This second book about Winter Snow is even more enjoyable than the first. Winter’s job as an obituary writer is unusual and provides much fodder for the mysteries she finds herself embroiled in. Supporting characters are quirky and fun. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Fun and fast reading experience with interesting characters who you hope to meet again in future novels. The lead character has a unique job (writing obituaries for those who want their life or a loved ones life noted and remembered) which sort of dovetails with her best job of mortuary assistant .

This was such a good book. I absolutely enjoyed it and look forward to reading other books by this author in the future. Great writing and wonderful storyline.

Grave Words by Gerri Lewis is the second book about obituary writer Winter Snow. While trying to find the name of a homeless man killed in an arson fire, Winter becomes involved in murder and mayhem and an obituary that lists her as dead! The characters are believable and interesting and the storyline engaging. I have not read the first book but will definitely try it and look forward to another..

Winter is asked to write an obituary for a local unhoused man who was murdered. While tracking down his identity, she becomes aware of another untimely death, there are some arsons, she's followed by a mysterious SUV, and there's a bear. Unfortunately, after reading this book I'm still not entirely sure what some of these things had to do with each other.

The first book in this series was so polished I couldn't believe that it was the author's first book. While The Last Word was long, it was tightly written and kept me interested throughout. The characters were well-developed and felt so real. This one was even longer but not nearly so polished or tightly written. There seemed to be some meandering, for example in the first half of the book were multiple bear sightings that seemed like they would be significant and then we just never see the bear again. There were some odd things like her purse being used to prop something open and then being tangled in the hinges, which were probably 4-5 feet away from where the purse would have been used to prop the thing open. The purse was so tangled the strap had to be cut, but the next day she's carrying that same bag. They also have firefighters who have never been to a fire before because smoke detectors and sprinkler systems have made fires obsolete? Um, no. The firefighters stay at a fire all night watching for afterglow (which did make me laugh, afterglow happens after sex, a fire restarting after it's been put out is a rekindle, firefighters would probably be more likely to stick around watching for afterglow LOL!) The villain was practically slapping us in the face the entire book, there was a twist that redeemed it a bit but I was disappointed to find that the villain was the villain.

Overall, this book just didn't hold my attention like the first one did. The mystery was too complex and some parts of it seem to be left unresolved. Generally I'm fine with if there's some sort of story arc between books, but I don't think that was the case here. Some books leave me wishing the author had asked me to edit for them and this was one of those books. The series is so promising, I absolutely love the setting and the characters are great. Definitely this is a series that I will continue to read but this book did not live up to its potential.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Winter Snow a Living Legacy and Obituary writer working for the local funeral home and freelance since the paper she worked for went out. She also has this huge Great Pyrenees puppy who is the best comic relief. The cast of characters in a little convoluted and the storyline is fairly steady with intriguing twists and nutsy red herrings.

This is the second book in the series but I don’t feel like I missed anything by not reading book 1 first. I liked this story, but it felt a bit all over the place, and there were some parts I had a difficult time reading. This is a struggle for an ADHD reader!!

Gerri Lewis has written an exceptional story full of suspense and plot twists questioning every characters' genuity throughout, making this a very inquisitve read. Once the reader has grasped the characters' roles, it becomes one that you cant put down because youre intrigued to get to the next plot twist! Winter Snow, ex journalist and now professional obituary writer lives in her uncle, Richard's lake side cottage in a small town. She is dating local police officer Kip. When it becomes apparent that there's someone on an arson spree, Winter starts digging and makes her start doubting those close to her - including her best friends Carla who works in the local funeral home and Scoop, the local journalist. Then there are two deaths that happen in close proximity of each other and assumptions are made that they are connected with the fire. Threats start to fly around and Scoop is rattled as he has a source that is divulging details that the police have not released but hes not ready to reveal his source which then makes him look extremely guilty. Kip tells Winter to stop digging for her own safety. Of course she does the opposite putting her own and Carla's lives in danger. This book definitely highlights people are not as they always seem. Coming June 2025. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 #arcreading #gerrilewisauthor #crookedlanebooks #crookedlanebookspublishing

I so love the main character and her job as an obituary writer! It is very unique among the "cozy careers" mystery writers use. The secondary characters are also a blast. I hope we see more from author Gerri Lewis.

Book two in the series. Wnen Winter, an obituary writer, starts to look into what happened with her latest subject it gets interesting. From the cover I expected a bit more of a cozy mystery, but still though, I enjoyed this one and would recommend.

Grave Words by Gerri Lewis #NetGalley

I chose this book because of the colourful autumn leaves, orange pumpkins, and smiling dog on the front cover. It is the first book I have read by this author. I like the short chapters and can feel the fear Winter experiences in the funeral home’s basement with the coffins .

I like the characters - obituary writer, Winter Snow, her best friend and reporter Scoop, Uncle Richard and Horace the friendly neighbour, and the dogs.

Grave Words: A Deadly Deadlines Mystery by Gerri Lewis is the book to read if you are looking for a contemporary cozy mystery with a hint of humour. This was a quick fun read! 3.8 stars

Thanks to @NetGalley and publisher #CrookedLaneBooks for providing me the opportunity to read the advanced reading copy of #GraveWords by #GerriLewis and write an honest review of my thoughts about the book.
#NetGalley November
#GoodReads November

I received a free copy of, Grave Words, by Gerri Lewis, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is book two in The Deadly Deadline Mystery Series. Winter Snow is listed as deceased, but she is very much alive, Thank you very much! Winter is trying to write an obituary for a local man named Chester, but is having a very hard time of it. love the names in this book, Winter Snow, Scoop, Winfred, etc. This was an interesting murder mystery.

