Book Description
Atlanta homicide detectives are called in to investigate the murder of a nineteen-year-old girl found dumped in historic Oakland Cemetery, they immediately begin working the case. But with no leads to follow, and their case log growing larger by the day, the murder quickly grows cold. Desperate to keep the investigation of her deceased sister going, Ginger Baines hires two novice sleuths to solve the case. Widowed, well into their seventies, and new to the world of private investigating, Clara Samples and Iris Hadley aren't your average private eyes. When a second body is found in a neighboring cemetery, the plot thickens. With two bodies wrapped, almost lovingly, in a soft blanket before being discarded in a cemetery, could a serial killer be on the loose?

My Thoughts
This is the first book I've read by Kim Carter and it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. What's not to love about 2 retired women(Clara & Iris) who want more than just to coast through their golden years? They decide to use their skills as private investigators and open their own agency.
Because they are elderly, people seem to take their abilities for granted, which is perfect in their line of work since they see and hear much more than anyone realizes. I was reminded of Jessica Fletcher(Murder She Wrote) since those who underestimated her were often guilty or incapable of believing an elderly woman could figure out the clues and identify the murderer. There is mystery and murder and a long list of potential suspects, meaning every time I thought I knew whodunit, the story went in another direction. There was suspense, but also a fun vibe between Iris and Clara that kept me intrigued and I would love to follow their adventures in another book. If you like quirky characters, a good mystery, and an interesting plot, I would recommend Murder Among The Tombstones.
I received a DRC from BookBuzz.net through NetGalley.

Clara and Iris, two older women, widows and retirees, are bored and just because they are older don’t feel like acting the parts of harmless little old ladies. They were successful investigating a case in the past, so they decide to go in the business as private investigators. They take on their first case and meet their new office manager, Quita, young and tech savvy.
Detectives Nettles and Pitts, have their hands full with two cases. One is a murder with two witnesses who can’t agree on their story and the other is a young woman wrapped lovingly in a blanket and left in a local cemetery.
Clara and Iris are hired by the sister of the young woman since Nettles and Pitts are gunned down in relation to their first case and are in critical condition. There are twists and turns for the new PI’s and they find out, with Quita’s help, how to use new cell phones while sometimes humorously figuring out the ins and outs of surveillance.
Pitts secretly investigates the shooting from his first case (while he tries to recuperate) and ends up working with Clara and Iris. With a few more turns to both cases, and more friends helping Pitts, Clara, Iris, and Quita, both cases come down to the wire with a couple of surprises. I found this to be an intelligent, sometimes humorous mystery with meat to the story of both cases and interesting characters that you want to get to know.

Clara and Iris are two retired ladies who open up a private detective agency. They employ Quita as their office manager and go to person. When Detective Pitts and his partner Nettles are shot in a drive by shooting linked to the Mexican cartel the two ladies come to the rescue and help Pitts with finding a serial killer of young ladies left in the cemetery. This is a good paced mystery with plenty of fun with Iris showing she’s never to old to flirt.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher Raven South Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I have not had the pleasure of reading a Kim Carter novel before. I have already ordered the first book in order to find out how Clara and Iris started. I will say that I laughed and cried during this novel. Clara and Iris are a hoot but they get the job done. I love how Ms. Carter brings this story to life. I thought I would be reading a cozy mystery but I found out that I was reading a full fledged mystery.

When a dead girl's body turns up in the cemetery, and it isn't buried, Atlanta homicide detectives are called. However, with very little to go on the case soon becomes cold. When another body is discovered in another cemetery, it looks like it may be a serial killer. With the detectives taken out of action, the first young woman's sister hires Clara and Iris to find the killer. However, it looks like the murder may go unsolved. With supporting characters Sugar and Quita as well as various police, this mystery is a fun read. I wasn't able to figure out the killer until the end.

I highly recommend this book. Since I love Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, I was really drawn in. I received a copy through Netgalley. I review was not required.

