This series debut takes place in New Orleans. Lou Thatcher runs a ghost tour business. Although she might not have the most popular route she can provide her clients with plenty of ghost sightings. That's because she can see and talk to ghosts! When rival Adam is killed, Lou becomes a suspect. Too bad the police can't talk to Adam like Lou can because he knows she didn't do it. Instead he asks for her help.

This is such a fun mystery. Lou is likeable and might not be the best at sleuthing, but she freely admits this and has great ideas at least. The side characters are wonderful and I can see them being a big part of the next story.

The ghosts are incorporated well and I'm sure some of them will be permanent characters. They play an essential role in helping solve the mystery. Some crazy stuff happens and there's plenty of motive for Adam's murder. I got the killer right though! And the showdown with them is pretty exciting.

I enjoyed everything about Haunting and Homicide from the characters, setting, to the writing. After I was finished I immediately wished there was a second one for me to read already!

You'll want to add this to your TBR! Haunting and Homicide will be released January 21. Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read!

Home for Tallulah 'Lou' Thatcher is with her grandmother, in New Orleans, where she runs ghost tours for tourists and locals alike. There are quite a few businesses like hers, but Lou has a secret. She can actually see the ghosts she talks about, which gives her a bit of an edge! When she finds her main competitor dead, Lou can see his ghost as well, and he's less than impressed by his new status! Realising she is the main suspect, Lou begins her own investigation with a little help from her ghostly friends. She's no expert, but she must be doing something right because, it seems, someone is determined to make her their second victim.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Crooked Lane Books, but the opinions expressed are my own. The first book in a new series, this is so good and I was sad to finish it. The back stories are also entertaining, and I am definitely looking forward to book 2.

Haunted ghost tours in one of the most spookiest cities in the US? Check please! This book was full of spook and fun and well, murder of course. I loved the setting and the set up and the clues but especially the ghosts! This book has potential for great follow up stories (especially the love story?).
Really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend for a fun Halloween read!

4.5 stars.

I loved this. The mystery aspect was amazing, the paranormal aspect was amazing and the writing was too. I read it in a handful of hours across the day and I really hope the author writes a follow up!

The only aspect that fell a little bit short was the romance part. It’s only a very small part of the book but it was setting up the couple really well and then the author went in a totally different direction and left it as an open-ended love triangle which I am not about!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ava Burke for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Haunting and Homicide coming out January 21, 2025. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I’m obsessed with cozy mysteries and I’ve read a ton of them. I love the New Orleans setting. There’s a lot of history there. Lou’s character is so awesome! I love that she has ghost tours and can see ghosts. I love the paranormal aspect of the story. It was a really fun plot that she could see the rival ghost tour guide. Dylan was also a fun character. I enjoyed the dialogue with him and Lou. I’m definitely checking out more books in this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal cozy mysteries!

I am a sucker for a ghost story, especially one set in New Orleans. This book kind of gave me Ghost Whisperer vibes without everyone she’s close with knowing her secret. I really enjoyed following a walking ghost tour because it gives you an idea of how one works and how many there are in New Orleans and the lengths that some owners will go to in order to get business. I really liked that it feels like the author did some research when it came to how a ghost will act when they don’t understand that they are dead and then they realize that someone can see them and they still act like a d*ck. At first I was confused as to why there was a puppy on the cover of the book, but then I found out why and he is probably going to be my favorite character. I was not expecting Lou to have a search warrant before she had a chance to take the evidence to police and I was not expecting her to go all Agatha Christie and try to solve the murder herself while trying not to let her secret out. I’m not sure if the brother storyline was really needed. As I got further in the book it seemed like it just kind of dropped off, like we get mentions of it, but it felt more like an afterthought. My favorite character was definitely Toby. ***spoiler*** I’m a little sad that Dylan and Lou wasn’t explored as a love story, but maybe it can be explored later.

As someone who enjoys learning about history in fun ways, a ghost tour cozy was an interesting theme for a book series. This is the first book in the series and did not disappoint. The main protagonist, Lou, is not only a tour guide on a ghost tour but she can see the ghost on her tour. Lou is an interesting, entertaining, and well-developed character for the first in the series. The mystery is well-written with plenty of twists, turns, and surprises. I am super excited for this new series and hope for more in books soon.

Lou Thatcher hasn't had the most stable upbringing. But she's finally living back with her beloved Nan, her grandmother, in New Orleans, where she spent the first nine years of her life. Lou has always felt at home here, mainly because she has a gift -- she can see and communicate with ghosts. So she's done the most natural thing she can -- she's started ghost tours, and her friendly spirits occasionally liven things up.

