I thought parts of this book was good,like when she helped the police find a body. Otherwise it was just about a relationship that was made complicated by the fact she hears dead people. I’m not sure what to think about the ending either. This book just wasn’t what I was expecting.
I didn’t hate it, I just thought it was ok
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Enjoyable! Great plot. An Irish family owns a funeral home. Two of them can talk with the dead for a brief time. They then tell the surviving family members what the dead said.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this unusual read.

Jeanie Masterson, now 32, has inherited the gift of being able to hear the dead for a short time after they die but before they are buried. Since she was little, she has sat by on a stool at her father’s funeral home while her and her Aunt Harry prepared the body. If anyone had something they wanted to pass on to the living, she or her father would do so.

The dead have always played an important role in Jeanie’s life, from taunts all through her school years to Jeanie’s conviction that she cannot leave the dead and do something else because of the rarity of her gift.

Her husband Niall Longley works with her Aunt Harry in embalming bodies, and he has become an expert in it. He seems to be more comfortable with what he does than Jeanie. Jeanie gets upset when the dead want her to convey something hurtful, and even more upset when her father lies about what they said, so as not to distress the living too much. Although Niall wants children, Jeanie has been resisting - she would hate it if her offspring inherited such a fraught trait.

As the story goes on, we learn that Jeanie and Niall’s relationship has additional stress: in high school, Jeanie, who previously had a close connection with Niall since they were toddlers, got together with someone else. Niall isn’t totally convinced she is over him.

Evaluation: Although the author tries to pull out “happy” threads all through the plot, I thought this story was so full of tragic circumstances I could hardly lift my head after finishing it! It’s an interesting story, but to me, a very sad one.

How many titles can you think of in which the lead character is a funeral director, much less a female one? And one who hears the dead for a short period after they die, to boot. This is the book that has that and more. I am not one to rehash the plot in my reviews; I'm just here to tell you what I loved about the book. I loved Mikey. I loved the whole idea of Jeanie being able to talk to the dead. I loved the small town culture and atmosphere, which is described perfectly. I disliked the fact that the family secret changed the course of so many lives, but I was happy with the ending. I always say I prefer an ending I am happy with over a happy ending. Sometimes you get both, sometimes you don't. It's up to each reader to figure out if they did.

I think this is a fantastic book for a book group. I will be adding other reviews on Goodreads and Facebook.

Thank you, Netgalley.

Listening Still is a story about a family of undertakers some of whom are able to hear the last thoughts of the recently deceased. It’s also the story of a marriage that gets tested when the wife’s parents decide it’s time for them to retire and leave the entire business to their daughter. Ultimately this is a story about individual wants versus expectations of others. The story moves between the past and present as the author gives the backstory on each character. I didn’t particularly like all the diversions, but by the end understood the author’s process was to enable her characters to actually see the truth each sought. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. Highly recommend.