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104th out of 676 books
—
666 voters
The Remains of the Dead (A Ghost Dusters Mystery #1)
by
Wendy Roberts (Goodreads Author)
The first book in a new paranormal mystery series featuring Sadie Novak, a professional crime scene cleaner and amateur medium.
Sadie Novak's got the kind of job that kills cocktail chatter dead: she owns Scene-2-Clean a crime scene cleanup company. And if wiping up after murders weren't spooky enough, she can also see and talk to the ghosts of the victims...
When grieving r...more
Sadie Novak's got the kind of job that kills cocktail chatter dead: she owns Scene-2-Clean a crime scene cleanup company. And if wiping up after murders weren't spooky enough, she can also see and talk to the ghosts of the victims...
When grieving r...more
Paperback, 279 pages
Published
December 4th 2007
by Obsidian
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Wendy Roberts is a new (to me, at least) writer with a first book, "The Remains of the Dead", that's the harbinger of a new and interesting mystery series. The heroine is a woman who cleans up death scenes. She cleans not only the house, but also helps any ghosts left behind find their way home.
Sadie is an interesting heroine. The story of how she became involved in her cleaning business is part and parcel of the plot of this first book, so I'll just say that it hooked my attention and leave it...more
Sadie is an interesting heroine. The story of how she became involved in her cleaning business is part and parcel of the plot of this first book, so I'll just say that it hooked my attention and leave it...more
Have you ever wondered what book to NOT read at 2:30 in the morning? Wonder no more - I've got the answer. This book. For the love of all that is holy, don't read this one in the middle of the night. Like I did.
I meant to just skim it to get an idea of it, as Biz had left it behind for me. Next thing I know, I'm reading about gruesome deaths, even more horrifically detailed accounts of grisly crime scenes (the heroine and her partner clean up after murders), descriptions of a woman's throat pos...more
I meant to just skim it to get an idea of it, as Biz had left it behind for me. Next thing I know, I'm reading about gruesome deaths, even more horrifically detailed accounts of grisly crime scenes (the heroine and her partner clean up after murders), descriptions of a woman's throat pos...more
Sadie runs an unusual business; she and her sole employee Zack clean up death scenes. Whether it is a murder, a suicide or an unattended death, Sadie's business is a one-of-a-kind in the Seattle area. But Sadie also has a special talent; she can see the dead person and talk to them except if they were a suicide. Usually it's because they are having trouble passing over and Sadie helps them in the process.
Her latest job involves a cut and dried case, or so the police insist, of a husband who mur...more
Her latest job involves a cut and dried case, or so the police insist, of a husband who mur...more
Sadie is a cleaning lady- of grisly crime scenes. Oh yeah, and she can talk to the dead who are haunting their own crime scene. Totally cool!
I chose this book from the big A.com because it had near 5 stars, and it was a worthy read. I ordered a ton (okay, 10 or so) of books with good ratings, expecting fluff and lots of grammatical errors. I was wrong! The writing is more than competent; the characters are well drawn, and not cliched. There's definitely a series in the works for this character (...more
I chose this book from the big A.com because it had near 5 stars, and it was a worthy read. I ordered a ton (okay, 10 or so) of books with good ratings, expecting fluff and lots of grammatical errors. I was wrong! The writing is more than competent; the characters are well drawn, and not cliched. There's definitely a series in the works for this character (...more
The premise was intriguing - a woman who cleans up murder/suicide scenes who can see the dead. The book read to me as if it had been written in the first person originally and then changed to the third person - but only from the female protagonist's point of view - because there were a couple of errors where it was in first person. There were also a few times where the wrong person's name was used which always throws me out of the story.
I didn't find Sadie to be someone I would want to hang out...more
I didn't find Sadie to be someone I would want to hang out...more
You may have figured out by now I'm a sucker for supernatural mysteries. I love them dearly and while they by no means comprise my entire reading list, they make for a great majority of it.
This is the first book in what is so far a trilogy, but I suspect there will be more.
Former teacher Sadie Novak has left the classroom in favor of the world of gory crime scenes. (Not much difference, you say? As a former 7th-grade girl, I hear ya. Kids live to draw blood.) Armed with disposable clothing, glo...more
This is the first book in what is so far a trilogy, but I suspect there will be more.
