Title:  The Skeleton in the Closet
Series:  Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #2
Author:  Angie Fox
Genre:  Paranormal
Published:  August 30, 2015
Publisher:
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

A haunted library is no place for a girl who can see ghosts, but when Verity Long stumbles on a dead body in the middle of the main reading room, she has to believe someone…even a dead someone…must have witnessed the crime.

Her ghostly sidekick Frankie warns her to stay out of it. The very alive, very handsome deputy sheriff, Ellis Wydell, inadvertently places her directly in the middle of it. And her ex-fiancé, Ellis’s brother, is back with an agenda of his own.

Undaunted, Verity presses forward, uncovering scandalous secrets, long-forgotten ghosts, and a shocking trail of clues that places her directly in the path of a killer.

Read on for my thoughts on The Skeleton in the Closet.  No true spoilers, promise.

It’s Cannonball in the Wall Festival time in Sugarland, and the annual reenactment of that particular hometown battle in the  War Between the States has plenty of history – but this year it has a murder as well.

When the library has the dubious honor of hosting items of historical interest from two prominent families there are bound to be one upmanship battles.  It’s during those particular ugly battles that a young lady working for the library late one night discovers something important and shocking about those families history… important enough to be killed over.

Verity and Frankie will once again be drawn into ghost hunting and solving a mystery when Verity discovers Darla Grace’s body in the library.  A very haunted library.  With little to go on besides a late night phone call to Melody, librarian and Verity’s sister our ghost hunters will have their work cut out for them.  Add in some ancient history, attempts to unground Frankie from Verity and the unwanted attention of an obnoxious former fiance and The Skeleton in the Closet is packed full of action and mystery.

I love an ongoing series that has a believable, entertaining cast of characters that the reader gets to know very well over time.  Our knowledge of the citizens of Sugarland, Tennessee will grow in this story – past and present citizens that is.  The history of this town is often told through the memories of the ghosts that Verity encounters, and that is a charming way to add to the current mystery.  Verity, Frankie, Ellis and even  Verity’s cute pet skunk, Lucy will take us through a tale of murder, family secrets and the deadly attempt to cover up and rewrite history.

I have a good friend who was born in and spent most of her life in Tennessee.  Through her I got a better understanding of the true meanings behind the Southern phrase “bless your heart”.  All through the encounters with Verity’s evil, nasty almost-mother-in-law that particular phrase often came to mind.  She is a nasty piece of work.  And up to her usual bag of mean tricks and perhaps more.

Ellis and Verity’s romance is still in the budding, kinda secret, how do we tell his family stage.  It’s fun to watch them work closer to each other all the while being aware of town gossips and the evil mother and no good brother.

Frankie is discovering new and unusual ways to try to unground himself from Verity in order to roam free once again.  Their efforts are laugh out loud moments.  I love Frankie.  He is such a character and I’m not all that sure that he really wants to be ungrounded.  Seems to be having too much fun helping Verity in the ghost business, even if he does complain a lot.

Any book in a series could be read by itself.  But for the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries I would have to strongly suggest that they be read in order.  Not because you’d miss much, most often there are small reminders of what went on before.  Yet since this is an ongoing series of at least five novels the building of relationships grows a bit more with each story.  I think the enjoyment factor would be increased when you know the whole story from the beginning… in my opinion.

The Skeleton in the Closet is a charming, funny and intense mystery.  I would highly recommend this novel and the series to anyone who enjoys paranormal, ghost stories, romance or mystery.  This is a series that can easily become addictive in the best way.

*I received an e-ARC of The Skeleton in the Closet from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available in paperback and for the Kindle