Murder by Death

I say this every time I read one of the books in this series, but I don't generally like books with talking animals.  This series continues to be the exception that proves the rule.  Partly because this is the kind of world I want to live in, where animal-human relationships continue beyond death, and partly because the author just makes it work, somehow (maybe because the only animals the MC can speak with are the ghost ones).

Book number 3 got a little outrageous, mythology-wise, but this book was more of the standard murder mystery; Lyle didn't try to outdo herself here and it works better because of it.  There's a very good, very clever mystery and a hilarious and ultimately very touching sub-plot revolving around Tango's attempts to write and direct a play using all the ghost animals in the graveyard.  The suspects aren't as fleshed out as they could have been, but there was so much going on I only noticed in retrospect.

I"m always surprised anew when I read one of these books because Kyle does, I think, an incredibly good job of writing mysteries that include genteel drunkenness, recreational drug use, a honey badger with seriously creepy, murderous intent and incredibly disturbing eating habits, hilarious if subtle sexual innuendo and the occasional swear word but still manages to make it very cozy.  The MC frequently breaks the fourth wall and comments to the reader and that works too, although I really enjoy her voice, so that might make me biased.

These books always leave me pleasantly surprised after I read them, so I'll definitely look for the next one.

I'm using this book for my Ghost Stories and Haunted Houses square in Halloween Book Bingo.  (It also qualifies for the Graveyard square).