Quirky characters, plenty of twists, a missing body, and a family turned upside down combine to make this a great story. Kat's grandma had me laughing, and I'd love to spend a day with her! If you like your cozy mysteries to be a bit quirky, then you'll love this book. I hope to see more of Kat and Burns in the future. ( )

I really wanted to love this book but it was just ok for me. It took me almost a month to finish because it was so easy to put down. I would have liked more mystery and more clues. I also would like to know what happened to the dad. ( )

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.

Kat Waters was one of the rich and privileged until her dad was arrested for racketeering. With assets frozen and the house seized she and her mother had to find a place to live. Also, Kat has had to get a job to support them both and her grandmother since they could no longer afford her pricey retirement home fees. In order to keep a roof over their head, fed, and buy medicine for her Grand, Kat supplements her income by selling her designer shoes, of which she has a lot. Well, less now. In a stroke of good luck, her Grand’s boyfriend has also been helping them. He got Kat a job at the county morgue and found them an apartment in a small house to rent. But Claude can only do so much, so it’s up to Kat to keep them afloat until the misunderstanding with her dad is straightened out. And then a body is stolen right out from under her nose. When it looks like she’s going to lose her job over it, Kat goes on the offensive to find out who stole the poor murdered woman and clear her name in the process. That’s when the fun begins. Well, fun for us. Not so much for Kat.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted cozy mystery to pleasantly pass an afternoon then this is the one for you. Kat is quite an interesting character and I like her a lot. Secondary characters shine and the world is interesting. The only problem I had is that it is, at times, a bit too cartoony. If that’s even the right word. But don’t let that stop you. I enjoyed it and I’m really hoping to see more of Kat and her group of eclectic friends. With the way things ended, I’m pretty sure that’s a given. Bring it on!

A cozy mystery that begins with a rich girl who suddenly finds herself poor, who got a job working in a morgue, and who has the bad luck to have a body stolen during a shift she's not even supposed to be working? Hell, yeah, sign me up! And what a fun book it turned out to be! There were so many well fleshed out characters ... even the secondary ones had good back stories that were explained very nicely. Kat was very responsible and down to earth for a (maybe) mob princess (just don't let her hear you calling her that). Her grandma (the appropriately named Grand) was a hoot, and soon became a favorite of mine. And the mysterious Burns McPhee begs to have his layers peeled away, to get to really know him.

I laughed my way through the book, and enjoyed how the mystery unfolded. I felt like the pacing was well done, as well. This was really a fun, fast moving book, and I easily recommend it to fellow lovers of cozy mysteries with great characters and lots of humor. I look forward to continuing with the series.

I'm giving this book an enthusiastic 5/5 stars.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ( )

Returning to cozy mysteries after a while.....loved it.
I enjoyed the plot, MJ's writing style, the lol moments, the characters and the finale.....
It is great that the author didn't leave us at a cliffhanger and at the same time left some key threads hanging to be looking forward to a sequel. I would love to read other adventures this set of characters embark on.
Thanks to LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Giveaway, from which I received this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )