A Hard Day's Fright (A Pepper Martin Mystery, #7)

by Casey Daniels

[Stephanie]

Originally posted at Once Upon a Chapter

Lucy Pasternak was a gorgeous girl getting ready to enter her senior year of high school in the summer of 1966. She even braved a riot to kiss Paul McCartney at a Beatles concert. Little did she know the night of the concert would be her last on this earth alive.

This book opens a little differently. The prologue is told from the point of view of a girl in the group of Lucy's friends the night of the concert. As with all Pepper Martin mysteries we know exactly how it all ended for the unfortunate soul seeking out Pepper's assistance. It's the who, how and why that Pepper must always deduce. Lucy's case is a little from Pepper's previous clients. She doesn't care to find out who murdered her. She just wants Pepper to find her body so she can finally rest in peace. It's been 45 years and she's ready to move on. There aren't a lot of clues to go off of. Lucy's case was never closed and she just "disappeared." Pepper has to track down the original group of friends. She has to figure out who would have wanted to get rid of Lucy. Lucy was such a sweet girl who had a lot of friends and according to everyone Pepper talks to no enemies. This case means more than most to Pepper. Lucy was very important to someone very close to Pepper.

There is a lot of history to go through. How can Pepper be expected to find a body that no one found 45 years ago? How can she find it if she doesn't even know who committed the crime?

My Thoughts:
*sigh* Yet another Pepper Martin mystery come and gone. They go so fast. Next time I should savor it but I know I won't be able to control myself! Casey Daniels pens such a wonderful mystery. This is the seventh book in the series and I wondered if it was going to be possible to keep the series fresh. Daniels does a wonderful job of it! I had a good idea of who had done it but I didn't know why or where said suspect had hidden Lucy's body all these years.

Aside from the mystery, Ella and her daughters get a lot of page space in A Hard Day's Fright. Pepper interacts a lot with Ella's youngest daughter, Ariel. Ariel is certainly a handful. She's a fifteen year old girl who is extremely willful. I forgot just how angsty teenage girls are. Pepper and Ariel bounced off each other well. Reggie and Delmar join us again although briefly. Pepper's love life is non-existent in this volume which was just a little disappointing. Daniels more than makes up for it with the mystery and some pretty awesome plot twists. At one point I was muttering "no, no, no!" from the couch. At that point I just had to walk away for a few minutes. If you like a good mystery sprinkled with humor, a dash of fashion, and a pinch of paranormal Casey Daniels is an author you must look into. I've enjoyed her series immensely since book one.