In February 2019, I shared with you all my paranormal/supernatural cozy mystery series reading list. Well, I have now completed the reading list, and in this blog post, I will be sharing my thoughts on each book.
I planned to read the following books:
- Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris — Book 1 from the Harper Connolly Mysteries or Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris — Book 1 from the Midnight, Texas series
- Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones — Book 11 from the Charley Davidson series
- Graveyard Shift by Casey Daniels — Book 10 from the Pepper Martin Mystery series
- Murder on the Rocks by Allyson K. Abbott — Book 1 from the Mack’s Bar Mystery series
- Brenda and Effie Forever! by Paul Magrs — Book 6 from Brenda and Effie Mystery series
I couldn’t get the Murder on the Rocks book, so I read both Charlaine Harris books instead.
Okay, let’s get into the reviews.
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
I couldn’t get the book from the library, but I luckily found a copy of the book in the WHSmith’s Clearance section for £1 — what a bargain.
Grave Sight is the first book in the Harper Connolly Mysteries series. Harper Connolly is the main character of the series. She was hit by lightning as a teenager, and since then, she’s been able to sense dead bodies and how they died.
In Grave Sight, Harper and her stepbrother Tolliver are called to solve a case in a town called Sarne. Harper is asked to find out how a boy called Dell Teague died and to find his missing girlfriend, Teenie, who is presumed dead. Harper does her job, but she is pulled into a world of secrets and murder.
I enjoyed the story, and I was intrigued to find out how it all ended. I did guess who the killer was before I reached the end, but I continued reading to prove myself right. I’m not sure if guessing the killer was due to my fabulous detective skills or due to the killer being obvious — I prefer to believe it’s my detective skills. However, there was a surprise at the end that I wasn’t expecting, but I did find the ending a bit odd and rushed. There were also some inconsistencies with a character’s age: one minute they are 16, the next they are 17.
I liked Harper because she isn’t a typical hero — actually, I don’t think she wants to be a hero. I love how she isn’t willing to go down without a fight. Due to my liking of the character, and the idea behind the series, I would be interested in reading the other Harper Connolly Mysteries’ books.
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones
Eleventh Grave in Moonlight is the eleventh book in the Charley Davidson series. I can’t remember why I started the series here, but it might be because the library didn’t have any of the earlier books in the series. Charley Davidson is the main character. She is a private investigator, grim reaper and a god — I won’t say what kind of god because I might spoil the books for you.
Charley is a down to earth character, even though she’s a god. She’s also funny, feisty and a little naughty — the kind of girl you wouldn’t mind being friends with.
In Eleventh Grave in Moonlight, the main story focuses on a case involving a man named Shaun Foster, who believes he was kidnapped as a baby. Reyes, Charley’s husband, doesn’t want her to take the case because there appears to be a link between his abduction and Shaun’s. However, there’s more to the story than a simple abduction. There are also two minor plots. The first revolves around Amber, Cookie’s daughter, who is being sent threatening texts. And the second subplot deals with angels stalking Charley and a god who is searching for Charley’s daughter, whom Charley has hidden even from herself.
I wasn’t drawn into the story that much. I believe it’s because I started late in the series, so I haven’t had the opportunity to care for the characters — I did love Charley, though.
I would like to give the series a better chance, so I plan to read the earlier books in the series.
Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris
Midnight Crossroad is the first book in the Midnight, Texas series. The book is told in multiple points of views, which surprisingly doesn’t spoil the mystery — the town inhabitants don’t know each other very well due to the unspoken ‘don’t ask’ rule.
The story is set in a mysterious small town called Midnight in Texas. We are introduced to a character called Manfred, who is a newcomer to the town and intrigued to learn more about the town inhabitants. The town residents decide to hold a town picnic to introduce the newcomer, but things don’t go to plan when a body is found.
I enjoyed the story and all its twists and turns. The characters felt real, and I grew to like them all, even the odd ones. However, the revealing of the killer was disappointing. I didn’t get the ‘aha! Why didn’t I see it before?’ moment. Instead, I had an ‘Oh! How is that person the killer’ moment — I feel more clues might have been needed. I was surprised, however, by what happened to the killer.
Overall, it was a good read, and I would be happy to read the other stories in the series.
Graveyard Shift by Casey Daniels
Graveyard Shift is book 10 in the Pepper Martin Mysteries series — I couldn’t find any of the earlier books in any of my local libraries. The story centres around a woman called Pepper Martin, who is a Community Relations Manager at the Garden View Cemetery and a Private Investigator to the dead. Her gift for seeing and communicating with dead people started after she hit her head on a gravestone.
In Graveyard Shift, Pepper is going about her everyday business when the ghost of Eliot Ness contacts her. He, unlike most ghosts Pepper sees, doesn’t appear as a full apparition. He says he can’t appear as a full apparition because his ashes were not scattered in one place as they were supposed to be. Ness asks Pepper to help him find his ashes, so he can finally rest in peace. Pepper reluctantly agrees, but the case soon becomes more complicated when the person who stole the ashes is found dead.
Even though this book is book 10 in the series, I was able to follow the story and not feel confused. It kept me gripped, and the surprises kept coming, but I was a little underwhelmed by the ending. However, the very end of the story did pique my interest in the next book in the series.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I would happily read more books in the series.
Brenda and Effie Forever! by Paul Magrs
Brenda and Effie Forever! is book six in the Brenda and Effie Mystery series. Again, I couldn’t find any of the earlier books in the library. But book six works well on its own, and I was able to get an idea of past mysteries and events. Therefore, I didn’t feel lost or confused while reading the book.
Brenda and Effie are the main characters. Brenda is the created bride for Frank, Frankenstein’s monster, but she has since gone her separate ways from Frank. Effie is a white witch. Both women are over 60 years old, but they can still kick ass and never run from a fight. They live in Whitby and are the Guardians of the Bitches’ Maw — a gateway into Hell. They also protect the citizens of Whitby from the supernatural creatures, some of who are also Whitby residents.
Brenda and Effie Forever! is written in the first person and from Brenda’s point of view. Both the women, having decided to take a well-earned break, are holidaying in Paris. While in Paris they meet a man with a limp and a hump. He warns them to never go home because something terrible will happen to the world if they do. But Brenda and Effie must go home, so they ignore the warnings and return to Whitby. However, they soon learn the consequences of their decision. And they soon discover that their meeting was more than a coincidence.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and it was nice to see older women are the ones to save the day instead of being weak, feeble and invisible. I was keen to find out why Brenda and Effie were warned to not return home to Whitby. However, I found the ending disappointing — you are told how it ends rather than shown how it ends. I realise this was done to make the ending a surprise, but it didn’t work for me. I would have preferred to have seen the action unfold. But I still enjoyed the story, and I would like to read the rest in the series.
Out of all the supernatural mystery books I have read, Brenda and Effie Forever! is the one that is the closest style and type to my supernatural mystery series. So it’s good to see what works and what doesn’t work.
So there you have it, my review of my paranormal/supernatural cozy mystery series reading list. Have you read any of these books? If you have, or if you do, I would love to hear your views, so feel free to comment in the box below.
And before I forget, you can find my latest ‘Setting Self-Doubt on Fire’ post at the link below:
Setting Self Doubt on Fire — Beat the Fear of Self-Publishing
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