Dead to the World

January 19, 2015
In Cooper’s lightweight 12th E.J. Pugh mystery (after 2013’s Gone in a Flash), the romance writer and unlicensed PI books a surprise weekend at a quaint B&B, in a small town in the Texas hill country, to celebrate the 20th wedding anniversary of her and her husband, Willis. On arrival, the B&B’s distraught owner confides in the couple that her father, who died during the D-day invasion, has returned from the dead. E.J. and Willis cheerily deal with the supposedly haunted house and a couple of murders, outguessing the local bumpkin police chief, who, sans Internet connection, seems trapped in the mid-20th century. Series fans may find comfort in the pleasant characterizations, as well as the descriptions of the B&B’s antiques and its sumptuous meals threatening E.J.’s recent weight loss. But newcomers may want to start by reading previous, more substantial entries. Agent: Vicky Bijur, Vicky Bijur Literary Agency.

January 15, 2015
A romantic 20th-anniversary weekend turns into a dangerous ghost hunt. E.J. Pugh, a romance writer with a propensity for sleuthing (Gone in a Flash, 2013, etc.), has booked a weekend at a B&B in Peaceful, Texas, along with her long-suffering husband, Willis. Miss Hutchins, owner of The Bishop's Inn, thinks she's being haunted by the ghost of her father, who murdered her mother in 1947. E.J. doesn't believe in ghosts, but the food is great and the town charming, so they stay on until they're joined by ghost hunters Humphrey Hammerschultz and Diamond Lovesey. Awakened at night by a strange sound in the hall, E.J and Willis find Humphrey dead on the couch. The local police chief and his assistant aren't inclined to invite E.J. into the investigation, but the couple is stuck in town until the killer is found. Back at home, their three same-age teen daughters-Megan; Bess, who's adopted; and Alicia, a foster child-have a mystery of their own to solve. Bess has a crush on Logan Harris, who works at a local steakhouse. When the girls go there for dinner, they see Logan being attacked by the brother of high school acquaintance Harper Benton, who's told him that Logan is the one who got her pregnant. When Logan denies it, the girls put aside their constant squabbling and resolve to prove him innocent. In Peaceful, where Diamond is the next murder victim, E.J. wonders if the answer to all their present problems may lie in the past. A mystery told on several levels, each of them both tricky and amusing until the diverse sleuths prevail.

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February 15, 2015
Texan E. J. Pugh has a nose for murder cases. Her husband, Willis, has tried to keep E. J. from getting involved in crime solving, but, so far, to no avail. Still, their marriage has survived for 20 years, and, to celebrate their anniversary, E. J. plans a surprise trip to a B and B in a Texas hill town. Arriving at the inn, they are delighted by the beautiful Victorian house and its slightly ditzy proprietress, Miss Hutchins. When Miss Hutchins claims the house is haunted by her long-dead father, E. J. and Willis are at first skeptical, then concerned (after they hear odd noises late at night). When a couple arrives, claiming to be psychics who can exorcise the ghost, E. J. and Willis wonder what they've gotten themselves into. Then one of the psychics is murdered, and it seems crime has found E. J. once again. Moving between the 1940s and the current day, the story is one of strange coincidences, violence, and greed, and it is as sad as it is shocking. Fortunately, there's also a hearty dose of down-home humor and a feisty, likable heroine. Engaging and entertaining.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)