This is the 3rd book in the series, but the first one I have read. I will definitely have to go back and read book 1 and 2. The story has great characters and good humour throughout. It was different the the genres I usually read, but I really enjoyed it.

Death & the Gravedigger’s Angel is the third in the Loretta Ross’s terrific Auction Block Mystery series. It’s hard to say what I like best about the series: Death and Wren’s relationship; Wren’s resourcefulness; Death trying to come to terms with his disability while still pushing himself; the sibling banter with Randy and between the Keystone twins; the realistic way the books acknowledge trauma and PTSD, especially among vets and crime victims; even the whole Keystone clan, who are funny and endearing and eccentric in a believably realistic way.

Death (pronounced “Deeth,” and named after Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey) is the official detective, or rather, private eye, but both he and Wren take a hand in solving the mysteries. They’re also a solid romantic pairing—they have very little relationship angst to speak of, and by this third book, there’s no “will-they-won’t-they” guessing, either. And it’s just as well, because there’s plenty of interest and suspense without it.

I enjoyed this one particularly for the old mansion and the stories associated with it. There’s something almost irresistible about exploring an old house, as Wren gets to do in the process of preparing its contents for auction. As she does, she gets caught up in the question of who was the “gravedigger” who once lived there, and why did he create sketch after sketch of a young woman in a war-torn village? PTSD becomes the common thread between Wren’s historical mystery and the pair of contemporary mysteries puzzling Death: How did a dead man end up in a Confederate uniform with a grisly past, and who killed the son of a religious fanatic?

It’s this sort of realism—PTSD and the aftermath of war, religious fanaticism not played for laughs, and a small-town setting that’s never idealized—that makes this series more serious and believable than many cozy series, from the character depictions to the overall tone. Yet it’s not all seriousness. Ross has just the right touch, blending in humor by expressing it through characters’ dialogue and the jokes they make, rather than the narrative voice. It feels like the level of humor in everyday life, and balances the seriousness of death and murder without diminishing it.

I mentioned Wren’s resourcefulness, and boy, does she need it in this book! I can’t describe the scene without spoilers, but I loved the way she uses her wits and her skills (not to mention her scorn for horror-movie characters) to good effect, essentially rescuing herself from a really dangerous situation. Kudos also to Ross for creating a female character who is the antithesis of TSTL (too stupid to live.)

I first read Death & the Gravedigger’s Angel last January, shortly after death of a good friend (over the weekend of his memorial service, in fact), and I had a very hard time staying focused on it. At the time, I wasn’t sure whether the problem was that I was too shaken up to concentrate, or whether the plot was confusing and hard to follow. I’m happy to report that on rereading it with a clear mind, I found the plot complicated but completely coherent, and it was easy to get caught up in the story.

Death & the Viking’s Daughter comes out on February 8, and I can’t wait!

*****

*TSTL is one of my biggest mystery-related pet peeves.

A good light mystery, I liked the WWI aspect to the story too.

A great twisty, cozy mystery that brings in great characters, humor, and history too.. I can't wait for more from Loretta Ross!

Loved it...now I have to go back and read the first two books!

Wren Morgan, her boyfriend Death (pronounced Deeth) Bogart and his brother Randy are making their way to Hadleigh House, an old abandoned mansion that's just been handed to the Keystone and Sons auction house. Wren works for them and is going to catalogue and pack up everything for auction. But while they are wending their way to the house, Death tells Wren about a recent event: it seems an old man wearing a Civil War uniform was killed on their path, also known as the Vengeance Trail. He was drunk, riding a stolen horse, and the horse ran him into a low-hanging branch and he had been killed. Then Death tells Wren the 'creepy' part, which is the fact the uniform was saturated with formaldehyde and traces of human decomposition - which means the dead guy removed the uniform from a recently-deceased corpse. Not a pretty picture to Wren (or to anyone, I would imagine).

