mystery that will make you go I didn't see that one coming. I highly recommend this book and series. Tonya Kappes has a way to make you feel right at home in Sleepy Hollow so pull up a chair and sit a spell while you get to know the people of Sleepy Hollow and help Emma Lee and Ruthie solve this mystery.
    • 4/5
      Cute paranormal cozy mystery
    • 3/5
      I thought the book was decent for the first book in a new series. This is the 1st book I have read by this author and a decent book to begin with. I do hope to see the characters develop more in the rest of the series. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series as soon as possible. Until then, the next book I'll be reading is another book by Tonya Kappes, the first book in her Grandberry Falls series, the Ladybug Jinx.
    • 3/5
      Emma runs a funeral home with her perfect sister. And Emma is not so perfect. A plastic Santa fell on her and no she can see dead people. Everyone in town whispers about her and are changing funeral homes. So it's not a good day to be her. I did feel like I would have wanted to see the whole santa thing, maybe a pre novella? But we were told so I am fine with it.

      Right the dead people thing then. It's just one dead person. One annoying arch enemy of her gran, and this annoying person tells Emma it was murder! What to do? Pretend she is not there or solve the murder and get rid of her? She goes for the investigating stuff and stumbles upon a few things. I am not gonna say she is a perfect detective, no, she is lucky but does not always get things right. But that is just fun to read about.

      I do wonder what her's sisters issue is though, such a stick in the mud.

      There is also a blossoming love interest with the town sheriff, as her path does cross with him a few times. I think they can be good for each other. I liked him.

      And more drama is to come. She is still "crazy" according to townies, so how will they run their business? More ghosts are coming too. I guess I will just have to read book 2 to find out :)

      Fun, a good mystery, and a heroine that I enjoyed reading about.
    • 4/5
      Emma Raines grew up in the funeral business and she never had a problem until she got hit on the head and woke up in the hospital with a dead guy next to her bed. But that was just a one time thing, a hallucination, right? Well no. When town gossip Ruthie Payne is brought to the funeral home, her ghost is also there. She tells Emma that she was pushed down the stairs and Emma needs to help her find out who it was. This was a super fun read. I know, funeral homes are not that much fun. But Emma and the towns people of Sleepy Hollow, Kentucky make this book very entertaining. It was also a fast read that filled my weekend nicely. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
    • 3/5
      A little rough at the start, trying to get all the characters introduced. Too cute with the names.
    • 4/5
      Emma is not a demure southern belle. She’s a true southern gal after my own heart. Blurts out what pops in her mind. Not afraid to look crazy. Dives in feet first and to heck with the consequences.Life gets crazy for Emma after a plastic Santa falls off the roof of Artie’s Deli and Meat store and knocks her out. When she comes to she can see ghosts. Everyone thinks she’s either gone around the bend or suffering from ‘funeral trauma.’Emma soon knows better when Ruthie Sue, co-owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn, along with Emma’s grandmother Zula Mae, is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. Her ghost comes to Emma, adamant she was pushed and wants her murderer brought to justice.Ruthie and Zula Fae were arch enemies and that puts Zula in the spotlight as a prime suspect. Emma has to put on her sleuthing cap and get to the bottom of it as another person falls victim.Emma and her older sister, Charlotte, operate The Eternal Slumber Funeral Home, owned by their grandmother Zula Mae.I could just see Emma speeding pell mell through town in her hearse, arguing with the ghost of Ruthie Sue, and the people with their mouths hanging up, shaking their heads as they declare Emma has lost her marbles.The only one that doesn’t chalk her antics up to lunacy is the handsome Sheriff Jack Henry. He sees more than craziness in Emma’s information. She knows thing only Ruthie Sue could know.I enjoyed the blooming romance between Jack Henry and Emma Lee. They may not be school kids anymore, but their attraction to each other is bumbling, teasing, and sweet.I felt so at home in this book. I live in the south and can tell you that these characters are genuine, right down to two first names.The mystery isn’t obvious and the antics of all of the characters had me snickering.A light hearted cozy mystery that tickled my funny bone, I do declare.
    • 4/5
      4 STARS I liked the characters especially Emma Lee Raines. I kept wanting the best for her. More people to believe her. I want to see more of her in the future. Emma Lee Raines had a head injury caused by a plastic Santa falling off a roof. Ever since she woke up she has seen ghosts. She was diagnosed with “funeral trauma.” seeing too many dead guys. She is a undertaker for the past three years in the family business. She has lived in the funeral home all her life. Right now she is seeing Ruthie's ghost. Ruthie is telling her she was murdered. Ruthie Sue Payne—innkeeper, gossip queen, and arch-nemesis of Emma Lee's granny. Ruthie and Granny Raines own a inn together. Granny married Ruthie's ex-husband. Sheriff Jack Henry Ross is not ready to say Ruthie's death was a accident. His prime suspect is Granny Raines. He catches Emma talking to herself a lot. This story you were not sure who to trust. There is a lot going on. I want to keep reading and hope that things start going better overall for the characters. I was given this ebook A Ghostly Undertaking so I could give a honest review and be part of A Ghostly Undertalking blog tour.