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The Stranger's Obituary

(The Obituary Society #2)

Jessica L. Randall (Goodreads Author)

3.67 · Rating details · 754 ratings · 75 reviews

Welcome to Auburn, where fresh baked cookies hold the key to your future, and a melody carries the secrets of your past.

Mina Fairchild keeps to herself, and that’s the way she likes it. Her secluded life protects the secrets she hides, as well as a certain peculiarity that even people in the colorful town of Auburn, Nebraska find strange.

But when her movie-star sister ...more

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Kindle Edition, 184 pages

Published June 4th 2015

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Jul 24, 2017 Mara rated it really liked it

Jessica L. Randall is a new author to me. This is the 2nd book in a series of 3, but I understand they're separate stories with a few characters that show up in each book.
It took me a couple of chapters to really get into the story which takes place in the small town of Auburn, Nebraska. Mina Fairchild writes a travel blog but her readers don't know that she hardly ever leaves her house. Her sister, Bernadette (Bernie), who left after high school to become a movie star, is back to hide out from ...more

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Aug 05, 2015 Ann rated it liked it

It was an okay book . Had a bit of what they call mystic or paranormal touch to it , which I dont usually read. Actually it as the title that made me decide to read it. I do genealogy so the word obituary always catches my interest. About a family, one stayed indoors mostly, one was a star in Hollywood . When Bernie (the star )came back home it all started to come to a head. Lots of secrets in this town. Angry spirits dont want to let go just yet. But happy endings for everyone.

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Sep 23, 2015 Diana Boyce rated it it was amazing

Different, Interesting, Fun

I liked the very human main character, Nina, and all the inhabitants of the small town: all quirky, warm, believable. Add in a healthy dose of the supernatural, and a good murder mystery and my interest was guaranteed. I'm ordering her other books! ...more

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Nov 28, 2015 EJ Roberts rated it really liked it

This book starts out just like any book with a stay-at-home big sister with a movie star little sister. Mina takes it to the extreme and is agoraphobic. Her sister arriving one night threw everything into a tizzy. Bernadette is your typical starlet, thinking everything revolves around her even though she just wants to be left alone for awhile. She’s trying to cope with her boyfriend’s cheating and her own reaction to finding out. Running home seemed to be her only option. The usual players pop u This book starts out just like any book with a stay-at-home big sister with a movie star little sister. Mina takes it to the extreme and is agoraphobic. Her sister arriving one night threw everything into a tizzy. Bernadette is your typical starlet, thinking everything revolves around her even though she just wants to be left alone for awhile. She’s trying to cope with her boyfriend’s cheating and her own reaction to finding out. Running home seemed to be her only option. The usual players pop up. Bernadette’s old love, a rival for his affections who hates Bernadette and her sister, and that one odd paparazzi guy who wants to be more. Toss in a body and you have the makings of a book that follows a set path, one that’s been well-trod before. However, once you know the main players, the author veers off to the left and takes the reader on a crazy journey into a world where the paranormal is normal. Where the future could be held in a fresh baked cookie, and the memories of the past are carried in a melody.

Bernadette could have been a tad bit more flashy, but we find out that she’s lost herself. She had always taken on the roles that people had assigned to her and she’d never taken time to find out who she was. Having known true agoraphobics, I’d have to say Jessica Randall nailed Mina pretty good. It is amusing that Mina is a travel blogger and makes her living that way, especially since she hasn’t stepped foot out of Auburn, Nebraska since their mother moved them there years ago.

The book was well-written. I got this copy a long time ago, so I don’t know if any updates or changes have been made to it. The most disturbing thing about it was the initial formatting errors. Being in contact with authors on a regular basis, I know that formatting is not easy. However, this did not detract much from the story. I only noticed the formatting right at the very beginning. By now, it could very well be fixed. There were a few errors here and there, but not so many that it detracted from the story. All in all, it was quite well done and I enjoyed reading it. I read it in a single day, as a matter of fact. It was an easy and fun read. I also didn’t know it is technically the second in a series. It easily stands on its own, unlike many series books. I’d recommend it if you wanted something quick and fun to read. ...more

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Jul 22, 2015 Cassie rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance

So, I think I may like this book more than the first due to the air of mystery around the Fairchild sisters. However, I do feel some of the characters could have used a little bit more development. I liked Mina and Bernie but there was just something missing. I cannot really pinpoint it. I may have to read it again just to see why. The Obituary Society ladies are in full form and I wish they would have had more time in the book.