The brothers leave Wren to her task and decide to explore the surrounding area, which (without going into great detail) puts them in contact with Kurt Robinson, who runs Warriors' Rest, a camp for wounded vets. When Kurt finds out that Death is a private investigator he asks for his help in proving his friend insane. It seems the friend, Anthony Dozier, is on trial for murder because he was found with a dying man in the back of his car. The man had been stabbed several times, because Tony was seen arguing with the man's father earlier - and here it gets a bit involved - at the funeral of Tony's wife. Tony married a Muslim woman who died in a car crash, and the CAC (Church of the Army of Christ) is a hate group that want to convert or eradicate anyone who isn't Christian, so they showed up to protest. Tyler Jones is the head of the church and the man Tony confronted. Tony was found the next morning, thinking he was back in Afghanistan with a wounded soldier in his car and was trying to find the base hospital. So the defense wants temporary insanity, and the prosecutor wants murder since he believes it was premeditated.

Meanwhile Wren, while going through the house finds an old sketchbook with a drawing of a woman and soldiers. The woman is holding her hair away from her face with one hand while holding a ladle in the other. Many of the drawings are similar, all with the woman, and it intrigues Wren to want to know more about the artist and occupier of the home.

Then Orly Jackson, the deputy sheriff of East Bledsoe Ferry, shows up asking Wren if she knew the man because he had a note in his pocket with her name on it and her handwriting. The note is a reference authenticating the uniform and would have been sold with it but neither Wren nor any of the Keystones remember him, which leaves Orly back where he started - trying to identify the dead man, and also the dead man the uniform was removed from. As I said, it gets pretty involved...

When Death visits Tony Dozier, Tony tells him he saw his dead wife, and when we went toward her, he found August bleeding and tried to help him. Death, hearing the story, is sure of one thing: he's convinced the man didn't kill August Jones, and sets out to find out who did.

When Wren shows Death the pictures she took of the sketchbook on her phone, they both agree that they've seen the woman somewhere before but can't remember; she eventually shows the sketchbook to Doris Keystone who also thinks she's seen the woman before. What she does tell Wren, however, is that Hadleigh House was also known as 'the gravedigger's house' since it belonged to an old man who lived there by himself and rarely spoke to anyone.

And this, my friends, leaves several mysteries to be uncovered: Who is the gravedigger? Who is the woman in the sketchbook? Who was the dead old man, and where did he get the uniform? And finally, if Tony didn't kill August, who did?

This was quite a book. The plot is complicated, detailed, and utterly fascinating. We have several subplots that are quite engaging also, and Ms. Ross weaves them together in a tapestry that threads suspense, mystery, and humor effortlessly to create a final product that is gratifying to read. The best of these (while they are all good) is "watching" Death come to some conclusions of his own (and I will let you find these out on your own).

I think of all the books in this series I enjoyed this one the most, because we are gaining more insight into our characters, and as I have a fondness for them (as one should in each book one reads) I was quite delighted with it. There are some very funny scenes which had me outright laughing; and I do love the fact that Wren is no shrinking violet - she's a woman who can think on her feet and stand on her own. There is genuine feeling between all the characters in the book, and you can feel the warmth come through the pages.

When the end comes, and everything ties together nicely, we are given a satisfying conclusion to a very good mystery indeed that keeps us intrigued throughout and leaves us waiting for the next in the series (which I hope is soon!) Highly recommended.

Death & the Gravedigger's Angel is a delightful mystery!! I enjoy any book that makes me laugh aloud, The humor is well-balanced with present and past mysteries and current-day social issues. The strong female characters hold their own with the men in their lives. The issues of mental and physical injuries that challenge today's veterans - men and women - are just one of the topics for discussion groups. Throw in a loving community and heroic horses, and you have a winner! Thanks to Midnight Ink and NetGallry for letting me enjoy such an great read.

I love this series! I almost clapped my hands with glee at the beginning because Wren, Death and Randy were going into a house that no one had lived in in close to 50 years and just the idea of all that stuff makes me giddy with excitement. I loved the descriptions of the Hadleigh House and the cemetery and the tidbits about the man who had lived there until his death in the mid-60s. I also thoroughly enjoyed Death's brother, Randy, joining the gang. His interactions with Wren and with Death were hilarious and brought a lot of entertainment to the group. It was also fun to see a lot more of the Keystones who own the auction company that Wren works for. I had really missed them in the second book so it was a treat to see them playing a larger roll in this book - especially the grandmothers.