What about a murder story where the first person to die is you?

Such a cool way to introduce our character, Winter Snow, her job as an obituary writer and the first people in her entourage.

I must say that I was hooked from the first line—I really loved this book!

Although I had already read the first installment, I thoroughly enjoyed this second adventure. The characters are well introduced, and their relationships develop in a way that you can feel what Winter Snow is going through and how she struggles.

I enjoyed watching the police officers do their job professionally, without divulging information about an ongoing investigation, even though Winter and Kip are a newly formed couple.


I liked how her role as an obituary writer forced her to find alternative ways to gather clues and solve mysteries in order to complete her job, rather than just acting like an amateur sleuth.

I also enjoyed the writing, which is often lacking in depth in this kind of novel.

Thank you #CrookedLaneBooks and #Netgally for this for this discovery. And of course, to #GerriLewis for writing so beautifully!

4 Stars. This is the second book in the Deadly Deadlines series. I did not read book 1 and had no issue understanding this book. We have Winter Snow, a Living Legacy and Obituary writer who works for the local funeral home since the newspaper she worked for went under. This is a quaint cozy mystery and humor and plot twists. I used to read cozy mysteries all of the time. I need to get back to that as I totally enjoyed this. This plot was a bit convoluted for a cozy mystery, but overall it's a solid 4 star book.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the ARC. I greatly appreciate it. I do recommend this book.

This was a great cozy mystery, the story seemed short and left you wanting more. The story had solid reasoning and didn't come of as far fetched which made it such an enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with is arc for my honest review!

Rating 1 star

I went into this book thinking it was going to be a cozy mystery which it has the element of but it just didn't give me that cozy mystery vibe. The book also lost my interest quickly and I just couldn't become engaged in the story. The storyline seemed cluttered from early on making it difficult to stay engaged in the story. I didn't feel a connection between the characters which made me feel disconnected to the story.

Thanks to author, Gerri Lewis and NetGalley for providing this light, entertaining ARC. Let me begin with my rating of 3.5, bordering on a 4.0 at times. GRAVE WORDS never commanded my complete attention, but had moments of being an entertaining murder mystery. The plot sets up like a modern day "CLUE" who-done-it, with sufficient character development to keep the reader's interest....at times.

Periodically, the storyline would jump the tracks and ramble on with dialogue and conversational text. Was the reference on p.166 to "Kettle One vodka" instead of "Ketel One" and use of Gladys Night meant to add to the lightness and humor of the story?

Again the storyline seemed cluttered early on, making it difficult to stay engaged in the story, eventually pulling together at the conclusion.

I want to first say that I read this book while cruising in the Mediterranean, so I read it disjointedly. Having disclosed that, I could not become engaged. The book failed to keep my interest. I usually enjoy “cozy mysteries” and I did enjoy these characters very much but the book, not so much. Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #GraveWords, #NetGalley, #CrookedLaneBooks.

amateur-sleuth, arson, Connecticut, contemporary, cozy-mystery, family, friends, friendship, investigations, local-gossip, local-law-enforcement, murder, newspapers, obituary-writer, read, relationship-issues, relationships, reporter, rural, siblings, small-business, small-town*****

Winter Snow a Living Legacy and Obituary writer working for the local funeral home and freelance since the paper she worked for went out. She also has this huge Great Pyrenees puppy who is the best comic relief. The cast of characters in a little convoluted and the storyline is fairly steady with intriguing twists and nutsy red herrings. Loved it every bit as much as the first and looking forward to the next in series!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected ebook file from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Avail Jun 10, 2025 #GraveWords by Gerri Lewis #DeadlyDeadlinesMysteriesBk2 @crookedlanebks #NetGalley #CozyMystery

The description had promise and made me intrigued to read Grave Words by Gerri Lewis. However, I found the writing very dry and had a hard time willing myself to continue the book. The main character, Winter, did not really seem to have a personality and the whole "has an obituary written about herself but she is not actually dead" premise somehow was not made a bigger deal. I was a bit disappointed about this book and maybe it is because I am so used to more descriptive and not so matter of fact writing.

Almost exactly a year ago, I found myself up all night reading Book 1 - The Last Word. I completed this, Book 2, in one sitting except I had intended to read a couple of chapters with my morning coffee and put it down until bedtime.  That did not happen, I could not put it down.

This story about Winter Snow (love the name) a Living Legacy and Obituary writer poking into the lives of those she is writing about, is in the middle of arsons and murders in this one.

It was a slow burn that picked up nicely. This story is set in current times, post-pandemic with YouTube Reels and AI references, even a nod to Air Tags. It was nice to see them woven into a story without being forced.

I liked that Winter owned up to her mistakes. She’s had some significant losses in her relatively young life that her uncle and father figure Richard, thinks helps her do her job so well. 

Poor Kip, boyfriend to Winter and police detective who is stuck between a rock and hard place, trying to do his job and keep Winter safe. Their relationship has some growing pains and they seemed to come through them ok.

Horace and Richard, to have people who care about you so much is a blessing.

Scoop, wow, what a time he had of things. To be a person of interest in the arsons and murder - yikes!  He wants to cooperate with the police but how can he reveal his source if he wants to continue his career as a journalist.

There are wonderful characters and relationships that are not perfect but relatable. Winter’s thoughts tend to wander but she does come back and as she takes you along for the ride, it seems like she is inviting you to help solve with her. 

A heady mystery that I could not put down until the end.

Thank you to #NetGalley  and #CrookedLaneBooks  for the opportunity to do an early read and share my thoughts on the story. 

Happy Reading!