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Feb 17, 2018 Regina Lively rated it it was amazing

TERRIFIC READ

I enjoyed book 2 of “The Obituary Society” triligy even more than I did book 1. The characters, for the most part, were enjoyable and delightful. (I HATED Susan!) The plotline flowed nicely to its conclusion, and the loose ends were tied up and explained. It was nice to see many of the characters from bk 1 still alive and kicking.
I’m going on to read book 3 now.

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Jan 19, 2019 Krystyna rated it it was amazing

A mother's love surmounts even death

Awesome. Same place but even though the minor characters are the same this is about two sisters. One is also a hermit, only taking walks in the dark, and the other is a film star. Their reunion causes events that could shatter the whole community as well as their lives. Great plot that uses the paranormal as a tool to enhance the story rather than being the story.
When she wakes up it's to the clamour of voices outside. Why? Then her eyes fall onto evidence tha ...more

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Feb 25, 2018 Neerja Joshi rated it liked it

The Stranger's Obituary is the second book in the Obituary Series. After reading the first part, The Obituary Society, which I quite liked, I went for this one. This book revolves around two new characters in the series. One of them is a Hollywood actress who came back to Auburn, Nebraska after a fallout with her boyfriend. Another is her sister who is living in the town ever since their mom brought them to this town. She never leaves her house until its something very urgent. It takes you on th ...more

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Dec 11, 2017 Alysha rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-books

This is book 2 is a 3 part series. However, all 3 can be read alone. I really enjoyed book 1. I felt this book was lacking a little. Some of the same characters were in this one but their personalities were a little different in this one. This is a new author for me and I liked her writing style just not necessarily this particular story. I wish there would have been a little more conflict between certain characters. Book one had me flipping pages quickly, book two was a little predictable.

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Feb 08, 2018 Carol rated it really liked it

Well titled book

Having read book 1 in this series, it was fun to see more of and get to know Doug, and also to learn that the problem in book 1 got resolved. I am not usually drawn to books with paranormal happenings, but I found Mina's gift believable. (Not the cookie connection, however!) I did not read this book as a romance, but rather an explanation of Mina's and Bernie's lives. I like happy endings, so was satisfied. ...more

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Apr 23, 2019 Sande Mcatee rated it it was amazing

I stumbled upon this author by accident and I'm happy that I did. I loved the first book in this series, the Obituary Society, and loved this one even more. It includes all of the small town characters that I love with a bit of mystery/romance. I can't wait to start the third and final book in this series. If you're looking for a fun light afternoon book to read...go no further...this is the one. Would anyone like to join me for a burger at Doug's Diner? ...more

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Jul 22, 2017 Rebecca rated it liked it

Character driven

Enjoyable read. Nice characters. More character motivated than driven by paranormal elements. Solid 3*

Had read at least parts of it previously. Suspect it was all but notes lost

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Feb 17, 2018 Juli Hennessee rated it liked it

Will not read a sequel.

This book left too many things unfinished, too many features left out, too many ideas halfway begun, and a whole town's story just plain up in the air. It is convoluted, starts many ideas and does not finish any of them in a satisfying manner. Too bad. ...more

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Nov 03, 2018 Kristi Fleming rated it it was ok

I purchased these as a set and really wished I hadn't. I was hoping against hope that the books would improve as they went along. They didn't. I did like several of the characters but not as much as I did in book one. The author's work gets murky sometimes and really needs work to carry the story through. ...more

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May 23, 2019 Susan rated it liked it

Interesting

Over all, this was a compelling story. At times I felt like parts of it were edited out too much, and so disjointed. The skeleton was there, but parts of flesh seemed to be missing. I would still recommend it.

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Mar 26, 2018 Nancy rated it it was ok

Had high hopes following the first book - assumed this would be better - but the story was far to convoluted

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Mar 27, 2018 Katherine rated it liked it

An okay read. I skimmed a lot.

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Aug 07, 2018 Marilyn Buehler rated it it was amazing

A very cute book, a good mystery, great characters and happy ending. What more could you want in a good read?

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Nov 08, 2018 Yvonne rated it it was amazing

The first one in the series had a touch of supernatural in it. This 2nd book of the series is definately a supernatural title.