The mystery got off to a fast paced start with questions about who the last occupant had been, who the dead guy in the Civil War uniform found on the trail was, and how did the son of a funeral protesting minister end up dead in the car of a veteran who had recently lost his wife. I enjoyed watching Death and Randy work on the upcoming murder trial of the veteran and watch the characters try and figure out just where the Civil War uniform had come from and how the dead man had gotten a hold of it. I felt both of those mysteries were wrapped up very satisfactory and I really enjoyed the read. I love Wren's character. While at times she comes off as shy and almost meek there's also a hidden toughness to her and it's nice watching her show she can take care of herself.

My main complaint was that I wanted more from the mystery involving the angel and the last occupant of Hadleigh house. There were so many tantalizing pieces that I didn't feel were satisfactorily wrapped up. I love historical mysteries where the tale is told through dusty letters and found drawing and I just wanted more from this subplot. As well, this is one of the few mystery series where I feel like it's really important to read the books in order. A lot happened in the last 2 books that explain Death's backstory and the events that occurred with Randy and I think it could be confusing to a new reader to dive in here. Plus the other 2 are really great mysteries so you'd be missing out if you didn't read them!

If you enjoy a good cozy mystery read and the idea of exploring old houses makes you giddy this is a series you really must not miss! This was an incredibly entertaining addition to one of my favorite cozy mystery series!

Pardon me while I hop up on a soapbox.

Ladies and gentlemen, readers and especially writers of cozy mysteries, this – (allow me to wave a copy of <I>Death and the Gravedigger's Angel</i> in the air) <I>this</i> is how it's supposed to be done.

The object, last time I looked, of a cozy mystery is pure entertainment. They're supposed to have a main character who is not a cop but has some sort of access to mysteries that makes sense. They're supposed to be light in tone, or even funny. They're supposed to be long on characterization and charm; a twisty plot is a bonus, but not a necessity.

And <I>The Gravedigger's Angel</i> does it right, in spades. The titular main character, Death Bogart, is a private investigator, with an auctioneer girlfriend named Wren. Both are well-written and engaging, and are surrounded by characters I enjoy. I laughed out loud reading this, often. Do you have any idea how long it's been since that happened more than, say, once in a book? The flying buttresses. "Yaaaarrrrgh". The French lesson. And, best of all, the battle of the Bible verses – marvelous.

“Hit your head again?”
“Umm, no.”
“I wasn’t asking. I was offering.”

“I had a possessed rabbit once.”
“I’m not even surprised.”

It wasn't perfect. My eyebrows rose a little at the idea that someone could forget they had sold an authentic Civil War Confederate uniform, especially early on in her career – I can't believe I would ever forget about something like that – but I guess the reasoning was the sheer volume of stuff that was sold. And probably by the time of publication someone will fix the point that the auctioneers make that they keep records for six years, and the uniform was sold less than six years before what I assume is the setting for the book (2016-17).

But any quibbles I had with small plot holes or what-have-you were more than outweighed by the references to Star Trek and Tolkien, and indeed Lord Peter – and the fact that the story behind Death's name was not rehashed from the first book. (If Loretta Ross was trying to earn brownie points, she totally scored with me.) On the one hand, I'm wary of the trove of puns and wordplay that can (and do) spring from the name in a series of murder mysteries… the fact that that horse Death comes to know is a gray kind of made me sigh a little … but … how can I hold it against the author when a) the man is named for Lord Peter Wimsey, and b) it would really be inhuman for anyone to resist riffing on the name now and then. Just once and a while. I mean, really. And given the conceit of the main character's name being Death, how could anyone resist using it in the titles?

Woven in amongst the humor and book-geeky goodness is a very serious and very well handled exploration of PTSD and depression. Death has been broken, and while the pieces are coming back together, and he's beginning to be able to see daylight, still the depression never goes entirely away – "lurking like a dark, tentacled monster under the surface of a sunny pond". The PTSD never goes entirely away – it impacts every day. It's not the focus of the story. But it makes for a solid foundation, a gritty background for the froth and fun. And the joy. Just as there's a real strain of darkness in the book, so is there actual joy. That's an accomplishment.

