I really enjoyed this start to a new cozy mystery series featuring Leda, a travel agent psychic and the Seattle Homicide detective she teams up with to help solve a mystery that turns out to be linked to the death of her own fiancée. Full of quirky, highly likable characters and told in a really relatable, easy to read manner. I was thoroughly entertained and love how this book ended. I can't wait to see what happens next in this series. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!

Thanks to Atria for an advanced copy of Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest.

Leda Foley is a struggling travel agent and has some phychic powers. When she has a feeling and changes a Seattle Police detactive flight based on a feeling and saves his life, Grady wants to consult with Leda on an unsolved case.

This was a fun premise and a mostly cozy mystery. with a nice case of secondary characters but it was a little slow for me.

Standard psychic cozy affair. Love Cherie Priest's writing style. Enjoyed this, a lot. Hope it's the start of a new series.

What a delight. I flew through this book. It's quirky, endearing, and so much fun! A cozy mystery with a bit more spunk than others I have read, this book will suck you and have you awaiting the sequel like I am.

Leda is a struggling psychic and travel agent who isn't quite sure how to use her powers other than by performing Klairvoyant Karaoke at her local bar. But when she gets a bad feeling and moves a client's flight which saves him being aboard a plane that blows up, Grady, a cop, decides to enlist her in solving a cold case that haunts him. She gets on board and realizes that maybe by solving this case she can get help finding answers about her fiance's murder.

Full of fun secondary characters and a fun chemistry between Grady and Leda, this is a fun start to a series that I'm sure will only build on the relationships in this rag-tag bunch.

This is a mix between a Mystery and a Cozy Mystery. I really loved this book, and I did not want to stop reading it. The Amateur Sleuth/Main Character of this book is a psychic travel agent because she save a cops life with her psychic she starts helping him. I really loved the twists and turns in this book, and I really love the ending. The characters where so great, and I hope there will be a second book with these characters. The storyline built up through out this book which was so great. I also loved the psychic parts of this book. There was funny/fun parts, suspenseful parts, and weird parts which put all together may a really fun mystery with great characters. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Atria Books) or author (Cherie Priest) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

While the concept and plot line intrigued me, a lot of the dialogue felt stilted and a bit immature. Many times I felt like the MC was actually younger than she is because of the way she spoke to people. I also wish she had a bit more confidence in herself or at least wasn't so self-deprecating.
All in all, i think it was a good start to a series and i hope to see how the characters mature and relate to each other as the series progresses.

This paranormal mystery has its good points, but the mystery itself is a bit weak.

I really liked both the premise and the characters. Leda, a psychic with a minor and usually useless gift, gets dragged into investigating a set of murders after she manages to save the life of a cop. Leda is an entertaining lead, quirky and a bit of a mess, and she predictably struggles through the investigation. Grady the cop gets stuck playing straight man to Leda, but his interactions with his teenage daughter help give the character more dimension than the average cozy detective. Leda also has an amusing group of friends who work at the bar where she does “Klairvoyant Karaoke,” and her best friend Niki is a lot of fun.

The mystery was an issue for me, though. The murders that Leda is initially brought in to solve didn’t really grab my interest, especially since I identified the culprit almost immediately. I was more interested in the crime that shaped Leda’s backstory—the unsolved killing of her fiancé—but the solution to that was ultimately a bit of a letdown, too. For me, the whodunnit aspect of the book just needed some additional work.

I’ll probably try the next book in the series just because I liked Leda and the other characters, but I’m hoping for a more gripping mystery next time.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for me to review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Something tells Leda Foley of Foley’s Far-Fetched Flights of Fancy travel agency that she needs to change a passenger’s flight reservation. She occasionally gets these “feelings”, mostly about minor things, and when she learns he was late due to traffic, it all made sense…until it didn’t. Detective Grady Merritt arrives at the airport and sees his plane explode into flames. Days later he arrives at Leda’s travel agency asking her to “use her talent” to help him catch a murderer, one who has alluded him for years. Now her “skills” are mostly used at a local bar to perform what she calls Klairvoyant Karaoke. She handles an object from one of the patrons and comes up with the song that best fits them. Will her visions help a detective solve his cold case and catch a murderer? A fun and quirky story, with amusing dialog (especially between Leda and her friend Niki). I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)

Leda Foley is a travel agent and kinda-sorta psychic. She saves Detective Merritt’s life when she rebooks him on a different flight, and when he comes around asking how she knew, she manages to get herself roped into helping him with a cold case. Grave Reservations is a cozy mystery full of sass, loyal friendship, and silliness. Leda’s business is barely making it and her routine is set (just about in stone), but her posse is crazy & hilarious, and her bff sticks like glue.