Murder Among the Tombstones is the first book I have read by Kim Carter. It tells the story of Iris and Clara, two retirees who have opened their own private investigation office. What ensues is murder, mystery and suspense, I enjoyed this story and will definitely be looking to explore more by this author

In Murder Among the Tombstones by Kim Carter, Iris and Clara are two senior citizens who have retired and decide to open their own private investigation office. Their first client, JaQuita quickly convinces them to hire her as their office manager/consultant telling them they are a “goldmine” because they’re old and no one will ever suspect them of anything. As they begin work as investigators they quickly learn how easy it is to do surveillance because no one notices them anyway.

While Iris and Clara become involved in several cases along the way, Detectives Pitts and Nettles with the Atlanta Police Department get called in to investigate the murder of a young girl whose body is dumped in Oakland Cemetery, one of the landmark cemeteries of Atlanta. They make very little progress however, and are soon sidelined by a drive-by shooting related to another of their cases.

As Clara and Iris experience success, it’s only a matter of time before they are approached by the young murder victim’s sister and agree to take her case because of the sympathy they feel for her. That sets Clara and Iris up to renew their acquaintance with Detective Pitts and begin an investigation which ultimately leads to the satisfactory conclusion of the young woman’s murder.

Clues that lead  to solving the murder mystery are sparse, and unless the reader is well acquainted with misdirection typical of mysteries, it is unlikely they will solve this one prior to the final reveal. Instead, the book's strength is sitting back and enjoying the two delightful senior citizen detectives and the accompanying cast of characters including Detective Pitts and JaQuita along with some notable minor characters who will, hopefully, find their way into future books.

Initially, I found the book to be a bit choppy as the chapters are short and there are several threads that are introduced separately, with each one being given chapters of their own. This trend follows through the entire book, and about ten percent into the book, I began to not only expect this, but appreciate the way it defined the book’s pace. The only thing I would have liked to have seen was clues and red herrings sprinkled more liberally throughout the book so that the conclusion was one the reader had an opportunity to reach along with the detectives as opposed to it feeling more as if it were sprung on the reader.

All in all, I would like to see more books featuring the adventures of Iris and Clara along with the rest of the secondary and tertiary characters introduced here. It is a delightful mix of police/detective fiction populated by characters more often found in cozy mysteries.

Review originally posted on The Book Adventures of Annelise Lestrange :)

I received this copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Let's go :D

Rating: 2 stars
Reading period: Nov 25th, 2018
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley – I have received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: Aug. 08th, 2017

*~.Book Analysis.~*
Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader :)

PROS
Beautiful cover, interesting premise on the mystery and exciting theme.

CONS
Unfortunately, this book let me down. While it was a quick read, filled with details to spice up the mystery, I felt like I was watching a bad episode of CSI (no offense intended, but I don’t like this particular show), where people force themselves to be bad asses all the time and they are not. All the cop interaction was so cliché that I almost gave up reading this book.

COVER ANALYSIS
To be honest, that was what drawn me in to this book in the first place! I loved the work art with the cemetery and the city – also, this typography for the title with such red and elaborated writing is stunning! I totally would buy a physical copy just to show it off on my shelves!

RECOMMENDED FOR
Mystery, CSI and quick read lovers!

This was a good book had a very good plot with it this book had me glued books like this is very good i recommend this book

Thank you NetGalley and Raven South Publishing for this arc.

I was in the mood for something light and hoped this would hit the spot. On the surface it looked like a pair of feisty seventy somethings wanted to play at being Stephanie Plumb. My spot must have changed during the read. On the surface it started out great, but then changed from serious to cozy and kept changing back and forth and back and forth. I should also note that I'm not a real fan of the 3rd person narrative style for me reading entertainment... just being honest here. This kept feeling like it was alternating between a history text and / or newspaper report. I just like a lot more "show" instead of "tell". While Iris had a mouth and wasn't afraid to open it, it seemed like it was used mostly for "shock" / entertainment value. While the characters were interesting, they all felt flat to me (that 3rd person). There were 2 different plot lines going on here and one seemed totally implausible and sort of undermined the other. After finishing the book, I still can't figure out whether it was meant to be a drama or a comedy. It was an easy read, but there was very little tension and the "humor" seemed to depend on Iris' mouth.