And then there's a joke about teaching French using Lady Marmalade, and I'm giggling like a kid again.

And there's a bit of a clever mystery as well, in which the non-sleuthing main character only accidentally ends up in danger (as opposed to sticking her nose into places it has no business and ending up in danger). So, yes: this is my benchmark for a cozy mystery done well. I love this series, and I hope it keeps coming for a long time.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.

Death and the Gravedigger’s Angel by Loretta Ross is the third book in An Auction Block Mystery series. Wren Morgan and the Bogart brothers (Randy and Death) are heading to Hadleigh House. It is an 1800s plantation and the path leading up to the house is a local legend. Keystone and Sons, the auction company that Wren works for, has been contracted to sell the contents of the house. Wren needs to appraise and catalogue the items in the house. The area is a crime scene after hikers found a man dead on the Vengeance Path in a Confederate uniform. The man had stolen a horse from Warriors Rest, the vets camp next door, and ridden down the path into an overhanging branch. Duncan Reynolds, Chief of Police, is still trying to identify the deceased. While at Hadleigh House, Death is approached by Kurt Robinson (runs Warriors Rest with his wife). Kurt would like Death (a private investigator) to help Anthony Dozier who is accused of murdering August Jones, Jr. Anthony just lost his wife, Zahra and August Jones Jr. father, Tyler was protesting (with his group) at the funeral (he is against Muslims). After meeting Anthony, Death knows that the man could not commit murder. Death is determined to find out what really happened and get Anthony cleared of all charges. While going through the items in the house, Wren finds a sketchbook. It is full of beautiful sketches of a woman surrounded by soldiers. The woman looks very familiar to Wren. Wren knows there must be a story behind these sketches. Join Death, Randy and Wren in Death and the Gravedigger’s Angel as they search for answers.

Death and the Gravedigger’s Angel has a complex mystery and interesting characters. I did, though, have trouble getting into the story. I felt like I was missing something. While I have purchased the first two books in the series, I have not had an opportunity to read them. With the majority of cozy mystery series, you can pick up and read any book in the series (in any order). That is not true with An Auction Block Mystery series. I was confused in the beginning of the book. The author does provide some detail on the characters (their jobs, what happened to Randy, and the romance between Wren and Death). There are many characters in this story and it can be hard to keep them straight (the vets, the auction house family, the suspects). To me the characters lacked depth. Without more details, they feel (just a little) superficial. I give Death and the Gravedigger’s Angel 3.5 out of 5 stars. I appreciate the mystery in the novel. It was interesting to see how the author tied things together. A reader can, though, solve the mystery before they are halfway through the book (avid mystery readers will probably solve it earlier). The romance is very prominent in this story. Wren and Death are very lovey dovey (it is a little mushy actually). It is sweet, but the romance seems to have been pushed along rather quickly. There was one scene that I really enjoyed. Tyler Jones comes to the door of Hadleigh Manor demanding entrance. He keeps tossing out various Bible verses. Wren, with a little assistance, verbally spars with the minister. It was entertaining to read. I need to go back and read the first novel in the series. I can then form a better opinion about the series as a whole.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

I love this series! Morgan is working at Hadleigh House, an old abandoned mansion, to inventory the furnishings and other contents for auction. She finds an old sketchbook that is truly a treasure. It seems to tell a story from World War I about a soldier and his angel. Meanwhile Tony Dozier, an army vet is arrested for killing a man that was protesting his wife’s funeral. Wren and Death (Dee-th) “it’s a family name” Bogart meet the man and know right away he didn’t kill anyone. Death also has PTSD and knows that is what the vet is dealing with. Maybe the sketchbook can help explain the vet’s confusion and lead them to the real killer.

Three books and we are still peeling back the layers on these characters. They continue to grow closer and deal with each other’s battles. They are falling in love but still have barriers up so as to not cause each other pain, both physically and emotionally. The author seems to understand that their healing is a process, not something that can be fleshed out in a hurry but revealed over time. For me as a reader that draws me to these characters in a major way.

