I enjoy cozy paranormal mysteries featuring ghosts, and Tonya Kappes’ books have the added feature of Southern humor and lifestyles. Kappes knows Kentucky small towns, and she capitalizes on that knowledge with her latest mystery, A Ghostly Demise.

Emma Lee Raines is the undertaker at her family funeral home in Sleepy Hollow, Kentucky, the Eternal Rest Funeral Home. Family comes first to Emma Lee, so she puts up with her exasperating Granny, Zula Fae Raines. But, it’s hard to put up with Zula Fae and her mayoral campaign, as she zooms around town on her scooter. But, it’s no easier putting up with Emma Lee’s other curse. She’s a Betweener who can see ghosts of the murdered dead, people who are stuck between the here and the after. When Cephus Hardy shows up, it’s a real shock. Everyone thought he left town years earlier. He was known as the town drunk, a gambler and womanizer. And, no one suspected he was murdered since his body was never found. But, once Emma Lee starts asking questions, someone tries to blow up the old mill with her in it. And, then another person becomes a ghost. It’s not an easy life for a Betweener when everyone suspects she’s talking to herself.

Kappes’ mysteries are delightful with a cast of eccentric Southern characters, beginning with Emma Lee and her Granny. It doesn’t get much crazier in a small town than a mayoral campaign between competing funeral home owners at the same time a carnival is in town. Granted, Emma Lee is a little more careless with her own safety than I usually like in a cozy mystery. But, she’s already a little nuts. What’s a little recklessness? She inherited some of her Granny’s spritely mannerisms.

If you enjoy cozy paranormal mysteries with eccentric ghosts and Southern mannerisms, check out Tonya Kappes’ latest, A Ghostly Demise.


Tonya Kappes’ website is www.tonyakappes.com

A Ghostly Demise by Tonya Kappes. Witness. 2015. ISBN 9780062374912 (paperback), 275p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – The publicist sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.