I really liked the wholesomeness of it all, yes even with a psychic who’s trying to hone her skills in the lead role. This whole book is cute cute cute.

What could be better: the mystery part of the book. But that’s ok, because the cast of characters will have you singing kumbaya by the campfire so enthusiastically you won’t care much. Prepare for laughs (and giggles & snorts), and read Grave Reservations with a hot cup of tea. And a cookie or two.

drey’s rating: Pick it up!

Enjoyable, fun, and humorous!

This was an enjoyable cozy murder mystery that was a fast read and held my interest right from the very start. Loved the characters, the humor and the mystery!

Ill be honest - at first I didn't think I was going to like this but it turned into an enjoyable read. This is not my usual genre, but I needed something different! I am SO glad I chose this one! Definitely way better then I expected it to be. Whether it will hold up well as a series I don't know, but as a first book, LOVE. I am here for a series, if there is one!

I would recommend this book as a go-to between heavy reads (or heavy stress!).
Pick it up when you need to laugh or if you need to cleanse your brain from that last phycological thriller.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review posted to blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

A highly entertaining, quirky mystery!

Leda Foley is a clairvoyant. She is also a travel agent who loves karaoke. The day that Leda re-books a client’s flight to a different flight after a “bad feeling” - she saves his life. That client is Seattle detective Grady Merritt and Leda just turned him into a believer. Once that happens, he asks Leda if she’d be willing to help him try and solve a cold case, one that’s been bugging him for years.

As it turns out, Leda could use Grady’s help as well, as she needs to know who murdered her fiance. While the mystery leads a bit to be desired, the best part of this novel is the interaction between the characters and specifically Leda and her best friend Niki. Detective Merritt adds to the fun as well.

Although suspending belief is required, I enjoyed this novel and liked the supernatural element.
3.5 Stars

A fun buddy read with Kaceey!

Thank you to Megan Rudloff at Atria Books and NetGalley for the arc.

The storyline follows a psychic travel agent who helps a cop solve a murder! You would expect a thriller suspense mystery but this book is more of a cozy mystery. The storyline is unique but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I wish Leda’s psychic ability was more confident and stronger rather then being unsure and all over the place. I also felt the dialogue was boring. I really wanted to like it!

Leda is a psychic travel agent. After she saves Seattle Detective Grady’s life, he asks for her help in a cold case. Even though she has Grave Reservations, Leda agrees to help. If she helps Grady, maybe he can help solve her fiancé’s murder.

This book is definitely more of a cozy mystery. The characters draw you in, but the mystery is more of an afterthought. The humor is gentle. Leda’s unpaid side hustle is running Klairvoyant Karaoke at a local bar. She grasps a patron’s object and selects an appropriate song to sing about its significance to its owner. Her bff says it’s time to Netflix and Swill. That type of humor, rather than the zany humor of Stephanie Plum, pervades the book.

Grave Reservations is probably the first book in a new series, so I expect more character-building within it. However, my inner armchair detective wanted more clues and investigative work. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars!

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

The first book I pickup after a few weeks off (to get married) and I LOVED IT! A light hearted mystery novel that you will devour in one sitting. Entertaining, humorous, and filled with mystery you think you’ve figured out but pleased with the surprises around every corner (pages :D) This first in this series novel introduces us to Leda Foley a Travel Agency owner, but also kinda sorta psychic. Did that get your attention? :)

After practically saving the life of a Seattle PD detective, he recruits her to help solve unsolved cases. It’s like watching an episode of Dateline, but with some humor, and even more twists and turns.

I cannot wait to read the next installment!

I really enjoyed this contemporary mystery. I won’t call it a “cozy” necessarily because I think it had a little more depth than your average cozy, but it was close. I thought the psychic travel agent setup was really unique, and throwing the karaoke on top of it was just fun. My husband is from Seattle so I’ve spent a lot of time in the city and loved that this book was set there (shoutout to Dick’s Drive-In!) I figured out who the killer was fairly early on but it didn’t dampen my enjoyment of the book. Highly recommended to mystery fans!

Grave Reservations is a quick read with a quirky mystery. Leda Foley has psychic powers she puts on display at a local bar with karaoke - Klairvoyant Karaoke or Psychic Psongstress as the flyer promises. By touching an item of a patron, she can sing a song that only the individual will relate to the deceased loved one.

