A Hard Day's Fright
A Pepper Martin Mystery No 7
Casey Daniels

Berkley Prime Crime
April 2011 / ISBN 9780425240564
Mystery/ Paranormal
Amazon

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer

Pepper Martin is a tour guide for the historic cemetery, Garden View in Cleveland, Ohio. One day she stumbled, hit her head on a mausoleum. When she regained consciousness she found she had become a detective for the dead helping them find who killed them so they could rest easy.

Pepper sees Lucy Pasternak on the train Lucy rode 45 years ago. Lucy demands that Pepper finds her body and bury it so she can rest in peace.

In 1966 Lucy went to a Beatle concert, ran on to the stage and kissed Paul McCartney. She was the last one on the train headed home and was never seen again. Penny was not going to do it until her best friend, Ella, reveals that Lucy had been her best friend. Pepper's search into the events of the past is added to her problems. She must deal with Ella's rebellious daughter who wants to help her investigate, and her ex-boyfriend, Detective Quinn, who took off when she told him that she talked to dead people.

This is an excellently plotted story. Pepper is a witty, charming woman with loyalty and understanding. Her dealings with Ella's daughter, Ariel, are amusing.

The concept of communicating with the dead is an intriguing one and not a new one....there is a history of mediums. This is a fast read into that world.