Former teacher Sadie Novak has left the classroom in favor of the world of gory crime scenes. (Not much difference, you say? As a former 7th-grade girl, I hear ya. Kids live to draw blood.) Armed with disposable clothing, glo...more
When Sadie Novak's brother committed suicide five years ago, she learned that the police do not clean up crime scenes. She was forced to scrub her brother's brains off the bathroom tile herself. So Sadie started her own company, specializing in cleaning up after the dead, to fill the niche. To complicate matters, she soon realizes she can see ghosts. Now she's been hired to clean up after a husband/wife murder-suicide. The wife's ghost is present but weirdly cannot hear or speak to her. Sadie's...more
As a fan of both supernatural & mystery stories, I'm always eager to pick up anything that mixes the two. When I started this book, I was a little curious. The idea of a woman seeing ghosts & solving crimes isn't a new thing, but the chosen profession of the lead character is.
The story surrounds Sadie, a woman who has begun to see ghosts after the traumatic suicide of her brother years before. As a way of dealing with her brother's death, she's formed a business where she cleans up after...more
The story surrounds Sadie, a woman who has begun to see ghosts after the traumatic suicide of her brother years before. As a way of dealing with her brother's death, she's formed a business where she cleans up after...more
I've had the worst time trying to get into and stay in a book within the last month. With the demise of the bookclub that I was in, I just don't have the motivation nor do I really have the time with the holidays coming up which is one of the reasons I picked this book up. I didn't expect very much from it. All I wanted was a light read that I could put down whenever I wanted.
This book delivered on the light read. It wasn't overly absorbing, but it had enough to keep me reading. The whole premi...more
This book delivered on the light read. It wasn't overly absorbing, but it had enough to keep me reading. The whole premi...more
I thought this was a good paranormal mystery. Sadie runs a cleaning business that specializes in cleaning up the mess left after a crime has been committed. She also helps the disembodied spirits that are often hanging around to cross over to the other side. Everything is fine until she and her employee Zack, an ex-cop, are called to clean up the scene of a murder-suicide of a husband and wife. The spirit of the wife is still hanging around, but is having trouble communicating with Sadie, althou...more
An interesting career for the main character. Sadie, self-employed, owns a housecleaning busines, cleaning up murder/suicide scenes. She works with an ex-cop, Zack who has a past of his own. Sadie has the ability to see and talk with the victims of murder but not suicide. She is often able to help the victim cross over to the 'other side'. When her company is hired to clean up the Toth household, she is visited by Trudy, the wife of the suicide victim. Trudy is desperately trying to communicate...more
The Remains of the Dead by Wendy Roberts was a new series to me. This one isn't one of the extremely popular series that is always at the top of a recommendation list. I learned of it through http://www.cozy-mystery.com/index.html.
The heroine of the books is Sadie, who after the suicide of her brother launches a new career for herself cleaning up crime scenes and discovers she has the ability to speak to the recently departed in the process.
Sadie is ambivalent about her "gift." But she seems to...more
The heroine of the books is Sadie, who after the suicide of her brother launches a new career for herself cleaning up crime scenes and discovers she has the ability to speak to the recently departed in the process.
Sadie is ambivalent about her "gift." But she seems to...more
I wouldn’t say Wendy Robert’s Ghost Dusters Mystery series was bad, but it lacked the right proportions necessary to make it a good mystery.
I’m going to use a baking analogy (oh, come on, everyone love’s a good ol’ baking analogy): Say you are making a cake. You have cake mix, eggs, and oil – all the basic elements that will yield a perfectly acceptable cake. You can tweak the recipe, add things, or even turn it into cupcakes by using a different pan, but you have the fundamentals. But what ha...more
Loved it, loved it, loved it! Think of this Ghost Duster series as a cross between Ghost Whisperer and CSI. Sadie owns a business called Scene 2 Clean; she cleans up violent murder, suicide, or just messy unattended death scenes so that next of kin don't have to be traumatized twice. She also can see, hear, and talk to ghosts who haven't quite left the scene. The exception to this is that she can't see or communicate with suicides. So when a sexy young man appears in the house of a murder-suicid...more
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This was a purchase from a library booksale for all of a quarter. :)
More of a 3.5 than a 3, but not quite so much that I bump it to a 4.
I'm going to check out the other titles in the series though, because it definitely kept me guessing about the whodunit for longer than a lot of mystery books. (Well, to be honest, I just doubted myself for a lot longer. haha. I suspected the outcome for awhile.)
