The Chick and the Dead

In the second of her Pepper Martin murder mysteries-concerning an amateur sleuth who gets her cases from ghosts-Daniels crafts an underwhelming whodunit around the restless spirit of a failed novelist. Dead for half a century, Didi Bowman seeks out Pepper (who fell into the ability to see dead people in last year's Don of the Dead) to claim that Didi's sister, celebrated author Merilee Bowman, stole the manuscript for her famous, beloved Civil War novel from Didi. Now Merilee's returning to Cleveland for the re-release of the film version, and Didi wants the revenues (a veritable fortune) secured for her granddaughter. Soon Pepper's snooping around the Bowman family museum, fending off a slick detective's advances and getting herself into potentially deadly trouble. Daniels keeps things moving and amusing with her breezy chick-lit style and sharp dialogue, but serious mystery fans may be frustrated by the characters' carelessness-as when a detective wastes time flirting with Pepper rather than go after the man who just attacked her-and will probably solve the case long before Pepper does.