Unfortunately, this is what irritates rival tour guide Adam Brandt. He's sure that Lou is using trickery to get customers, and he's determined to figure it out and expose her. But one night when Lou is visiting one of her ghostly friends, she sees Adam across the street. When she goes to confront him, he runs away. But when she trips over something, it turns out to be Adam's body. Now Adam, her erstwhile enemy, wants her to find out who killed him. Lou really has no choice -- since the only other option seems to be that the police think she murdered Adam...

I have never read anything by Ms. Burke before, but I wish I had. I love books with ghosts (friendly ones, that it), and this one definitely had me enamored throughout. She writes with a supernatural flair, if you can call it that; one feels as if they are transported to New Orleans and visiting the spirits right along with her.

That's one of the many positives I can say about this book It's enchanting, mysterious, and full of a plethora of suspects (even if the police seem to not notice anyone else). Lou is trying to keep both herself and her business alive, while dodging those that want to do her harm. Along with this, her Nan has hurt her arm, and her sixteen-year-old brother turns up on her doorstep looking for help. Not even her live-in ghost Kenneth can do everything, though he tries.

Sifting through the people who wanted to do harm to Adam isn't easy, and the more Lou discovers, the more it disheartens her. It doesn't help that she's had a major crush on the lead detective, who also happens to be the brother of her best friend. Where will it all end?

But end it does, and the ending is just as surprising as the rest of the book. I had no idea who the murderer was until nearly the end, and that's part of the charm of it all. The red herrings are everywhere. The clues are few and far between. But it's one of the best reads that I've come across this year, and I would definitely hope others will think so, too. Highly recommended.

I was given an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

NOLA, supernatural, paranormal, family, family-drama, family-dynamics, family-expectations, family-history, tour-guide, amateur-sleuth, local-law-enforcement, local-legends, relatives, relationships, ghosts, murder, murder-investigation, framed, unpleasant-relative, unpleasant-victims, unpleasant-suspect, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, pet-dog, suspicion*****

Tallulah (Lou) Thatcher is a NOLA native who has spoken with ghosts all of her life, runs a Ghost Tour and gift shop, has a great grandmother but the parents from the Pit, and is looking like the prime suspect in the stabbing death of a tour competitor. Lots of action and sparks of several kinds in this fast moving mystery. Super read!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
#GhostTourMysteriesBk1 Avail Jan 2025

This was my first cozy mystery, and it won’t be my last.
Lou has always seen ghosts and is now framed for the murder of her ghost tour rival. It’s up to her to figure out who actually murdered him.
I loved that this was set in New Orleans. It gave a true haunted feel to it. It also comes with a large cast of characters you will fall in love it. There is even a hint of a romance starting that I adored.
Oh and did I mention a cute dog named Toby?
I can’t wait to read more in this series!

A Ghost Tour mystery series can’t wait to read more of this series. I enjoy NewOrleans setting. Great ghost tours added to mystery. I love that Lou has to solve death of person who thought she was a fraud.

Lou Thatcher can see and communicate with ghosts, this makes her one of the best ghost tour guides in New Orleans. When the owner from another ghost tour is murdered, it seems the deed was done with a dagger from Lou’s store.

Rather than going down for a murder, she didn’t commit, Lou is bound and determined to prove her thought. Can she get her ghostly competitor to help her, or were the killer send her to the other side, making a ghost to her as well.

I definitely agree that if you love Ellen Byron’s books based in New Orleans, you will definitely love this one! While this is the first book in the series, it is so well written that I can see this going on for quite a while. I cannot wait for the next entry in this series!

Lou Thatcher has had the ability to see and communicate with ghosts since she was a child and is currently
an owner of a gift shop that runs ghost tours in New Orleans. When a rival tour guide, Adam Brandt, is murdered,
Lou becomes a suspect as the murder weapon was a ceremonial dagger from her shop. When she encounters
Adam's ghost, he convinces her to investigate his murder. As Lou looks into his personal life and business
associates, someone considers her a serious threat. With the help of the living and dead, Lou sets out to uncover
killer.
Enjoyable read - looking forward to reading more about Lou and her friends.
#HauntingandHomicide #CrookedLaneBooks #NetGalley

A definite read! This book combines all the good stuff. New Orleans, Ghosts, Ghost tours and Murder! I mean what else should you do when you have the gift of seeing ghosts.. help solve their murders.