It was a nice break from all the paranormal romance and such I have been reading lately.
I didn't br...more
More of a 3.5 than a 3, but not quite so much that I bump it to a 4.
I'm going to check out the other titles in the series though, because it definitely kept me guessing about the whodunit for longer than a lot of mystery books. (Well, to be honest, I just doubted myself for a lot longer. haha. I suspected the outcome for awhile.)
It was a nice break from all the paranormal romance and such I have been reading lately.
I didn't br...more
Sadie Novac business is an unusal one, she cleans up crime scenes once the police are done. Her employee Zack Bowman, an ex cop with a troubled past works along side her cleaning these crime scenes and pretends he cant see her talking to the ghosts. Trudy and Grant Toth are found dead in their home, the police say its a murder-sucide, but Trudy Toth tells Sadie differently. Who killed the Toths and why nags Sadie. Putting Sadie in danger, when the killer turns his attention on her. This is an in...more
Sadie owns a cleaning service, mopping up after a messy death (think "Sunshine Cleaning", the movie) with her employee, ex-cop Zack. She started the job after cleaning up after her brother's suicide. She can also talk to the dead, all but those who have committed suicide. So, no talking to her brother to find out why.
If you don't like gory details, this isn't the book for you. But, it's also full of humor and mystery.
Sadie and Zack are working on a job at the home of a murder-suicide when she...more
If you don't like gory details, this isn't the book for you. But, it's also full of humor and mystery.
Sadie and Zack are working on a job at the home of a murder-suicide when she...more
Just a quick review --
Decent premise, I like Medium - or rather liked Medium - and I am interested in Forensics so this book has a little of both that will appear to fans of both genres. A crime scene cleaner who can speak to the dead.
However, her hot partner thinks she crazy, her sister just shakes her head and her Mom tells everyone she is a House Cleaner. Which she is - if your house has brain matter and bone fragments on the wall.
Sadie Novack can see some dead people, not suicides because th...more
Decent premise, I like Medium - or rather liked Medium - and I am interested in Forensics so this book has a little of both that will appear to fans of both genres. A crime scene cleaner who can speak to the dead.
However, her hot partner thinks she crazy, her sister just shakes her head and her Mom tells everyone she is a House Cleaner. Which she is - if your house has brain matter and bone fragments on the wall.
Sadie Novack can see some dead people, not suicides because th...more
Great start to a series. Wonderful author. Almost makes you want to go into crime scene cleanup business!! Sadie has her own business as a crime scene cleanup. She started the business after her brother committed suicide & she didnt want her mom to have to clean up the house. She also is blessed with the gift of talking & seeing the dead. She doesn't see people that have committed suicide though. She goes to cleanup a supposedly husband/wife suicide/murder. She discovers that it's not wh...more
True to course, I've found myself reading this series out of order. In fact it was because I enjoyed Ms. Roberts' later book that I ordered this earlier one. I was not disappointed in the least.
We have a murder crime scene janitorial service led by out sleuth, Sadie and she has an unique ability to talk with the earth-bound ghosts to help them cross-over. This case was made more difficult by one of the victims having hearing loss.
Sadie makes friends with a medium and at the ending of the book is...more
We have a murder crime scene janitorial service led by out sleuth, Sadie and she has an unique ability to talk with the earth-bound ghosts to help them cross-over. This case was made more difficult by one of the victims having hearing loss.
Sadie makes friends with a medium and at the ending of the book is...more
This was a fun book to read. Sadie was an easily likable character doing a job that I would never want to do. Her seeing ghosts was just a fun bonus that made her quirky. I liked hearing how she stumbled into her career and why she stayed there. I did seem though that for the last few years she has been stuck in her life. Her latest job was just what she needed to shake things up, a ghost needing her help. As Sadie helps the ghost is seems like everything in her life starts to go haywire. Her fa...more
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In Roberts' mystery novel, Sadie Novak is hired by a grieving relative along with her employee, ex-cop Zack Bowman, to clean up after the murder-suicide of Trudy and Grant Toth. Since Sadie can see ghosts, she fully expects to meet one during the job. Instead, she meets a talkative Kent, who's very much alive, and agrees to go out on a date with him. When the ghost of Trudy appears, she insists her husband is innocent and pleads with Sadie to find the real killer. But as she works the scene of t...more
This was a fast read... the main character got on my nerves but I wanted to see who the murderer was so I kept reading.
