A Grave Issue (A Funeral Parlor Mystery #1) by Lillian Bell
Source: Hardcopy courtesy of Crooked Lane Books. Thank you!
Publication: February 13, 2018 by Crooked Lane Books
Book Description:

After an on-air gaffe goes viral and jeopardizes her career, journalist Desiree Turner retreats home to Verbena, California for some peace and quiet. She begins working one of the quietest jobs around: presiding over funerals for her great-grandfather’s funeral parlor. But the action seems to follow her as a fistfight breaks out between neighbors Rosemarie Brewer and Lola Hansen at one of the first funerals she’s in charge of running. It exposes a nasty dispute and Rosemarie’s husband, Alan, is found murdered shortly after.

Lola’s husband, Kyle, is immediately arrested. Desiree, whose own father’s death was devastating, has always viewed Kyle as a second father. Determined to clear his name, Desiree jumps head first into the investigation and quickly discovers that Alan had several unsavory habits at his job and in his personal life, including putting assets into his mistress’s account to hide them from Rosemarie. People murder for money and love all the time, and there’s no telling who he offended just enough to push them over the edge.

A Grave Issue is the charming and supremely enjoyable Funeral Parlor Mystery series debut from Lillian Bell. The novel centers around Desiree Turner, a now-scandalized journalist who returns to her hometown where her family has long-operated the town’s funeral parlor. A cozy mystery, A Grave Issue mixes family and personal drama, potential romantic entanglements, as well as a few deadly incidents.

Readers follow the first-person narrative of journalist-turned-assistant-funeral-director Desiree as she finds herself in a number of odd predicaments upon her return home. Back in her hometown of Verbena, California, Desiree is unwittingly thrust into the local spotlight (and local newspaper) when a bizarre outburst occurs during funeral events at her family-owned funeral parlor. That incident seeminglyleads to the murder of a rather unpleasant man named Alan Brewer, with the man held for his murder being other than the Turner family’s closest friend- and Alan’s neighbor- Kyle Hansen. Bell weaves a solid, engaging and funny story from beginning to end here, led by the droll and witty narrative from the character of Desiree. While the crux of A Grave Issue focuses upon Desiree’s probe into Alan’s murder and why her family friend seems to have been framed for it, there are a few other crises at play. Bell dives into a few matters: what drove Desiree’s escape from her path toward being an investigative journalist; Desiree’s steps to strengthen the trust and bond between her and her sister Donna; the possible relationships to develop between Desiree and two potential suitors; and perhaps, most intriguingly, a major bombshell regarding Desiree’s and Donna’s presumed-to-be-deceased father- who had gone missing but whose body had never been recovered- drops.

Overall, what a thoroughly entertaining and fun read! I have recently been getting into the cozy mystery genre, and found much to enjoy and appreciate with Bell’s series debut. You have a self-deprecating and clever protagonist facing a puzzling murder mystery, a slightly zany, close knit small town with intriguing characters, and some major personal and familial drama that promises to be further explored in series entries to come. If you are a cozy mystery reader or enjoy armchair/amateur detective series with good doses of humour, then I would recommend giving this series debut a whirl. It looks as though the second entry into the series, If the Coffin Fits is due out in the fall of 2018!

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Crooked Lane Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.