Downright Dead by Pamela Kopfler is the 2nd book in A B&B Spirits Mystery series, and I loved it. Holly is the owner of Holly Grove a converted plantation which has been in her family for generations. Holly once more has to put up with the television show Inquiring Minds, coming to the B&B to film for ghosts. Since her husband's ghost has moved on, there are no ghost now. On top of that a debunker is challenging there is or ever was a ghost. Once I started this book I kept reading until I was done. It had many laugh out loud moments, which I always enjoy. Looking forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this book/series for anyone who enjoy funny cozy mysteries. 

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the second in the series. I haven't read this author before and probably won't again. I didn't care for Nelda's constantly telling Holly she needed a man or what seemed to be Holly's whining. I thought I'd like the premise of a haunted B&B but this ghost was just annoying. Very slow to get to the actual murder, but did have a number of reasonable suspects so I did enjoy that part.

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest review.

Downright Dead by Pamela Kopfler is the second book of the A B&B Spirits Mystery series. This series is a paranormal cozy mystery series with a main character determined to solve crime with the help of a resident ghost in her B&B.

Holly Davis wasn’t too happy when her ex husband Burl began to haunt her B&B after his death but who knew that a ghost was just what business needed. A ghost chasing TV crew did a show on the B&B and business was booming but unfortunately for Holly Burl crossed over after his death was solved.

Now Holly is doing whatever she can to pretend there’s still a ghost at Holly Grove to keep the business coming in. The last thing Holly needed however was the television crew to want to come back when a debunker makes the claim they faked the show but with a clause in her contract Holly can’t do anything but invite them all back to film again and finds herself yet again trying to solve a murder when things get out of hand.

Downright Dead was a great follow up to the first book in the series as far as bringing back the likable characters with a bit of humor mixed into a mystery. I would say this one was rather slow going though in getting to the mystery side but the haunted/unhaunted B&B story line was plenty to stay entertained with until the murder came along. I’ll definitely be looking forward to more spooky hijinks to come from the series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is the first book I've read in the series. It appears there was only one before it and I didn't see a great deal of spoilers for anything. In fact, I'm going to buy the first book in the series as soon as I can as there were just enough hints of things that happened to wet my appetite. There was humor, suspense, and a diversity of characters with attitude.

I love the haunted B&B concept and how clearly we feel the importance of holding on to her family's property. It was a very understandable motivation. The characters were realistic and Ms. Kopfler did a brilliant job of playing with our minds regarding certain ones. She led you through the story as though she was the Pied Piper and you were helpless to do anything but follow. I highly recommend this book and anxiously anticipate the next in the series.

Thank you to Pamela Kopfler, NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Penguin Random House Publisher Services for the chance to read this story and share my thoughts and opinions with others.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ARC for review.
My opinions are my own.

There is much to like about this series. I enjoy the ghost, the B&B and the funny charcters. The sleuth was well crafted and had enough twist and turns to keep me guessing. The ghost of Holly's departed husband from previous books has crossed over and is gone from the B&B, but Holly is determined to maintain keeping up the pretense that the place is haunted. The B&B was featured on the TV show Inquiring Minds and when the cast and crew forces their way to do a follow-up show with a skeptic in hand Holly is in a panic. Holly is forced to fake ghostly presence. However she may be found out as the skeptic Tru is onto her and her ways.

Tru has always been skeptical and now declared he has proof that she is a charlatan when someone pushes him to his death. He comes back as a ghost to ask Holly to help him find his killer. The local police have decided that she is the killer. To save herself and her business Holly needs to find the real killer. The sleuth has enough twist and turns to keep me guessing and the ghost aspect of these books is fun. I enjoy the quirky charcters. Holly spends to much time doubting her abilities and wishing she "had a man" which is a antiquated way of thinking for today but is her focus on her inabilities not her abilities.


That being said there was one part that really bothered me. I am a vegan and become very ill from animal products . The part I really disliked was a character who was vegan was ridiculed by them and they wanted to serve her animal fat on purpose (to fat her up they said). It can make people very ill to do this kind of cruel prank . I had this happen to me by a abusive family member who thought he "would teach his vegan sister a lesson" and dragged my food through his animal fat. I ended up on the floor in stomach cramps vomiting for days and it took me weeks to recover. To ridicule a particular eating style and want to play cruel pranks on people because someone does not have the ability to fathom why someone eats healthy and may have allergies to certain foods ( and morals of not eating animals) is not just cruel its dangerous. That was not funny and if it was meant to be it fell flat with this reader. That part of the book really bothered me and I did stop reading at that point and had to return to it later.

