What a fun series. Need a ride? Hop in the Taxi for the Dead. Oh, I’, sorry. Not a zombie? No ride then and consider yourself lucky.
I’ve got lots to share with you today.
I’m reviewing both books, Broken Hearted Ghoul, Book One, and Dead Girl Blues, Book Two.
And I have an awesome giveaway too so don’t forget to enter.
You could win print copies of both books and a skull mug and pen holder plus a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
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Dead Girl Blues
by Joyce and Jim Lavene
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You simply canNOT go wrong with anything written by Joyce and Jim Lavene.
~Back Porchervations
Jim and Joyce Lavene’s newest paranormal Dead Girl Blues will have you reading through the night. Magic, Zombies and a story line so well written this whodunit will leave you wanting more.
~Shelley’s Book Case
Ghosts, zombies, werewolves, sorcerers….there is a lot of paranormal going on here in this cozy mystery. But it all works and makes for an enjoyable read. The characters are all believable and interesting.
~MysteriesEtc.
Dead Girl Blues is a zombie novel with a twist that is new to me. I love finding something unique, original and slightly funny. Imagine a zombie doing a murder investigation. It put a smile on my face, how about yours?
~fundinmental
Dead Girl Blues is a different cozy mystery. It has ghosts, zombies, sorcerer and other creatures. It has lots of drama, humor, wit , car chases, romance and surprises….I want to read the next book in the series. Has lot of characters that I want to find out what happens next.
~readalot
There is something for everyone in this book. I liked this author team and will be watching for more books.
~Bab’s Book Bistro
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Dead Girl Blues
By Joyce and Jim Lavene
• Genre – Cozy Mystery (PARANORMAL)
My Review
I’m addicted to cozy mysteries and how could I resist one with a supernatural theme. There’s magic, mayhem, and mystery with many mystical beings.
As I read the first couple of sentences from this second book in the Taxi For The Dead Series I was grinning. I’d wondered if this installment would be as fun as the first and I needn’t have worried.
Skye and Debbie start us off with a bet on whether their next LEP (Life Extended People) would submit meekly or be a runner. Skye bet the woman would submit and she one. Or so she thought until the husband started blasting away at them with a shotgun while the LEP took off across the rough terrain on a four-wheeler. In pursuit, Skye’s poor bedraggled van met it’s end with tires flying off and tail pipe flying through the air. Looks like they’ll be shopping for a new taxi for the dead.
Dead Girl Blues captured me right then and there and I couldn’t wait to read more.
For those who haven’t read the first book I’ll give you a brief recap. Skye and her husband were in a fatal car crash. Approached by Abraham Lincoln Jones, Skye pledged servitude to him for twenty mores years walking the eart. She’s a zombie but looks normal. She doesn’t shuffle or eat brains. She did this to have more time to raise her daughter. Her service to Abe is bringing in other LEPs when their time is up.
In her job, she must not show sympathy and let one slip away. After their twenty years, if now rounded up and brought to the mortuary, they change and become a ghoul. A loved one no longer recognizable.
Three years into the job and one year of working with Debbie as a partner, things are going okay. So, of course, something has to happen to stir the pot.
Abe’s sorcerer is murdered and the zombies that work for him are disappearing after turning into ghosts. If she doesn’t want the same to happen to her, she’ll need the help of Lucas, the amnesiac sorcerer, a guest in her home.
Like the first book, there is more than one mystery going on. Skye is still seeking the truth about the accident that killed her and her husband. Going against Abe’s wishes, Skye pursues the lead, risking his wrath and perhaps being promoted to full dead.
I love it when the second book in a series gives me what I want. This is every bit as good as the first book and I couldn’t be happier.
New mysteries. More mayhem. And lots of ghoulish fun.
5 Stars
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Synopsis
When Nashville cop Skye Mertz and her husband, Jacob, are killed in a wreck, Skye is given the opportunity to come back for twenty years to raise her five-year-old daughter, Kate. With her ghostly mother-in-law’s help, Skye hopes to be there until Kate is old enough to take care of herself.
But three years into her twenty-year service to Abraham Lincoln Jones, the man who gave her the extra time, Skye is beginning to think life might have been easier before she died.
Abe asks her to investigate the murder of his sorcerer, Harold the Great, a man who was a victim of too many snakes. And the Life Extended People (LEPs – a nice term for zombies) who work for Abe have begun turning into ghosts and disappearing. Only Lucas, the possibly evil, amnesiac sorcerer who lives with Skye and her family, can save her from being the next victim of the deadly curse.