The death of a young woman, her body wrapped in a blanket and left in a cemetery, becomes a case for two newly-minted septuagenarian private investigators. The antithesis between Clara Semples, a retired nurse, and Iris Hadley, a retired hairdresser, belies the fact that the two women are best friends.

JaQuita comes into their recently-established office seeking help for her sister; the two women handle the case with spirited aplomb and Quita quickly becomes their much-needed office manager and tech guru. When the grieving sister of the murdered girl comes to them for help in finding Jasmine’s killer, the two women find themselves sitting surveillance as part of their investigation. But before they can solve the case, two detectives are shot and critically injured and another body turns up in another cemetery.

Is there a serial killer on the loose? Will the women unmask the murderer before they become the next ones discovered among the tombstones in an Atlanta cemetery?

This book, the first in a series featuring the two venerable private investigators, establishes the background of the main characters and sets the tone for their relationship. The ladies, along with their smart, streetwise office manager, create a force to be reckoned with, their lively banter keeping readers involved in the evolving story. The actions of Pritchard Pitts, an Atlanta police department detective, serve as a contrast between police procedures and the investigative methods of the ladies. Plausible, interesting characters and an intriguing plot keep the pages turning.

The lightheartedness of the narrative, supported by the playful bantering between the two idiosyncratic women, is the dominant tone, but it easily yields to moments of tension-building suspense when events warrant. The plot takes some unexpected twists and turns as the story unfolds and, although the ending comes together rather quickly, the identity of the murderer will be a surprise for most readers.

Recommended.

I received an advance reader’s copy of this e-book from Raven South Publishing and NetGalley.
#MurderAmongTheTombstones #NetGalley

Retired Clara Samples and Iris Hadley are two new private investigators. When the discovery of a dead female, Jasmine Baines, leads to no clues, Ginger Baines,sister, employs the p.i.'s to investigate. Then another body is found.
Unfortunately I didn't take to the writing style or the characters.

Seventy-something Iris Hadley, a retired hairdresser and her best friend Clara Samples, a retired nurse, want to do more with their time than just garden and knit afghans. They want to help people while making enough to cover their costs, so they open up their own private investigation office. Luckily for them, they find office help with their very first case, when they hire the lady who gave them the case. With young, street savvy Quita as their new office manager, they start taking and solving cases involving insurance frauds. But first Quita has to upgrade their smartphone skills, dragging Iris and Clara, kicking and screaming out of the age of their old flip phones.

From what I can tell, an earlier book included Iris and Clara being involved in a case that was being worked by Detectives Pitts. Iris and Clara are tight lipped about how they know Pitts and reading the earlier book is not necessary to enjoy this book. Having said that, I'll be reading the earlier book soon, because I enjoyed the characters of Iris, Clara, and Pitts so much.

Detectives Pitts and his partner are busy working on two murder cases. The first one involves the murder of a 19 year old girl, Jasmine, whose body was left in a cemetery. The second murder may have ties to the Mexican cartel, and while investigating that murder, Pitts and his partner are riddled with bullets and in critical condition. Because Jasmine's murder investigation is going nowhere, her older sister asks Iris and Clara to take on Jasmine's murder case. Knowing that Pitts was involved in the case before he was shot, they reluctantly visit him at his apartment, to compare notes and discuss any leads.

I really enjoyed the back and forth between Iris and Clara, two longtime friends, very different from each other. Iris can be raunchy, foul mouthed, and not at all afraid to say what is on her mind, while Clara is quiet, cautious, and more of the thinker of the duo. Despite this story involving several murders, it's still lighthearted and funny, and doesn't take its self seriously. I saw this book called a cozy mystery/police procedural. I don't think I've read a cozy mystery since my I was in my teens but now look forward to reading more books like this and would enjoy reading more books including the characters of Iris, Clara, Quita, and Pitts.

