I love the premise. I love the title. I love the characters. I love the cover. Cheri Priest is a well-established author, but new to me. Grave Reservations is not your momma’s cozy mystery! The characters are young and quirky. The setting is fun and hip.

Leda Foley is a sometimes psychic who is struggling to make ends meet as a travel agent. When one of her intuitions saves the life of a local detective, Leda, gets a lot more practice honing her clairvoyant skills. Grady Merritt is a hunky, single-dad and detective who happens to be chasing cold cases. I loved these two characters, and together, they are quite fun. The secondary characters are hipsters and cool. They add to the vibe more than the storyline.

The storyline is truly fun and the pace is excellent. The tale does require a lot of suspension of disbelief, but some of those questionable plot points do add to the quirk and fun. For example, “Klairvoyant Karaoke” is hilarious, but so not realistic. There are some throwaway crass comments that were totally unnecessary, didn’t add to the story, and in fact, distracted me from the plot. Overall, Grave Reservations was a fun-enough read that I would continue reading the series.

This was a fun, light-hearted read about murders and psychics and police work in Seattle.

Leda Foley is a travel agent with a little bit of psychic ability. In the past it has always gotten her into trouble, but when she stops a detective from getting on a plane that catches on fire, her abilities are put to the test when the Detective employs her to help him with a cold case. Leda also has a cold case in her past--her boyfriend was murdered and the killer remains at large--so she agrees to help out hoping that he in turn, will help her.

I really loved Leda's character, though some of her choices at the end of the book were pretty questionable. Overall this was a fun read that I couldn't put down and I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

This is a super cute and quirky mystery! It gives me Finlay Donovan vibes, but a little bit more quirk. What else can you expect when a psychic and a detective team up to solve murder?

Leda Foley is a struggling travel agent …and a sort-of psychic. She rarely predicts anything worth noting but she has a feeling about a flight she’s put her client (and Seattle PD detective) Grady Merritt on and makes the decision to change his flight. Grady is seriously annoyed …until the plane he was originally scheduled to be on erupts in flames.

When Grady realizes Leda has some psychic talent, he asks if she’ll help him with a cold case; one that’s been bothering him for over a year that he’s working in his spare time. Leda has zero confidence in her abilities because it feels so random but she’s willing to try because she has her own cold case: the murder of her fiancee years before.

Honing her skills by performing “Klairvoyant Karaoke” at her favorite downtown bar, Leda and Grady are getting close to answers —and their cases may just collide in surprising ways.

This is a quirky contemporary cozy mystery with far too many coincidences (she saves the life of a detective who needs help on a case and her case just so happens to overlap) that required a lot of suspension of disbelief (like, this detective just lets a sort-of psychic and her sassy BFF come along to interviews and crime scenes) and yet it worked for me. The characters charmed me and were the highlight of the entertainment for me because the mystery itself wasn’t exactly suspenseful - of course, that’s usually the case with a cozy.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Grave Reservations was released on October 26.

What happens when an inconsistent psychic travel agent aiding police detective work together to solve a cold police case? You get a fun and wild ride that takes readers across Seattle, seeing the good, the bad, and the deceased.

I enjoyed this cozy mystery, especially listening to it on audio. Leda was a fun main character, especially how inconsistent her "powers" were throughout the book. The added layer of trying to figure out her fiancé’s unsolved murder was a nice addition that added depth to the story. My absolute favorite parts of the book was her snarky and hilarious best friend Niki and the Castaways karaoke bar.

It's not often when I laugh out loud while reading a mystery but Cherie Priest made me do it. Leda Foley is a travel agent and she is also a psychic, and something of a singer. Shortly into the book she is also an unofficial police consultant working on a cold case. Her employer? The detective whose life she might have saved by switching his reservation off a flight she had a funny feeling about. The flight had an accident on the tarmac and the detective was hooked on the worth of Leda's skills and asks her to help him solve a murder.

I don't consider this book a cozy mystery, but it is definitely low risk. Not enough violence or sex (no sex actually) to ruffle anyone. I think you will very much enjoy reading it.

A new addition to the quirky/cozy genre, Grave Reservations is a fast-paced, funny read that is light on mystery .but strong on character. Honestly, the underlying murder(s) were not particularly difficult to figure out (no psychic ability needed), but the book retained my interest based on humor and its characters. The main character, Leda Foley, is an erstwhile psychic who runs a travel agency that is barely staying afloat. She has a side hustle at The Castaways bar where she performs psychic karaoke, singing songs that she senses have a special meaning for audience members who bring objects to the bar for Leda to hold. The relationship between Leda and her best friend/sidekick Niki is particularly funny, It will be interesting to see where this series goes, especially in terms of Leda's relationship with Grady Merritt of the Seattle PD who believes in her paranormal abilities, and the retired psychic who offers to mentor her. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with and advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Grave Reservation” by Cherie Priest is a quirky, humorous tale that deals with murder.