I love a paranormal cozy mystery so this one hit the spot for me! I can't wait to see where the author takes us next in this series. I'm already anxiously waiting for the next installment!

I really liked this book. The storyline kept me engaged throughout the book. The characters were well developed and interesting. Overall it was a really good read with a unique story. I highly recommend it.

Ava Burke launches a new cozy mystery series set in New Orleans with Haunting and Homicide.

Tallulah “Lou” Thatcher always wanted to combine a gift shop with a haunted tour of the Garden District in New Orleans. She’s been able to see ghosts since she was a child, and she works with a ghost who enjoys supplying occasional special effects of orbs during some of the tours. But, Adam Brandt, another tour operator, is watching. He accuses Lou of stealing his territory and lying about the ghosts. He even tries to get her license repealed.

So, of course, when Lou stumbles over Adam’s body, she’s the primary suspect, even though the lead detective is her best friend’s brother. She knows she’s not qualified to conduct an investigation. She bumbles through interviews, but she’s determined to prove she didn’t kill Adam. And, Brandt is the one pushing her. The angry dead man wants to know who killed him, and insists Lou find his killer.

There’s a lot happening in this cozy, especially for the first in a new series. Lou has to cope with the investigation, threats, her sixteen-year-old brother who flees from his home after he’s bullied, and her grandmother who has a car accident and a new beau. There are a lot of personal issues, along with the ghosts and the case. My favorite part of the book? The ghosts, who at times seemed to be out of a Heather Graham Krewe of Hunters novel rather than a cozy mystery. My least favorite part? The solution that seemed to be a little out of left field.

Fans of mysteries set in New Orleans, and cozies featuring the paranormal, might want to try Haunting and Homicide.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this cozy mystery! I am someone who loves exploring different themes in the cozy murder mystery subgenre as they are vast with hobbies, interests and plot types. "Haunting and Homicide" features a spooky New Orleans setting and a psychic ghost tour guide - how fitting right? As her business gains traction due to online posting of sights caught by visitors, Lou Thatcher is on her competitors' radar. When the founder of her biggest competitor is murdered, fingers are naturally pointing at her as the suspect with the known rivalry around town. I was not expecting the twist at the end, making for an interesting turn of events as everything from personal relationships to business becomes intertwined very quickly for Lou.

In cozy murder mysteries, the main character's life amongst the investigation is the primary narration, however I did find a lot of things happening in this book more than the usual for cozies. Lou not only has her ghost tour business to manage, she also has to deal with the fact the main detective is her best friend's brother (who she has a crush on), her grandma new beau after years of being a widow, her half-brother being neglected back home with her parents so he escaped to Louisiana to be with her, having to solve the murder to clear her name with the help of spirits around town, and interacting with the shady suspects that become violent and reactive at her accusations and meddling. There are a lot of sub-plots that take place throughout this book that can become a dizzying array of facts to upkeep. If you can keep your notes straight, I think this is a very entertaining take for cozy mysteries in which the main character will utilize all that she can around her to get to the bottom of the incriminating situation.

Something to beware of while reading this novel is the extraneous details that become repetitive with the iteration of certain facts. I also believe that name dropping current popular media, like social media apps, and ways of speech might date this novel for future readers. It was interesting to have spirits from an older time period be made aware of technology in which they are read comments and shown videos from popular sites like Facebook and TikTok regarding their hauntings. With due respect to the power of social media, it is what allows Lou to grow her business so some may view it as a natural integration to the story.

I enjoyed reading something different from my usual baking or librarian theme cozy murder mysteries. Overall, Burke brought New Orleans' paranormal aura to life with a fitting theme of ghost hunting tours and historical, creepy haunting spots. I hope to see more spiritual powers and entities introduced in future books alongside Lou's navigation with family, work, and a new love life.

This was a fun, cute cozy mystery! I love the theme throughout, and I will definitely be continuing with the series.

Lou has moved to New Orleans to live with her grandmother as soon as she could get away from her mother and stepfather. She sets up a ghost tour and shop with a haunting theme and her popularity is growing. Of course, she has a distinct advantage over other tour guides—she actually sees ghosts and always has. One of her competitors has become obsessed with proving she is faking the ghostly events on her tour, leading to bad feelings between them. When he is murdered and Lou finds him by literally falling over him, she becomes a primary suspect. Lou sets out to find the real murderer, with help from her ghost friends. Along the way, there is a little romance, family tension, and a fun mystery.
Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC.