Pepper Martin works as a tour guide at Garden View Cemetery but that's not all she does there. She has a secret and no matter how bad the situations get, she doesn't want anyone to know about it. Pepper can communicate with ghosts. The ghosts usually come to her while working at the grave yard and she can see and talk to them. Sometimes they've been murdered and want her to solve the case but other times it's to have their name cleared, like her latest case.

Jefferson Lamar has been dead since 1985 but when he hears about Pepper Martin's gift, he comes to her, in the form of a ghost, for her help. Jefferson was a Warden at a jail until he was accused of killing a young woman in a hotel room. However, he denies committing the crime and wants his name cleared for the sake of his widow.

Normally Pepper can talk to ghosts and hide this secret pretty well, but this time she's not working at her regular cemetery when the ghost comes to her. She is working at Monroe Street Cemetery helping out with a restoration project and it's going to be a hard one.

The restoration project involves two teams and Pepper's team is a bunch of criminals on probation. When the project becomes a reality TV show, Pepper realizes she's way over her head. How will she solve Jefferson Lamar's case when she is being filmed all the time at the cemetery? Will someone find out Pepper's secret? Will Pepper find the real killer or will she get too close to danger in this investigation and pay the ultimate price?

DEAD MAN TALKING is the fifth book in the Pepper Martin Mystery Series following paranormal investigator Pepper Martin. The first book that I read in this series was Tombs of Endearment and while it was a fun fast read, it left me with a bad taste. I had a lot of complaints and wasn't interested in reading another book in this series again. However, upon receiving this book I figured I would give this series another try and I am so glad I did!

In DEAD MAN TALKING I found Pepper to be stronger and more independent then she was in Tombs of Endearment. She didn't depend on anyone but herself in this book and I loved that her character has grown so much. The writing is easy to read and makes the book move along rather quickly.

The story was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the mystery and all of the characters. I would recommend reading this series in order to fully understand events that happen in later books and for better reading enjoyment. Overall, DEAD MAN TALKING is a great story full of ghosts, mystery and laughs and I can't wait for the next book in the series to see what kind of case Pepper investigates next!

Book Summary

Heiress-turned-cemetery-tour-guide Pepper Martin is not happy to discover that a local reality TV show, Cemetery Survivor, will be filmed at Cleveland's Monroe Street Cemetery-and she has to be a part of it. To make matters worse, the ghost of a wrongly convicted killer needs Pepper's help to clear his name. But digging for the truth could put her in grave danger.

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