'Haunting and Homicide' is a fantasy cozy mystery with ghosts and a cute puppy!!

The setting was indeed perfect for this story, as it simply is 'ghosty' on its own. Pair that with actual ghosts and a main character who can see them and makes ghost tours as a living, you get the perfect cozy fantasy. Add a dog to that, and you have a recipe for success.

I also enjoyed the mystery, which had enough twists to keep things interesting but was not too complicated as to let the rest of the plotlines flourish. I also liked the family drama and the smooth outcome of it!

And even though the romance wasn't for me, as it was too cheesy for my taste, the end and the final choice of the character surprised me positively.

Finally, the characters were likable and interesting. The audiobook was also beautifully narrated.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Title: Haunting and Homicide
Series: A Ghost Town Tour Mystery #1
Author: Ava Burke
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Maria McCann
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Genre: Cozy Mystery Thriller
Audiobook Pub Date January 21, 2025
My Rating: 4.5 Rounded up
Pages: 272

Setting Present Day New Orleans, Louisiana
Tallulah ‘Lou’ Thatcher –-has just started a “walking ghost tour” business in NOLA ‘s Garden District -(I have been on a couple ghost tours and they were total fun so was expecting this story to be fun!)
Lou’s tour will surely be successful since she does see ghosts. In fact, once her tours begin she has ghosts who help her out. Rival tour guide Adam Brandt has accused Lou’s tour of having fake encounters so when he is found murdered, Lou knows she needs to solve this murder, to clear her name!
And so it begins!
I love this enjoyable story and anxious for Book #2

I want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this delightful audiobook.
Audiobook Publishing Date scheduled for January 21, 2025.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I was very excited to read this book because I love a good mystery and throw ghosts in there, and I am set! I think the book was strong at the beginning, but after that it just kind of gor boring for me. I love cozy mysteries, but I wish these authors would stop throwing liberal woke subjects in them...it just makes me roll my eyes.

This was so cute and so fun! Definitely a wholesome ghost story.
I loved the puppy! I love the little brother too. The narration was lovely.

I listened to this cozy mystery on audiobook. The narrator did a good job bringing the story to life. This book was a super quick read and a fun start to a new cozy mystery series. Lou Thatcher lives in New Orleans and has a business doing ghost tours. But there is a little something different about her tours because she sees ghosts. When a rival ghost tour guide dies Lou is unfortunate enough to stumble across the body making herself the number suspect. Despite Adam have been a jerk to her she’s determined to solve who killed him even when it starts to put herself in danger. Like all successful cozy mysteries this one had great supporting characters especially the puppy. It had some interesting dynamics to the ghosts she sees and their abilities. The one thing I didn’t like was the love interest storyline, I just didn’t enjoy it and thought the book would have been better without it. Overall though I enjoyed it, and I will definitely keep an eye out for more in this series.

This is a Paranormal Cozy Mystery, and this is the first book in A Ghost Tour Mystery Series. I listened to the audiobook for this book, and I loved it. This is a great start to a new Cozy Mystery series. I really loved the characters, and I really loved that there are ghosts in this book. I loved how the ghosts are handled in this book. The murder that was being worked in this book was fun to follow and had enough drama you wanted to keep reading. There was some family drama stuff that also worked in the storyline which just added to all the craziness going on, but I was enjoying all of it. I really cannot wait for book two in this series to come out. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. I think she sounds similar to Angie Harmon and I loved the tone of her voice as well as the different voices she had for each character. This is the first book in a new cozy series and I loved the author’s descriptions, it truly felt like I could see each character and what they were looking at. I’m not a huge paranormal fan, the ghost aspect was interesting and I liked the way the author incorporated them- similar to Danielle Garrett’s style. I didn’t know who the killer was until really far into the story so I loved that surprise. This was a great start to a new series and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Highly recommend this one!

This is an enjoyable cozy read with likeable characters and a solid mystery that kept me guessing. I like the ghost tours, as well as Lou's interaction with the ghosts. The potential love interest starts as a typical trope - police detective who is also Lou's best friend's brother who Lou has had a crush on since childhood - but then it takes a rather unique turn toward the end of the book. That's all I will say in order to avoid a spoiler, but it is unusual. I'm not sure how I feel about it, and if I choose to read the next book in the series, I am interested to see where it goes. It is worth noting that the book addresses high school bullying and includes and an LGBTQ teen as a recurring character.

The narrator did a good job voicing the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for rhe ARC.
Great start to a new series. Well narrated and a great introduction to new characters. This is a good cozy mystery listen. I enjoyed the setting with the haunted and historic tours as well. Enjoyable characters and some humor thrown in along with the mystery.
Definitely check out this first book in a new series.

"Lou" Thatcher is a ghost tour guide in one of the most haunted places in America, New Orleans! Being able to actually see the ghosts herself, makes Lou's tours even better! When her rival tour guide Adam is murdered, Lou becomes one of the suspects. Luckily for Lou, she can see Adam, and thus begins her quest to figure out who really murdered him! I enjoyed this first in series and will definitely read the next one! I love cozy mysteries set in New Orleans, there really is no better setting.

Haunting and Homicide is the first book in Ava Burke's Ghost Tour Mystery series. Lou Thatcher has taken her ability to see ghosts and turned it into a business with walking ghost tours in New Orleans. Of course her guests don't know she is able to actually see spirits. She is able to use her abilities to create viral moments that have helped her grow her business but it has also caused her to develop some enemies with other businesses. When one of her ghost tour rivals turns up murdered Lou decides to get involved in the investigation when she becomes one of the suspects. Will she be able to use her investigative skills and the ghost community of New Orleans to figure out who murdered Adam before she is arrested or the killer comes after her.

I had such a great time with this book. I love cozy mysteries and especially love when there is a little magic involved. Lou is a great main character. She is loving, smart and tenacious. I adored her relationship with her grandmother and brother. Her ability to see ghosts is such a fun touch. New Orleans is such a great backdrop for this story and I liked getting some historical details of the city. I will be keeping an eye out for the next book in this series!

Maria McCann did a great job with the narration. I really enjoyed this as an audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Good start to a new series. I liked the characters and the story overall, though I felt that it started a little slow in the beginning. I love the interactions with the different ghosts and the setting of New Orleans is always one of my favorites. That being said, I found most of it realistic enough but had a real issue with the use of the term “crawdad”. I have never heard anyone use that term here. Other than that, I will continue with the series and look forward to the next.