I have to say I really enjoyed this one. The main character Sadie owns a "clean up company" that goes in and cleans up crime scenes with gory remains or sites of unattended deaths (where bodies are left for long periods of time and ya know, rot). She also has this little skill of seeing dead people. She helps usher them on to their next life by listening to them. While cleaning up the scene of a murder/suicide of a husband and wife, the ghost of the wife comes and manages to get the message acro...more
It was one of those mysteries that just cannot put down. Read one chapter and you're hooked, you just have to read until you are done. And that's what I did. It kept me guessing until the bitter end - just an expression. It twisted one way and then the other, and my gosh I had it wrong from the beginning. And then at the end, it surprised me! Not the ending with the crime, but with what happened with Sadie's friend. I was completely floored, I didn't see that one coming. I just don't know what e...more
An engaging and unusual mystery. Sadie gave up teaching after her brother's suicide to become a crime scene cleaner. From the trauma of losing her brother, she discovers she has an unusual gift - seeing, speaking, and helping the ghosts at the crime scenes to fulfill unfinished business before they 'cross over'. Her employee, Zack, has reluctantly accepted her weirdness. With clues given to her by the ghosts and the help of a pyshic, Sadie helps throw questionable doubt to her friend, Detective...more
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Wendy Roberts’ new paranormal mystery series features Sadie Novak, a professional crime scene cleaner and part time medium. Often ghosts remain when people die violently and Sadie helps them come to grips with what has happened to them, much to the dismay of her partner and ex-cop Zack Bowman. When Sadie is hired to clean up the murder-suicide of Trudy and Grant Toth, she meets Trudy’s ghost who insists that Sadie prove Grant’s innocence. Tr...more
Wendy Roberts’ new paranormal mystery series features Sadie Novak, a professional crime scene cleaner and part time medium. Often ghosts remain when people die violently and Sadie helps them come to grips with what has happened to them, much to the dismay of her partner and ex-cop Zack Bowman. When Sadie is hired to clean up the murder-suicide of Trudy and Grant Toth, she meets Trudy’s ghost who insists that Sadie prove Grant’s innocence. Tr...more
I actually really enjoyed this book. It was quick read at about 2 and half hours continuous reading.
The SL was interesting even if the killer was very, very obvious.
Sadie owns a crime scene cleanup company. Her and ex-cop turned employee Zack Bowman clean up what remains of the dead. The catch is, Sadie also sees ghosts. Generally ghosts that are left over at the crime scene cleanups.
After being called into a murder-suicide cleanup, Sadie is confronted with the ghost of the murdered victim who d...more
The SL was interesting even if the killer was very, very obvious.
Sadie owns a crime scene cleanup company. Her and ex-cop turned employee Zack Bowman clean up what remains of the dead. The catch is, Sadie also sees ghosts. Generally ghosts that are left over at the crime scene cleanups.
After being called into a murder-suicide cleanup, Sadie is confronted with the ghost of the murdered victim who d...more
My God, the ending of this book was depressing.
Good book, and if I run into the second somewhere I'll nab it. I won't actively hunt for it or order it online, though.
Mystery wise it was average. There weren't many players in the field so it was easy to guess who it could have been. Not enough leads to other sources. I was able to guess the motive pretty early too if I was right on the killer (turned out being so.) Pacing didn't lag so the book was never dull and there were enough little shockers...more
Good book, and if I run into the second somewhere I'll nab it. I won't actively hunt for it or order it online, though.
Mystery wise it was average. There weren't many players in the field so it was easy to guess who it could have been. Not enough leads to other sources. I was able to guess the motive pretty early too if I was right on the killer (turned out being so.) Pacing didn't lag so the book was never dull and there were enough little shockers...more
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Wendy Roberts was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where she fended off frost bite in winter and mosquito bites in summer.
At the tender age of eight Wendy's writing career sprouted and she wrote the poignant tale of a cup of flour's journey to become a birthday cake. It received mixed reviews from her peers. After a hiatus that lasted a few decades, she rediscovered her muse.
Wendy re...more
More about Wendy Roberts...
At the tender age of eight Wendy's writing career sprouted and she wrote the poignant tale of a cup of flour's journey to become a birthday cake. It received mixed reviews from her peers. After a hiatus that lasted a few decades, she rediscovered her muse.
Wendy re...more
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