Don of the Dead

Don of the Dead is not the sort of book I would normally pick up. I am not a chick-lit reader of any sort, though I do enjoy a mystery now and then. The title of this book caught my attention and the back cover left me intrigued, so I picked up the book on a whim.

I was not disappointed.

Don of the Dead is a funny, fast romp with an unlikely twist for the heroine. Pepper Martin works as a cemetery tour guide in Cincinnati where there are more than a few famous dead. However, after a fall and blow to the head, she suddenly has the very unwanted ability to communicate with some of those dead. And right now she has to deal with a wise-cracking Mafia don who will continue to haunt her until she finds out who killed him.

Solving such an old show more crime is no easy task, even with the Don himself helping out along the way. Nor is it easy to have any kind of love life with Don Scarlotti watching over Pepper. She's determined to lay him to rest so she can have a little peace again!

This book is well-written, engaging, and fun. The main character is smart and sassy and Casey Daniels doesn't try the reader's patience by having Pepper make obvious mistakes in an attempt to keep the tension high in the story.

This is a delight to read. I even gave it to my husband who equally loved it. show less

Pepper Martin had thought her life was all planned out. Her plastic surgeon father and country club mother, her upbringing in the solid upper class neighborhood, her fairly useless college degree in Art History and her handsome fiancé were as much facts of her life as her red hair and almost 6 foot frame. Until her father went to federal prison for Medicare fraud, her mother crawled into a bottle, the house was foreclosed and her boyfriend backed off in a hurry, leaving no forwarding address. So, she took the first job she could find to try to support herself for the first time in her life -- as a tour guide at the largest cemetery in Cleveland. Learning all the details about mausoleums and headstones and leading tour groups interested show more in the famous and infamous people buried there gave her just enough income to keep body and soul together. The morning she slipped on the dewy grass and hit her head on the corner of a marble mausoleum turned out to be a turning point in her life when she suddenly became aware that the ghost of Augustus Scarpetti, "alleged" Mafia Don, had started following her around. Scarpetti was making her an offer she couldn't refuse, literally. He wanted her to find out who was behind the hit that took him out that night 40 years ago, and he intended to follow her around haunting her until she did it. But, old grievances never really die until ALL the parties involved are dead, and the more Pepper digs, the more the odds are that she'll soon be joining Gus prowling around the tombstones.

The premise of this book is not really new -- she sees dead people -- but it was written with just the right amount of humor and pathos to keep me reading. It took me a little while to like Pepper because I don't have a huge fondness for poor little rich girls, but I liked the way she thought. The writing was good, but not great, and there was one moment when I had the distinct impression that an editor had left out something fairly important when a reference was made to something that the reader was apparently supposed to know. I hate when that happens, but it wasn't glaring enough to be that disturbing. This is a nice little beginning to another ghost series. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Don of the Dead is the first book in cute, quirky cozy mystery series. At first I was a bit put off by the overly fluffy tone and how the main character and writer seems to take everything so lightly, but I soon fell into the story and ended up enjoying myself.

After Piper hits her head on a long-dead mobster's gravestone, she can now see and communicate with the ghost. The don wants her to solve his death because he's ready to move on, and there's a mystery in itself on the real reason behind that. As would be expected with the mobster type, he only reveals what he thinks he has to, keeping a lot of secrets close to his chest. Piper goes back and forth between freaking out she can see a ghost, doubting her sanity, and starting to get show more into the investigating.

The story was a good one - once you get past Piper's obsession with her looks and the fluffy writing style, it was interesting that she had to meet with some former mobster's, surviving children, interview people of a crime long past, and juggle between a suspicious scientist who is following her around and yummy but irritated cop who wonders where she's getting her information from.

I found Gus's character endearing, especially when he's protective over her with the men she dates. He's not a "good guy", but he's an enjoyable character. I've read four books of the series so far, and the first book and ghost remain my favorite of the lot, with the third coming in behind as a close tie.

If you like cute cozies, you'll probably enjoy this one as much as I did. Sometimes Piper comes across as borderline airheaded, but throwing in the contrast of her personality being gifted with this unusual talent makes satifsying, humorous clashes. The cemetary tour guide stuff and chipper boss who sees no wrong in her employee also paints a fun touch. The mystery itself is intriguing and the ending is excellent, wrapping it up with a few surprises that I wouldn't have previously guessed. show less

First Line: I have to admit, the first time Gus Scarpetti spoke to me, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention.

