Pepper is approached by a ghost that just happens to be her coworkers high school missing friend. A girl that went missing over 45 years ago. They tangles her up in a whole mess of old high school drama and family issues. Pepper tackles the few clues available with the help of a teenage want to be.
This was not my favorite Pepper mystery. I had trouble keeping interested in the book for the first 3/4 of the story. it just did not have the wow factor of her previous mysteries. Perhaps it was the total lack of romance ? I hope that not what I lowered myself to, but even so I found it dull. I did not care about any of the characters, not even Pepper. I found no emotion value, none of the humor in her past books. It was just a filler. I will try with one more book in the series. ( )

Good entry in series. Nice to get background on Ella. The off-screen Jim has to go. ( )

Pepper Martin is once again drawn in to solving a murder. This time she is approached by a teenager who has kissed Paul McCartney during a Beetles concert. There are a few interesting twists and turns, but the holding back of information is as irritating to the reader as it is to Pepper. ( )

“A Hard Day’s Fright” by Casey Daniels:

Pepper Martin works in a cemetery, so why not talk to ghosts and solve murders for them? It’s a perfect fit for her, even if she sometimes doesn’t want to do it.

In this witty, enjoyable novel, Pepper is visited by a ghost from the 60s. Forty five years after her death, Lucy Pasternak asks Pepper to find her body so she can rest. It turns out Lucy was none other than the best friend of Pepper’s coworker and good friend Ella. That’s helpful, but not enough because Ella wasn’t present when Lucy was killed. And Lucy’s body was never found, so many, including Ella, assumed Lucy just ran away.

Thrown into the mix is Ella’s wild teenager Ariel, who mimics her by dressing, acting and investigating like Pepper does. Ariel shadows her and even tries to look into things on her own and Pepper has to now look out for her as well.

Will Pepper actually be able to put this soul to rest after so many years? This amusing book will keep you turning the pages to find out if Pepper (and Ariel?) can do it. ( )

Series: 7th in Pepper Martin Mystery

Main Character: Red-head Pepper Martin, cemetery tour guide and ghost whisperer who is the daughter of a prominent surgeon father imprisoned for insurance fraud, and a society mother. She must make her own way financially now.

Setting: Modern Day, Cleveland Ohio

Obtained Through: from publisher for an honest review

Pepper's car is broke so she is riding on the Rapid Transit when Lucy Pasternak, dead since 1966 after a Beatles concert, approaches Pepper. But rather than asking Pepper to help find her killer she asks Pepper to simply find her body. Nobody knows the fifteen year old and popular Lucy is dead because the body was never found. Pepper was tempted to turn down the case since there just was no starting point, until her boss, Ella, turns out to have been Lucy's best friend and still mourns the loss of Lucy.

Several friends were riding home together after the Beatles concert where Lucy kept retelling to her friends how she ran onto the stage and kissed Paul McCartney. The other friends in the group got of early, but Ella and Lucy stayed on the bus until Ella's stop. Ella's last memory is of Lucy waving good by from the back of the bus. Poof, she was never heard from again, like the intro of a "Lost Without a Trace" episode.

That was forty-five years ago. Of course Pepper can't share what Lucy tells her happened that night. How she got off at her stop and was jumped, blindfolded, tied up, and thrown in the back of a car. When the trunk door opened again she was smothered with a blanket. She has no clue where she was taken or who grabbed her. Not much to go on for Pepper.

The last thing Pepper needs is Ella's fifteen year old rebellious girl, Ariel, spending time with Pepper as a favor to Ella. Ariel is a subplot that runs throughout the story and I found it a good touch with their interactions.

Another subplot is the serial killer in the city that Pepper follows in the news because her ex-boyfriend is in the thick of capturing the man. Each news story opens her fresh wounds from the break-up. You see, he couldn't accept that she talks to the dead, he feels she is either emotional disturbed or playing games for attention.

The suspects range from one of Lucy's former teacher who is now a semi-famous poet, Lucy's ex-boyfriend, the girl who snatched up Lucy's ex, two other guys that went to the concert, one of which had a crush on Ella. Of all these suspects, one of the guys was killed in Nam with rumors he committed suicide by jumping into gunfire, the other guy is a long standing drunk who seems haunted by his past. Lucy's old boyfriend is an influential business man and the girlfriend who once snatched him up is a successful real estate broker. As Pepper starts asking questions, a murder occurs among one of the suspects and Pepper knows the killer doesn't want Lucy's body, nor the past, dug up.

I enjoyed this book more than I did the previous one. Perhaps part of that is the absence of her annoying boyfriend. Granted I only met him in "Tomb With a View" and they had already broke up, so my opinion of him is probably tainted. I related to Pepper even more in this book than the previous. She seemed less spoiled and a bit more sensible.

I really loved the drawing on the sixties culture for this mystery, it was richly portrayed. The two teenagers in the book, the ghost Lucy and Ella's daughter Ariel, both were great depictions of dramatic and moody teenage girls while showing some innocence and growing pains.

The plot was good, although I had my strong suspicion of who the killer was and a rough idea of how it was done, the motive was slowly revealed. I enjoyed the plot and the storytelling which did its job of entertaining. The climatic revealing of the killer was good and tense. The wrap up had an interesting twist that left the book with a cliff hanger and I am waiting to see how that is resolved in the next book. This setups a turning point in the series with this book's ending.

The Pepper Martin series is a solid bet for anybody wanting an enjoyable cozy mystery with just enough paranormal to make it interesting. The murders and investigation consistently deliver an entertaining ride and this seventh in the series shows it is still a strong go-to series.

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