Pepper Martin returns to Garden View and meets ghost Didi Bowman. Didi claims her sister stole her book and made millions in royalties. Didi’s granddaughter needs money, so she asks Pepper to prove she authored the book.

Fun and easy read. The book So Far the Dawn is referred to as SFTD and made me think of GWTW. There is more than one mystery that Pepper needs to solve as she tries to establish Didi as the author. ( )

Pepper Martin is finally free of ghosts, or so she hopes. She managed to run the latest ghost off moments before finding out she'd be out of a job for the whole summer. A famous and beloved historical romance writer will be visiting for the opening of her book's museum and Pepper's tours won't be possible with so much attention focused on Merilee. Now Pepper needs to find Didi, the ghost, because solving her murder might just let Pepper continue to pay her bills. Didi's not interested in that kind of help however, she wants Pepper to prove that Merilee, her sister, stole her book.

Book one Pepper and book two Pepper are the same person but not. It's really hard for me to verbally describe what's going on with this. All of the traits that drove me batty in Don of the Dead have been significantly diluted but not completely removed. And the favorable traits shine much more easily in The Chick and the Dead. It's a little bit like Pepper in the first book was a cartoon of an outline for what makes up Pepper whereas Pepper in this book is an actual person.

I was a lot more emotionally involved in the mystery for The Chick and the Dead than the previous book which actually decreased my enjoyment a little. I enjoyed the first book because it was cute, light and fun but the mystery in this one cast a slightly angst ridden cloud over the book. I'm amazed, cozy mystery that elicits an emotional response, but I'd been hoping for what the previous experience gave me. That said, I did find that I appreciated Pepper's antics significantly more because her humor was much more appreciated.

Despite the more emotional quality, I enjoyed how different the mystery in The Chick and the Dead was from the previous book, Don of the Dead. I didn't read the summary before picking up this one and had been expecting another murder mystery. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the mystery in this one couldn't have been any more different. Mobster vs. romance writer, murder vs. stolen book, gruff ghost vs. sweet perky ghost etc. I really enjoyed the mob theme of the previous book but having such an immensely different take on solving a mystery for a ghost was really fun to read. Honestly, when I began this book I was expecting something familiar, a similar mystery with a different ghost and definitely the same crazy Pepper. Instead I got a totally new mystery and a Pepper who has definitely changed for the better since the last book. The series does liken a lot to a TV series though. Each book is it's own episode instead of an epic story. I usually prefer that one extended immersion but I I found myself appreciating the 'episodes' of Pepper Martin Mysteries. I like that I can just pick up a book, read it and enjoy it, then move on. This series is a wonderful beach book (simply for pleasure, quick read).

A few characters from Don of the Dead returned to The Chick and the Dead that I hadn't been expecting. I didn't really care all too much about these characters but I was glad to see they weren't completely disposed of. It allowed more Pepper growth to become viable because it was in these interactions in the previous book that she had bothered me the most.

If the first book in the Pepper Martin series wasn't for you, this book is still worth trying out because all of my complaints from the first book have been mostly ironed out. The mystery kept me on my toes and the small preview for the next book has me even more interested in continuing the series.

See my blog for quotes and my thoughts as I read: http://www.bittenbooks.com/2011/08/review-chick-and-dead-pepper-martin-2.html ( )

I can't say enough fabulous things about this series. Here, Pepper Martin, finds herself speaking with a ghost from the fifties who wrote a novel that became a mega sucess only to have her sister credited for being the 'talented' author. The ghost needs to be proven the author in order to provide financial resources from her orphaned grandaughter, who is in foster care. Pepper Martin, is a quirky, fun character, who wants to be shallow a little, but is sensitive, compassionate, determined, funny, and smart. This is a character whose smarts are often an afterthought. She definitely is led by her heart. The first two stories literally flew by as the stories never had a boring part, and scenes with the ghosts are aplenty. The rapport between Pepper and her deceased clients is the shining star of success in the series. Its hard to resist the charm of Pepper trying her best to resist the ghosts. Again, the softer side of Pepper is her downfall. To complete the rounding out of a five star review is the fact that the mystery is good enough to not be completely figured out before its reveal, AND even more so the fact that this is the second volume and has remained true to its pilot, plot, and narrative. This is at least as good as the first story and the only thing missing was the Don himself. How have these books been so overlooked? Amazing, I can't sing its praises enough. ( )

Pepper Martin sees dead people. This time it's the sister of an author who is coming to visit who believes that the author has wronged her. Trouble is that the only job Pepper has is helping this author.

It's fun, Pepper is a fun character with lots of attitude who really sparkles. ( )

Who did write the world renowned novel So Far the Dawn? According to Didi,Pepper's latest ghostly companion, she did but it is her sister who has been getting all the credit and acclaim all these years. So Pepper sets off to prove Didi's authorship and maybe solve a couple of murders. ( )