Leda Foley is a struggling travel agent and part-time psychic. She, along with her eccentric friends help Detective Grady Merritt solve a murder. Mixed with laughter and mystery, I enjoyed the journey and “clairvoyant predictions” while solving this who dunnit tale.

This is the first book in the “The Booking Agents” series. The cast of characters were hilarious and heartwarming. I look forward to reading more this series. Perfect for admirers of Stephanie Plum.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Cherie Priest for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great read! The mystery itself played second fiddle for me -- I was all about the characters. They're very quirky and likable. I really hope there will be more books to come b/c I'll read them immediately.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Atria Books.

Leda is a psychic whose powers have always proved unreliable trying to run a travel agency. When she gets a very strong feeling that unless she changes Detective Merritt’s flight, he will not make it home, she acts at the risk of angering one of her few clients. Initially upset, Merritt changes his mind when the flight he was meant to be on catches fire during takeoff. He comes to Leda’s office to ask for her help in a case he just can’t catch a break on.

▪ Amateur detective with a day job. Or several. I love amateur detectives, especially when the investigation is believably balanced with their day job. Leda being her own boss means that she can absent herself from the office a lot, but the reality that her business is struggling makes it believable. Her second almost-job as the “klairvoyant karaoke” or “psychic psongstress” allow for a cast of delightfully quirky characters to move around her.

▪ Tension. There is a nice bit of tension between Leda and Merritt, with her unsure of her own powers and him afraid to look like a fool if his colleagues find out he is working with a psychic. They adjust to working together throughout the book, but the bits where their edges are a bit sharp and they don’t fit completely are lots of fun.

▪ Manageable pool of suspects. There are enough suspects to make the mystery murky, but not enough that I lost track of who is who. The mystery was efficiently presented, but I have to admit I was more taken by the characters than by the mystery itself, which is not a bad thing if this os going to be a series. I loved the main characters and want to know what happens to them.

▪ Connection between cases strains credibility. I know it’s foolish to note this in a book that features an actual psychic, but it was a bit unbelievable that Merritt’s investigation would connect to important events in Leda’s past.

In short, this is a very entertaining mystery novel, memorable more for its cast of characters than for the mystery itself. I hope to read more investigations of Leda and Detective Merritt.

Leda owns her own little travel agency and is still mourning the death of her fiancé Tod when her psychic premonitions possibly save the life of a Seattle detective. This should be the beginning of an over the top quirky cozy series. And it was indeed quirky, I did like the characters, and I will read future installments, but being the first in the series I had high expectations for excessive quirkiness and I just didn't feel like this got there. Maybe it would all be too much while trying to introduce characters and set a foundation for the series? Maybe I wanted something from the book that it doesn't plan to deliver and I need to adjust my expectations? Because I did enjoy the story and I do like the characters. There are a lot of people in Leda's life that can provide a lot of interesting storylines even before we get to the possible clients at the travel agency and her clairvoyant singing side gig. All this to say: I'm looking forward to the next in the series because either it will get quirkier and I will be ecstatic or it won't and I will still have interesting people and mysteries to read about.

Leda is a travel agent with a side hustle in 'klairvoyant karaoke,' but she thinks divining songs are the extent of her power's usefulness. That is, until she saves a policeman from an exploding airplane and ends up tangled up in solving a cold case.

This book made me laugh a lot. The characters are lovable, and I enjoyed the friendships between them- the long-established camaraderie of Leda and Niki and the burgeoning friendship between Leda and Grady. Though the mystery was not particularly engaging, there are some sequences in its solving, particularly the climax, that were extremely well-written and consequently satisfying to read. The author balances emotional weight well with the humor.

Occasionally, though, the writing got a little too zany for my taste - the chapter gathering all the characters for Leda's explaining the case comes to mind. Dialogue sometimes felt stilted as well, particularly toward the beginning of the book.

Overall, this was a fun and well-written cozy mystery that I would recommend for those who enjoyed The Maid.

This whitty cozy mystery was a good pick for the chilly fall evenings!. Leda Foley is a travel agent, with mediocre psychic abilities. When one afternoon she gets a feeling something will go terribly wrong with a client's flight, she immediately changes it without his approval. Although frustrated at first, Detective Grady pays Leda a visit hoping she can use her physic abilities to help him solve a cold case he’s been stuck on.

With this starts quite the adventure for Leda & Grady. Leda’s physic abilities starts to uncover clues that end up revealing this case to be more personal to Leda than she would have thought.

Overall, this story is funny, original and the characters are very likeable. But, I didn’t think the case itself was compelling enough for me. This genre is always a hit or miss for me so I didn’t go in with the highest expectations. It was certainly fun to read during this Halloween season and I would for sure pick up the sequel to see what mess Leda and her friends find themselves in next.

If you enjoy quirky cozy mysteries, this one is definitely for you!!

This story got off to a great start, but then I felt like it dragged a bit. The mystery involved two cold cases, and the investigation didn’t immediately draw me in, although it became much more exciting as the action picked up in the second half of the story.

