Night of the Living Deed

It's official. I am now an absolute fan of Jeff Cohen...er, E.J. Copperman, I mean. Seriously though, if you're not aware, E.J. Copperman is the pen name for mystery author Jeffrey Cohen. The only difference is that his Cohen titles have no ghosts in them. But they're all great mysteries with lots of laugh out loud humor. I've been reading his Comedy Tonight series lately, so I thought I'd give his Haunted Guesthouse series a try as well. I'm glad I did!

I'm becoming a huge fan of cozy mysteries because of their lighthearted, easy-breezy style. Murder is serious business as it is and since I do it for an actual living, I'd rather my reading experience be as light-hearted as it can be. But I still love a good mystery, so I'm glad to know that there are writers like Cohen/Copperman out there who provide just that.

What's more, ever since I can remember, I've liked my stories to have at least a bit of a supernatural element to them. It's not a hard and fast rule for me, but it certainly adds to the pleasure of my reading.

That being said, Night of the Living Deed fills all the criteria I need for a great mystery. First and foremost, it's just plain fun. From page 1 to the final reveal, I read with a smile on my face most of the time. Second, his characters (as usual) are so likable. So relatable. Cohen amazes me in this one because he told the story from the POV of a 30-something year old single mother...and he did it so well. It was hard to imagine a man writing the dialog and thoughts of Alison in this story. Her reactions as a mother just seemed to authentic.

Then, of course, there are the ghosts, Paul and Maxie (I'll admit to having a little bit of a fictional crush on Maxie. I'm not ashamed to admit it). Paul is a world class private detective. He's focused (almost to the point of obsession) and all business. But he genuinely cares about Alison and her daughter, as well as Maxie. He wants to make the most of this situation of co-habitating with three women (two living and one dead). Maxie is a bit of a vixen. And she can be a handful. I've seen a few reviews mention that she was annoying, but the fact is, she was dead. Murdered in her prime. And that would make pretty much anyone bitter. But Maxie's relationship with Melissa (Alison's daughter) really tugged at my heart and the potentially two-dimensional ghost character took on full-blown personality as their relationship grew. She wasn't annoying at all to me. In fact, she was probably the most tragic and soulful character of the book.

As to the mystery itself...like all Cohen mysteries, it was well done. The killer (or killers) could have have been almost anyone, but as usual, the author keenly laid out the clues necessary to put the pieces together yourself if you're astute enough. Apparently, I wasn't as astute as I'd like to think because I was still pretty much baffled up until the big reveal. I'd missed a couple of ‘Aha!' moments in my reading, but when the killer was brought to light, it made so much sense. As anyone who's read any of my recent reviews know, this last bit is my most important criteria. I don't care if I solve it or if I don't. The only thing that matters is that I'm ABLE to solve it. And with Cohen/Copperman, I'm beginning to believe the answer to that question will always be an emphatic “yes!”

I really enjoyed the NJ setting and wry humor from the protagonist. The mystery is well done, and most of the characters are likeable – I didn't like Maxie at all at first, but she grew on me. :) Of the cozies I've read set in NJ or “down the shore,” this is definitely the one I'd most readily recommend!

A note: I saw in other reviews people complained about the grammar, but I didn't have the same problem at all. Some sentences are long and phrase-y, sure, but I followed them just fine. Then again, I grew up reading Bronte and tend to write long sentences myself, so maybe I am biased. xD