couldn't finish, lame tale of seeing ghost of murdered don after hitting head on tombstone, very derivitive

Pepper Martin, an ex-rich girl, takes the only job she can get - tour guide in a cemetery. When she slips and hits her head on the stones of Don Gus Scarpetti’s mausoleum, her life changes. Because now she can see and talk to ghosts.

The start of her new career, Pepper Martin P.I. to the dead. Her first client is Gus Scarpetti, his unfinished business - who murdered him?

The mystery is well-plotted, and the characters are individual and easy to visualize. An enjoyable mystery, easy to read. ( )

It was mostly a meh 2 stars, but the last 50 pages or so managed to hold my attention. Marginally.
( )

This book really reminded me of the Teagarden Mystery books by Charlaine Harris. Some sexual attraction, some humor, and some great characters. I got involved enought to read the rest of the series, there were enough unfinished things to keep me coming back. A fast read, I finished in one day... ( )

About: Pepper Martin, a down-on-her-luck-former-rich-girl, is stuck giving cemetery tours to pay her bills. After taking a spill and whacking her head on a tombstone, she's suddenly able to see Gus Scarpetti, a mob boss who got whacked decades earlier. Gus' spirit is not able to "move on" until he takes care of some unfinished earthly business, namely finding out who murdered him, and he wants Pepper to help. Pepper doesn't want to do it, however Mafia dons don't take no for an answer, even deceased ones.

Yays: The murder mystery was fantastic. Essentially it was a 30-year old cold case that Pepper had to crack, and Gus wasn't always forthcoming with helpful information. It wasn't easy putting all the pieces together, but Pepper managed to do it. I didn't figure out the culprit until the last few pages. I also loved the cemetery setting. For a taphophile like me, a cemetery tour guide would be a fascinating job.

Mehs: I'm sorry to say that I just didn't care for Pepper. She was great at solving the mystery, and her ghost-seeing ability was super cool, but other than that, she was kind of annoying. I lost count of the times she mentioned her large boobs and how men find them irresistible. *eye-roll* She came off as shallow and materialistic, which I'm sure ties in with the former-rich-girl thing. I'm hoping her personality goes through some changes in future books.

Conclusion: Though the main character could have been better, I loved the paranormal mystery in DON OF THE DEAD. Since I love ghost stories so much, I'd be willing to read the next book in the series and see if Pepper's character matures. 3½-stars! ( )