The setting this time was quite interesting. A big old house, a cemetery, and a camp for wounded veterans are all located close together but getting to the house is difficult because there is only a walking path until a bridge car be rebuilt for vehicles. The picture on the cover depicts things very well.

The theme of the story is very current, there is a group, the Church of the Army of Christ (CAC), a militant hate group, they protest around the area. This group disrupted the Dozier funeral because Tony’s wife was a Muslim. She and Tony were the only survivors of an attack in Afghanistan only to get back to the states and have her killed by a drunk driver. Tony dealing with the tragedy he witnessed overseas as a medic combined with his wife’s tragic death has left him just a shell of a man. The author wrote this book long before the current administration was sworn in but she clearly saw the degree of hatred during the election and she tackled that and the plight of veterans so well in this story.

As for the mystery, it wasn’t exactly complex but it wasn’t straight forward either. I knew who didn’t do it, just as Morgan and Death did, so I was really tuned in to all the others I viewed as suspects. I just had a feeling and surprisingly I turned out to be right, but it played out in a really scary, edge of your seat way.

The topics may seem heavy for a cozy mystery but Ms. Ross adds the humor, romance and character building in a way to keep it all balanced. I was very happy with the last chapter set up to take us into the next Death and Morgan story. It is going to be hard to wait a year to have it in my hands.

If this is a new series for you I really recommend you start with Death & the Redheaded Woman, then Death & the Brewmaster’s Widow, before you read this story. These are rich characters you will enjoy more if you meet them from the beginning.

This review was originally published on NetGalley.

A fun cosy-mystery, good for a quick read. This was the first volume I’ve read from “An Auction Block Mystery” and I want to take a look at the previous novels of the collection to see what I’ve missed. I must say that having a character named Death is peculiar and actually compliments the story very nicely.

The mystery starts with the beginning of an investigation. Apparently, a drunken old man stole a horse and dressed in a cavalry uniform got into a fatal accident in the forest when he hit his head against a branch. When the results of the lab come in, it’s revealed that the uniform in saturated with decomposing body fluid, meaning the uniform belonged to someone that has been dead for quite a while.
Meanwhile, Death is asked to look into a homicide. The son of Tyler Jones, head of a radical church group, is found dead in the back of the car of Anthony Dozier, an army vet recovering from the horrors of the war in Afghanistan. The motive? Earlier that day, Jones and his group invaded the funeral of Dozier’s Muslim wife. Death’s job is to prove that Dozier committed the murder while suffering from PTSD.
At the same time, Wren is helping out on preparing a house for auction when strange noises and events start happening all around her.

The style of writing is great, very engaging and witty. The descriptions are brief but they hold enough detail to be able to picture the settings and the environment.

It’s the type of story that I couldn’t guess what would happen next. Information and details are revealed in a steady pace and it the beginning I couldn’t see the relation between them. It all worked out perfectly in the end though. Since I didn’t read the previous books, I felt like I was missing something, more in the relationships between the characters than anything else. The characters are good, but I was a bit disappointed not to have some more depth to them, to know more about them, especially Randy. Death is a great character and I loved to see the interactions with his brother Randy. I think they’re really different from each other but even so I could see they had each other’s backs.

A cosy-mystery perfect for an after-work evening!

I very much enjoyed this book even though this is the first I have read of this series. I will definitely have to go back and read the others so I can get more of the backstory.

Death and Wren are getting a house ready for auction when a drunk man is found dead in an authentic Confederate uniform. That isn't the only mystery, the uniform was recently worn by a deceased person. Also, Death is asked to help look into the stabbing death of a religious zealot's son by a veteran that had recently buried his wife.

I enjoyed the multiple mysteries and how they were intertwined and the way the story was laid out.
I was given an advanced eARC by the publisher through NetGalley.

Three books in, and this series feels like we've still barely scratched the surface of the characters. Like the previous books, Death and the Gravedigger's Angel has a different feel than most cozy mysteries I've read- it's slightly darker, maybe? While the ending sets up what I assume will be the next book, it felt kind of awkward and abrupt after the drama of previous chapters. I think this series has a lot of room for readers to learn more about the characters left for books that follow, and I admit feel invested in Death and Wren's story.