Pepper Martin is a spoiled little rich girl. Growing up with wealthy Doctor Daddy, she's coasted along on her looks and her money; not applying herself in school because she knew an advantageous marriage awaited her. Well, it did until Doctor Daddy was convicted of Medicare fraud. Abandoned by her snooty fiance and stripped of every luxury she was accustomed to, Pepper is skating atop the thin ice of life as a tour guide in a Cleveland, Ohio cemetery and dreaming of working in the shoe department of Saks Fifth Avenue (at least until the real Mr. Right comes along).

While she's guiding some old folks around the cemetery, she falls show more and cracks her head on the steps of the mausoleum of gangster Gus Scarpetti. Now all of a sudden, she's being harassed by a ghost who insists that she finds out who really killed him outside his favorite restaurant. Pepper would rather ace her Saks job interview and concentrate on Mr. Handsome Cop and Mr. Handsome Brainy Geek, but Gus just won't take no for an answer.

As a first book and the first book in a series, Don of the Dead was uneven. The two new men in her life seemed to fade in and out, only showing up when required by the plot, which also had some gaps.

Unfortunately Pepper is one of the most annoying types of characters I can encounter in any type of book: the whiny little rich girl who thinks her best feature is her boobs. I originally started counting the number of times Pepper thrust her assets in some poor hapless male's face, but I had to stop because it was merely annoying me. And before anyone reading this review thinks I'm jealous... well, I laugh in your general direction. Compared to me, Pepper is flat-chested.

By book's end the plot, pacing and characterization had come together, and I can see where this first book holds real promise for the continuation of the series. I am curious about these future books, but I may have to pass on them unless someone in the know can tell me that Pepper starts believing that her true assets rely on IQ, not cup size. show less

Pepper Martin recently took up a job as cemetery tour guide when her previous jobs weren't cutting it. Things started out okay, there was no paperwork and it paid better than Starbucks, but quickly took a turn for the unusual when Pepper's heel gets stuck in uneven ground and sends her headfirst into the front steps of a famous mobster's mausoleum. Now she's seeing ghosts and one in particular wants her help with his unfinished business. Gus Scarpetti was murdered and the killer was never caught. It's now up to Pepper to uncover the murderer so that Scarpetti can move on and more importantly stop haunting her.

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of Don of the Dead. I found it to be clever and full of twists and turns. Pepper turned out show more to be an intriguing 'detective' and I loved reading about all of her strategies to make progress in the mystery. I was surprised with how much of a page turner this book turned out to be. I was very involved with the case and trying to solve it as Pepper gave us new information. It was riddled with action and the problems Pepper had to overcome with a ghost no one else could see as her boss were fun to read about.

Before going any further into my review I want to say that the below ramblings are technically 'spoilers'. However, the examples used only come from the very beginning of the book, nothing you wouldn't find out within the first 30 minutes of reading.

Pepper was a little too materialistic and self centered for my tastes. She was all about clothes, purses and shoes and very descriptive and long winded whenever they came up in the book. She's also got a great chest and every guy ever has to stare at it, which annoys her but when Dan is more interested in her brain scans she gets bitchy and accuses him of being gay. Her boobs are just that great. What bothered me most about Pepper is her attitude towards Joel. Yeah, yeah, the ex-anything is always the scumbag but from what Pepper shares, I honestly felt worse for him. Pepper wants the country club wife lifestyle, doesn't want to work and wants a man who will buy her everything. She never says she loved Joel. Joel dumps her when her father goes to jail for medicare fraud. What does Pepper have to say about all of this? Well she found it unfair that he called off the fifty-thousand-dollar wedding she'd been planning that Joel was probably going to be paying for.

If you're able to withstand Pepper and turn her train wreck into humor, you'll find Don of the Dead to be a quick enjoyable read. If you aren't able to see Pepper's behavior and attitude as humor... well, you'll probably want to stop reading while you still can. There were times when I was able to chuckle and compare Pepper to Desperate Housewives or other shows in that vein, and actually enjoy her character. There were other times when all I wanted was for Pepper to take another nosedive into tombstone and die of hemorrhaging. I genuinely liked Pepper when she was solving the mystery. I liked how she went about things, her thoughts, etc. Pepper was a wonderful character when it counted and when interacting with Scarpetti. I was completely shocked when she actually got an emotional response from me when she was feeling humiliated and upset. Pepper is a very shallow appearing character and yet I feel that she has potential. I don't want to say Pepper grew up or matured throughout the book because I honestly don't think she did, but as she was distracted and got more involved with the mystery she was much less of the person I've described her being in the beginning.

See my blog for quotes and my thoughts as I read: http://www.bittenbooks.com/2011/08/review-don-of-dead-pepper-martin-1-by.html show less

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.