She is also a small business owner, booking travels for willing patrons who are wanting someone else to find them hotel and airfare deals. A Seattle cop is soon saved on a hunch after she rebooks him from a flight that runs off the tarmac. Intrigued by her hunch, Officer Grady enlists her to help with a cold case. Slowly, they begin to unwind the clues as she builds a murder board based on her visions. Clues that slowly lead Leda to connect this cold case to the murder of her fiancee, Tod.

The secondary cast of characters added fun to this amusing plot. The second half of the book is far better than the first half.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the complimentary copy.

Overall rating: 3.5

This was a very fast and fun read, perfect for when you're looking for something lighter. Come for the very cozy mystery, but stay for the people.

I really liked reading about the characters. Leda and Grady make great main characters. Leda's best friend Niki, their friend group and Grady's daughter were also great additions. I really enjoyed reading all these characters and am looking forward to finding out more about them in the future books.

I also really liked the premise. I think it sets up a great premise, of a cop and a psychic partnering up (a la The Mentalist) to solve crimes. This of course comes with all the fun bits about coming up with ways for Leda to get close to the persons of interest.

In terms of mystery however, this was somewhat lackluster. The culprit was somewhat obvious early on, and it was frustrating that a detective wouldn't see it. It also seemed like Leda was so successful at klairvoyant karaoke that it didn't make sense that she got such little or unhelpful visions during the investigation in a way that made it difficult for me to keep my suspension of disbelief.

I found the scenes outside them detecting very fun as well. Characters and premise come together very well so the book was very entertaining to read throughout even though I didn't find the mystery that intriguing or interesting.

Overall I think this was a fun first book in a fun new series filled with murder and psychics. Especially loved that it was set in Seattle, and it featured my favorite bookstore!

I didn't know until I finished that Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest is the start of a series and I couldn't be happier about it. This had some Finlay Donovan Is Killing It vibes, and I loved the mix of mystery and humor. This was a very unique type of mystery, and I couldn't have liked Leda more. There are a lot of very special and quirky characters in the book, including Leda's bestie Niki, and I can't wait until I can revisit them in the next book. The story is told from 2 viewpoints, Leda and detective Grady, and there is a bit of a detective fiction/police procedural feel as well which I enjoyed. It honestly felt a little bit like a cozy mystery thanks to the humor and Leda's psychic tendencies, and since that is a genre I love, I was pleasantly surprised. This isn't a gory or overly disturbing read either which gives it a lighter feel than some of the other mysteries and thrillers out there.

I knew right from the dedication that I was going to be a fan of Priest's writing, and that definitely held through all the way to the end. I did notice a couple of words that got repeated quite a bit (like white), but other than that I loved every second and found both the storyline and writing very engaging. I haven't heard of any of Priest's other books, but I intend to check them out now as well as being very excited to see where this series is going to go. I listened to the last little bit on audio and was also very happy with the narrator Ulka Mohanty. If they keep her for further books of the series, I will most likely listen to them, but it was a very quick read as well and would be good any way you want to read it! Grave Reservations was both entertaining and interesting, and I even learned some new things too. If you want a lighter mystery with a cozy feel I would definitely recommend checking this out, and if you have the same sense of humor as me you will also find yourself laughing a bit too!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was just fun. My husband has been a fan of hers for years but this was my first book of Priest's. It had fun characters and a lively plot. I did feel like the mystery part was very weak but the ride was fun.

Did I have reservations about reading this mystery? Yes I did.

Did I need to? No I did not.

Grave Reservations is the debut book in a new contemporary-cozy mystery (concozery???) series by Cherie Priest, an author previously known for her sci-fi and steampunk novels. The blurb compares it to Lisa Lutz’s The Spellman Files, and I would have to agree. It’s also got Finlay Donovan vibes - and dare I say - I enjoyed this more than the second Finlay book.

Readers follow a 30-something psychic travel agent from Seattle named Leda as she helps a police detective try to solve a cold murder case. She also sings Klairivoyant Karaoke at a local bar a few nights a week to try to hone her unique abilities. She’s pretty chipper and fairly funny, and I enjoyed spending time in her company. She’s got an unfiltered BFF called Niki who’s a hoot too… the Ethel to her Lucy.

I was surprised how pleasantly readable this book is, and I turned many of the pages with a smile on my face. Is everything about it believable? No. Did I appreciate that Leda and the detective (Grady) had a platonic relationship? You betcha. Will I read the next book in the series to see if it stays that way? Yes, without reservation.