It took me a little while to warm up to the characters, but I really liked them as I got to know them better. I hope the author decides to write more about these characters, because I think the team of psychic Leda Foley and police detective Grady Merritt solving murder mysteries could provide a whole series of interesting stories. Also, I really liked some of the secondary characters, such as Leda’s friend Niki, Grady’s daughter Molly, and flamboyant bar owner Ben.

Other than the amusing character interactions, the best part of the story was the portrayal of Leda’s burgeoning psychic abilities. I liked that her abilities were inconsistent and she didn’t understand or appreciate them very much at the start of the story, but as she uses her abilities more, she starts to understand them better. The scenes of klairvoyant karaoke were a fun and memorable touch.

I enjoyed the ending, although I thought that Leda made some foolish choices. Not everyone reacts well under pressure. If this book does not become part of a series, it ends on a good note, but I do think there is a lot of potential for additional stories involving these characters.

Note that the book contains swearing.

Thanks to Atria Books for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

This was such a fun book to read! Leda Foley is a self employed travel agent who also performs klairvoyant karaoke on the side. She has always had random flashes of intuition, but when one of her premonitions saves a client from a plane crash, he is so impressed (and relieved) that he asks her to consult on a cold case investigation. What the detective doesn't know is that Leda also has a personal connection to the case and an unsolved mystery of her own. Solving these mysteries as well as figuring out how her psychic abilities work made for a really interesting story, and the lovably quirky characters in this story made me laugh out loud so many times! This was a great light read for Halloween weekend, and I'm happy to see that it's the first in a series. I look forward to reading more about Leda and Grady and their unique collection of friends.

Leda Foley has sort of always considered herself sort of a minor psychic. She gets flashes but they are mainly small things like preventing someone from spilling a coffee. Heck, she doesn't even have any information about her fiance's death three years ago. But then she gets a big flash and, in the course of her job as a travel agent, reroutes an LA detective off of a plane that blows up on the tarmac. It's a good thing that she's been slowly building her psychic muscles by holding objects for people and then picking a karaoke song because she's going to need all the skill she can get in order to help the detective solve a cold case. A cold case that might help her find some closure for herself.
The connection between the two cases was a bit tenuous and there were a lot of people introduced in the story but I liked that Leda actually acted like she had some brains and didn't rush into dangerous situations like is so common for amateur detectives in contemporary novels. A bit quirky but fairly fun.

Three and a half stars
This book cam out October 26th, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Atria Books and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Psychic? Murder mystery? Karaoke?! Sign me up! If you're looking for a lighter, funnier read, this is for you! It reminded me a lot of the board game CLUE. Cherie Priest has a simplistic writing style that kept me engaged throughout the whole book, and I can definitely see this becoming a series! I loved the cast of this novel, and especially loved to see the partnership between Leda and Detective Grady. Leda's personality was so relatable and likeable, and it was fun being able to experience psychic breakthroughs with her! I am definitely going to be picking up more books from this author.

When travel agent Leda saves detective Grady Merritt from a plane crash, her psychic powers are revealed. Grady convinces Leda to use her abilities to solve a cold case. Can he help her solve her fiancée's murder in return?

I like Leda and her circle of friends. Their local bar, Castaways, sounds really fun and I love the idea of Klairvoyant Karaoke. She and Grady make a good team, although they don't always respect each other's boundaries. While the plot moved a little slow for my taste this was a fun read

Leda Foley is an inconsistent psychic working as a travel agent who reschedules a client's flight on a gut feeling and saves his life. Said client, Grady, is a Seattle detective with a case he can't solve. An instant believer in Leda's abilities, Grady asks for her help with his case. Leda is still grieving her murdered fiance, an emotional state which underlies her motives and propels her involvement in Grady's case. I really liked Cherie Priest's writing style, with its witty dialogue and brisk pacing. This paranormal mystery has a quirky vibe and heart. The characters come across as authentic, with the endearing chemistry of a truly supportive group of friends. The growth of Leda's character as she comes into her own as a psychic and sleuth is gratifying. Grady has more depth than expected, especially in his interactions with his teenage daughter. Leda's best friend, Niki, is unfiltered and funny. Somewhere between cozy mystery and police procedural, this book is so much fun. Like my fave Halloween candy, I devoured it in one night! If you're looking for a fast-paced, entertaining read, this is it! Really hoping that this becomes a series.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to review this ARC.

A friendly, slightly ditsy, entirely lovable, psychic travel agent turns crime consultant when she is thrown together with a police detective in the pursuit of justice in this quirky mystery.

As Grady watches his plane blow up from the safety of the airport, he realizes that his travel agent Leda may have some special abilities that could help him solve a cold case. As they cement their newly formed crime fighting partnership, Leda’s scattershot premonitions leave Grady perpetually flabbergasted.

The reader will have to suspend their disbelief repeatedly as the story slides into the absurd a few times, but shouldn’t that be what reading is all about? At least some of the time?