My Musing ~ Cremains Of The Day by Misty Simon

Cremains Of The Day by Misty Simon is the first book in the NEW “Tallie Graver” mystery series. Publisher: Kensington, October 2017

There’s no reverse on the hearse . . .

For Tallulah Graver, marrying wealthy Waldo Phillips seemed like the best way out of the family business, the Graver Funeral Home. But when her marriage falls apart and Tallie is left with next to nothing, she turns to cleaning houses to make ends meet. As humbling as it is to tidy the mansions of the snobby socialites she used to call friends, at least she doesn’t have to be around dead bodies. Until . . .

She discovers one of her employers lying in a closet with a knife sticking out of her chest. This unpleasant shock seems to be part of a web of weird experiences: Tallie’s friend Gina’s shop is broken into, her ex is stun-gunned where it hurts the most, and now she’s receiving flowers from the dead woman. Granted the deliveryman is handsome, but seriously, that’s enough to cast a pall over anyone’s day. Now Tallie needs to dig deep to clean up this mess—before she finds herself in a grave situation.

This was a fun book to read. Tallie has downsided her status by cleaning houses and working for her father when she finds her employer dead. In trying to clear her name, Tallie begins an investigation with the help of a long ago friend and in the process, her name is attached to another dead body. What’s a girl to do?

The premise of this book was intriguing and I liked how the author set this up with this murder and mayhem. The mystery was nicely done with with a killer hiding in plain sight, but it was the clues dropped throughout that made kept my interest growing as I had to know how this was going to end. There were a few twists and turns that set things in motion for Tallie to figure out who was behind the murders. I enjoyed meeting Tallie’s family and friends and the interaction between was engagingly entertaining, especially those with Max. This is a welcome edition to the cozy genre and I can’t wait for more adventures with Tallie and her friends.