Thank you to Raven South Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

situational-humor, verbal-humor, murder, law-enforcement, private-investigators, seniors, family, friendship, suspense

Terrific characters! Suspenseful plot! Lots of laughs! What an awesome read!
The publisher's blurb is somewhat informative but doesn't warn the reader about the meaningful yet parallel investigation by law enforcement which is also fraught with some awful deeds and is interconnected in several ways.
The sleuths themselves are a riot! (My perspective is that of a widowed and retired RN with some experience working alongside law enforcement.)
Don't miss this!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Raven South Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

Ginger Baines has lost her sister in the most horrendous way. She has been murdered and left in a local Atlanta cemetery. Another body is found not long after in a different cemetery, each victim left in an almost reverent manner. The police fear a serial killer may be at work but they have few clues. Ginger takes it upon herself to hire a couple of amateur detectives, septuagenarians who are eager to find a killer before he can strike again

5 stars

Detectives Nettles and Pitts respond to the discovery of a young woman found dead in an Atlanta cemetery. She is in her late teens or early twenties. She was manually strangled. Pitts and Nettles begin their investigation by looking for security cameras and interviewing possible witnesses around the cemetery.

At the same time Iris Hadley who a retired hairdresser and her friend Clara Samples who is a retired nurse open a new business. Both women are in their early seventies. They are self-styled private investigators – who have passed “the course.” They meet a young woman who is their first case and she then joins the team. Her name is JaQuita (but please call me Quita), and she is streetwise, savvy and very with the times.

A woman shows up at the police station to file a missing persons report on her nineteen-year old sister. She identifies the unnamed body in the morgue as her sister Jasmine Baines. Soon after, Pitts and Nettles pick up a case of what appears to be a gang shooting. But they are not so sure. Something is not right about the witness statements. Tragedy strikes.

When Jasmine’s sister turns to Clara and Iris for help, the ladies are quick to jump in to right a wrong. Reluctantly, on Clara’s part, they and Quita team up with Detective Pitts to solve the murder of Jasmine and Nina Culver who was found in a cemetery close to the first one. A third girl, Kori Reeves is missing.

The identity of the murderer came as a complete surprise to me.

There are only a couple of minor typos in this book which don’t detract from the story line at all. Iris and Clara are absolutely priceless. Quita’s character only adds to the delightful mix. I hope to read more about them in the future. This is a well written and plotted book. Ms. Carter has apparently carefully thought out each move of her characters in advance. I liked all of the main characters. There was sufficient background information given on all of the major characters to flesh them out nicely, but not so much that it intruded on the story line at all. This is my first Kim Carter novel, but it won’t be my last. I immediately went to Amazon to look for others of her books.

I want to thank NetGalley and Raven South Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

This mystery is engaging and full of hilarious moments.

It starts when detectives find a woman murder when there no leads in the case it goes cold.

In comes two women name Iris and Clara who is new to being private investigators also in their seventy. They are hire by the vitcim sister to found out who murder her but when a second murder happen they put together the clues the detectives had gather to figure who the murder is before another killing happen.

I like the characters of Iris and Clara and the interaction between them had me saying really many times. I do hope there be another book with them.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Detectives are investigating the murder of a young woman. She was found in a local cemetery wrapped in a blanket. The case goes cold when all leads dry up.

The victim's sister turn to private investigators for help. Meet Iris and Clara ... brand new to the business. These women are not your typical investigators. For one, they are both widowed and both in their 70s.

When a second body turns up in a different cemetery, the ladies turn to the detectives, who incidentally have both been shot and are on medical leave.

Along with their office associate, Quita, the ladies are determined to stop at nothing to find the killer before someone else dies .... at least they will as soon as they figure out how their new I-phones work.

I have chuckled more with the antics of these very unique and quirky characters from the very first page. This is not a cozy. The mystery is solid, with characters that are credible. The interactions of Iris and Clara will have the reader shaking their heads, maybe remembering grandma or great aunt in their golden years.

I do hope to see more adventures of Iris and Clara. Many thanks to the author/ Raven South Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this humorous crime thriller mix. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.