To make matters more complicated, Skye has found a lead in solving the riddle of her husband’s death. She has never believed Jacob died as a result of the crash, but hasn’t been able to prove it. Many other people have lost their lives in the same lonely stretch of highway that he did three years before. Skye goes against Abe’s express wishes to discover the truth with a crazy man bent on vengeance.
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First Book in Series
Broken Hearted Ghoul (Taxi for the Dead Paranormal Mysteries) (Volume 1)
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My Review
A supernatural cozy mystery with zombies! I couldn’t wait to read this book.
A car crash ended Skye’s life. Her husband didn’t survive and she was on the brink of death when she was offered a different ending. One she gladly accepted so she could have more time to raise her daughter.
So she pledged twenty years of service to Abraham Lincoln Jones and became a zombie. Not the rotting flesh and brain sucking kind. She still looks pretty much the same. But she is undead.
No longer a police officer, she now drives a taxi for the dead, making pickups for Abe when other zombies times are up, their twenty years of service over.
After two years of driving the taxi it’s become routine, until one pick up changes everything. A zombie, one of Abe’s has been killed before his time was up. A plain gold wedding band left by his heartless corpse.
More zombies are killed and it becomes a race against time to discover the killer before he sets his sights on Skye.
There are so many different plots woven into this one book.
Who is killing the zombies, ripping out there hearts and leaving wedding bands by the bodies? What is the purpose of the rings?
What or who is Lucas, Skye’s strange guest at the inn her husband inherited from his parents? He has some powers but appears to have amnesia. Who called him to Skye? Is he good or evil? Sorcerer or monster?
Perhaps Jacob’s mother can get to the bottom of it. She died but her ghost lingers at the inn. She stayed to help Skye with raising her daughter. Not liking Lucas, she’s still stuck with his presence and he does offer to help her become more solid so she can do more around the inn. Maybe a friendship will blossom and his memories will become clearer.
And just what is Abraham Lincoln Jones? He isn’t human or zombie. Where did he get the power to create zombies? Most of the time Abe is a happy guy, smiling, calm spoken. But it’s not a good idea to makes him angry and questions do that. So who or what he is will remain a mystery for now.
And what’s Skye’s new partners story. Debbie pledged twenty years of service to Abe in exchange for saving her husbands life. This hasn’t been done before. And something is strange about him. Skye senses something different in the man, not zombie. Did Abe make this unusual deal to woo Debbie? He does appear to have taken a shine to her.
See what I mean about many plots. Don’t worry about becoming confused though. The author weaves them together as the book progresses and you can easily follow along. In fact, you’ll be swept into the mystery right to the end.
I loved it. All of it. So much fun. So many mysteries. Lots of supernatural beings. A teeny bit of a possible romance. And many laughs with a good dose of sarcasm here and there. And it’s a series too! So I’ll be visiting with these characters again.
5 Stars
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Synopsis
It’s been two years since Skye Mertz agreed to drive Abe’s Taxi for the Dead, transporting his zombie workers back to the man who gave them an additional twenty years of life. She’s raising her daughter, with the help of her ghostly mother-in-law, and keeps looking for what killed her husband the night she died.
Now she has a partner – a housewife working off her zombie husband’s service – and she’s met a sorcerer with amnesia. It shouldn’t be surprising that a broken hearted ghoul, bent on getting revenge, should show up too. After all, there’s no rest for the dead.
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About The Authors
Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.
Author Links
Website ~ Facebook ~ Amazon ~ Twitter
Purchase Link:
Amazon
First Book in Series
Broken Hearted Ghoul (Taxi for the Dead Paranormal Mysteries) (Volume 1)
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Follow The Tour
April 6 – Back Porchervations – Review
April 7 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Guest Post
April 8 – MysteriesEtc – Review*
April 9 – fundinmental – Review*
April 9 – readalot – Review *
April 10 – Babs Book Bistro – Review, Guest Post*
April 11 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review*
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April 13 – Tea and A Book – Review, Interview
April 14 – Melina’s Book Blog – Review, Guest Post*
April 15 – fuonlyknew – Review*
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April 17 – Community Bookstop – Review*
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April 19 – Brooke Blogs – Review*
April 19 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Interview
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