However it is a well rounded sleuth, .a good cast of charcters and otherwise a pleasant cozy mystery with a nice B&B setting and a good story. I would say the protagonist needs to be more independent and have more self confidence especially running a business.
Thank you for the ARC which does not influence my review. My review is my own opinion

The second book in the series, Downright Dead is a quick, fun, easy book to read. I would absolutely recommend reading this, only after reading the first in the series.

Holly's ex-husband Burl was a rat when he was alive and now that he's a ghost- he's not much better! Just as things are starting to tick along at the B&B, Tru, a debunker shows up to prove Holly doesn't have ghosts. Of course, Burl being Burl even though he's a ghost now, has to put a wrench in things for her and he disappears. And then Tru ends up murdered and- last thing she expected- his ghost asks Holly for help. Whew. The paranormal part of this never gets too woowoo, the setting is fun, the characters well done, and the writing is fine. I enjoyed the first book in this series but you would be fine reading this one as a standalone if you haven't. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good cozy read.

Downright Dead by Pamela Kopfler is the second book in A B&B Spirits Mystery series but can be read as a standalone and I had no problem following the story even though this was a first book I have read.

Holly owns and runs a hunted B&B just made super famous due to appearance in a very popular TV show and the reporter wants to do a follow up. The only problem ghost of Holly's ex-husband has left but she can't risk telling the truth and losing possible new guests. To make it even worse a notorious debunker has shown up claiming it is all fraud. To prove there is nothing dishonest going on reporter stages another seance. And things just go downhill.
Very funny and amusing read. I love those quirky and eccentric southern characters. They always add something extra to the story.
Well told story that picks up pace in the second part of the book but the first part is intelligently used to establish a vast number of possible suspects.
Perfect read for stormy nights.

Funny and engaging from the start!
The characters are well developed, and the main characters have that Southern Charm that makes it so quaint and delightful.
Holly Grove is a B&B in Louisiana, that has become famous for being haunted. When a debunker challenges the paranormal investigators that aired the show, Holly must accommodate the TV crew, a medium and said debunker, to tape the paranormal activity in the property.
Holly has a huge problem, her not-so -dearly departed has moved on and is a no-show. Reputations are a stake and none of them like the outcome, except Mr. Tru, who has proved a point that there is no ghosts in the premises.
Things will end up badly for the guests, when an unexpected accident/ possible murder occurs, and everyone is a suspect.

The B&B setting allows for an indefinite number of strangers, so I was surprised to see so many characters from the previous book.
Having her husband haunting her house and refusing to give up on them was funny and also kinda cute, but some random and very annoying guy who just happened to die there? Not so much.

Sylvia's character isn't a pleasant one, but she wasn't nearly as annoying as Tru (or Burl) as a guest. So I don't understand why they disliked her so much, Nelda was even supposed to be a fan. The part I hated the most was the one about her being vegan, and they wanted to serve her animal fat on purpose (to fat her up they said).
Let me tell you a story. A friend of mine has a daughter with celiac disease, once they decided to try a restaurant known for it's gluten-free options. She had a bad reaction and had to be taken to the hospital. I'm aware the character didn't have any actual allergy, but it still doesn't allow others to neglect their dietary restrictions. Unless they're bad for their health but that wasn't the case either.
As a vegan myself that's exactly why I don't want to eat out.

There was a constant "you need a man" reminder. Holly does need help, she's running a business on her own and barely manages, but more like a handyman not necessarily a partner. Then there's that scene where Jake see her in the morning and she's like "No man should witness any of this without the benefit of sex" which is quite misogynistic and I didn't expect it from a woman. I also don't know why they all seem to think Jake would be good husband material for her, they obviously have feelings for each other but he doesn't look very dependable.
The whole afterlife image was a bit too Christian for my liking, I had noticed it in the previous book but in here they also talk about hell and angels. Classic heaven and hell dichotomy.

More than once I wondered if I should just stop reading, nothing was happening and the investigation wasn't going anywhere. It's basically mostly flat until the last few chapters where they finally explain. Thomas' revelation wasn't enough to raise my interest either.
The plot was dragging and parts of it were offensive, I only mildly liked the first book but this was worse. I don't think I'll be reading any more of this series.

I did not enjoy the previous book in the series but I thought I would try this latest one to see if it appealed to me.
This subgenre of cozies is one of my favourites, however, this series falls flat to me.

Holly Lane Davis is back, and so are Jake, Nelda and the cast and crew of Inquiring Minds!

Inquiring Minds filmed the story of the ghost of Holly's ex husband, Burl, who was haunting the family B&B, Holly Grove, and now they are back and ready to prove a ghost debunker that ghosts really do exist. Just one problem...Burl crossed over after the show was filmed. Holly doesn't want that to get out as she is counting on the story of the haunting to drive business to her B&B. There's not much Holly can do short of faking it like the debunker already claims they are. Her family's business is at stake.

But when the debunker is murdered, who had both means and motive to shut down the story once and for all?

This is a fun Southern mystery and I truly enjoy this well written series!

I enjoyed this story. I loved the interaction with the ghosts and the flow of the story. Well worth the read. #DownrightDead #NetGalley

In DOWNRIGHT DEAD (September 25th 2018 by Kensington Publishing Corporation) by Pamela Kopfler, the ghost of Holly Davis’s not-so-dearly-departed husband has vacated her plantation house turned B&B, but that doesn’t stop Holly from keeping up the pretense that the place is haunted. And it doesn’t hurt that the B&B was featured on the TV show Inquiring Minds. The problems arise when the cast and crew of Inquiring Minds forces their way back into Holly Grove to do a follow-up show. This time the show brings along a skeptic who is determined to prove that Holly Grove is not – and never has been – haunted. Since her husband’s ghost is no longer lingering, Holly is forced to fake ghostly encounters. Tru, the skeptic, has just declared he has proof that she is a charlatan when someone pushes him off the widow’s walk to his death. The skeptic becomes a believer in the afterlife when he comes back as a ghost to ask Holly to help him find his killer. Unfortunately, for Holly, the local lawmen have decided that she is the killer. To help Tru and save herself, Holly needs to find the real killer.

DOWNRIGHT DEAD is a strong follow-up to BETTER DEAD, and I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Holly and the other main characters. The two books should definitely be read together as DOWNRIGHT DEAD continues the main storyline of BETTER DEAD and reads as Part 2.

It does take a little while to get to the murder in DOWNRIGHT DEAD – but it works because Kopfler spends the first half of the novel setting up the murder and establishing motives for why Holly and the others at the B&B had motive to kill the victim. Once the victim was killed, there were a number of twists and turns in determining the killer. The killer wasn’t obvious as there were multiple characters with solid motives. The novel is exciting, a bit quirky, and it oozes southern charm.

I debated on reading this one, but am glad I did. An interesting twist on the usual haunted house with the ghost disappearing. Was a fun read.

My review has been posted to Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)

This book was a lot of fun to read. It was great to meet again Holly, Nelda and the cast of characters of the previous instalment.
It was a lot of fun to read, with interesting developments and new characters.
There are two notes:
1/ sometimes I had the impression it was the second part of the previous book
2/ it took quite a long time before it evolved from a fun to read comedy of manners into a mystery
The mystery part was interesting and full of twists and turns.
I'm curious to read what will be in the next instalment.
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC

I loved this book. Holly, Nelda and the gang are back and in the middle of some not so great news. The production company, Inquiring Minds, that filmed her antebellum plantation B&B for a real ghosts episode is using a clause buried in Holly's contract that allows them to film a follow up. The problem? The very real ghost of her late husband Burl, who wowed everyone the first time has been released to the heavens and isn't coming back. Can Holly fake it? If not her reputation and business are down the drain. Another very unpleasant surprise is debunker Tru who aims to prove that the ghost was fake.
I must applaud the author because she gave me a real tip on how to help my dog overcome his fear of storms-dryer sheets!!!!!

Holly Davis is back again, and she's preparing to reap the benefits of the ghostly reality show filmed at her B & B when she learns that there's going to be a follow-up show. There's only one glaring problem - her ghost has departed! With no Burl, and dreamy Jake still stuck in Central America, Holly must fend off a determined ghost debunker on her own, which is proving to be difficult until he's found dead and she's accused of his murder. Downright Dead is Pamela Kopfler's second B&B Spirits Mystery, and is just the right mixture of cozy, funny, ghostly, and delicious (note to self: must learn to make the perfect Sazerac!). A fun read for lovers of cozy mysteries!

Holly Davis is in trouble after news that her plantation B and B, Holly Grove is reported to be haunted. Everyone wants to stay at the inn, but the problem is that her resident ghost has disappeared. With her reputation on the line, Holly has to find a way to coax her ghost back