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Jan 12, 2020 Kendra Chubbuck rated it it was ok

It was okay. I wished Ada and the Society was in it more. Mina and Bernie were okay. Plot was okay. Quick read. I hope Book 3 is better.

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Jun 28, 2020 Carol E Hale rated it it was amazing

Just as the Obituary Society held my attention from the very first page, so has this second installment. I can’t wait to read the next one!

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Apr 22, 2016 Chelsea rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-and-mystery, united-states, contemporary, nano-authors

More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.

The Stranger's Obituary is the second book in Jessica L. Randall's Obituary Society series, which may or may not be the last book in the series--so far #2 is as far as it goes. It takes place in a town called Auburn, Nebraska where weird things happen. There's a little girl named Juniper who can find lost things, some very spooky happenings that affected the heroine of the first book, Lila, and now we get to see some more weirdness. Mina More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.

The Stranger's Obituary is the second book in Jessica L. Randall's Obituary Society series, which may or may not be the last book in the series--so far #2 is as far as it goes. It takes place in a town called Auburn, Nebraska where weird things happen. There's a little girl named Juniper who can find lost things, some very spooky happenings that affected the heroine of the first book, Lila, and now we get to see some more weirdness. Mina Fairchild is linked to music; when she hears a song associated with a person, she can see what happened to that person when they listened to it. And her mother had strange abilities of her own. Oh, and there's a ghost plaguing Mina's starlet sister, Bernie, who has returned to Auburn after a bad breakup with her Hollywood boyfriend, who is a real piece of work.

Mina and Bernie have other problems, too. Mina is a shut-in; she writes a travel blog, but she has never actually been to any of the places she writes about. In fact, she hasn't left Auburn since her mother brought her and Bernie there ages ago. Bernie might be a starlet, but she left in a bit of a rush after stealing from her brand-new fiance for reasons that she's never been able to really explain to anyone. Now that she's back, she wants to try to make amends, but things are, of course, a little more complicated than that. Meanwhile, a body has turned up in quiet Auburn, which has also been swamped by tourists and journalists trying to get a glimpse of Bernie living a small-town life.

My thoughts on this book are similar to my thoughts on the first book. It needs another light round of line edits; I saw a few words that I think were supposed to be other ones, and then there were a couple of instances where it seemed like Randall got confused with or forgot who was supposed to talking, which made some of the dialog not really make sense. I would point to the specific instances of these, but I can't, because I think that, much like Auburn, this book is haunted. It possessed my Kindle and, once I opened it, literally wouldn't let me read another book. It took away all the functionality of the Kindle except turning the pages. I couldn't go to the menu, or even change how my progress was displayed on the bottom of the screen. If I wanted to get out of the book, I had to hard restart the Kindle to get back to the home screen. I thought this might have just been a problem with the download, so I deleted the book and re-downloaded it, but it kept happening, so I think it's something up with the actual file on Amazon. This isn't Randall's fault at all (I presume something went wrong with the file conversion on Amazon) but it certainly made me reluctant to re-open the book after finishing it in order to pull specific examples.

The other thing that I also didn't love was the romance. Bernie's romantic plot is great, with the revival of something with her former fiance, even though she's not ultimately sure what she wants from it. Their interactions were wonderful, and you can tell that there's definitely chemistry between them even if they still might want different things. Mina's romantic plot, on the other hand, seems to have been added just for the sake of it. Her interactions with her romantic interest are few, and he does come off as stalker-y. Again, I think this could have been remedied with the book being just a tad longer so their interactions could have been both more numerous and more nuanced. The few prolonged scenes they did have were sweet, but overall I didn't think it worked.

Unlike the first book, I think the supernatural element fit in well here. It was more fully woven into the story, and the feel of Auburn was better flushed out with it. The things that happen in Auburn aren't big, grand supernatural things; they're small, cute ones that can still manage to be a little creepy, but they really fit in perfectly with Auburn's small-town, slightly-outdated vibe. The Obituary Society itself makes a reappearance, too, and gives us a tiny bit of insight into how the events of the first book are still resolving themselves, and the members help Mina start to re-integrate herself into society. She's not really an agoraphobe, as is suggested by one character; she's more like an extreme introvert, but with some motivation behind it which comes out later. She's not actually afraid of going outside, and she does; she goes out, and talks to people, she just...doesn't like to. I think Mina and Bernie both grew a lot as characters in this book, and Auburn was, again, very well-developed.

Like The Obituary Society, this was a very solid book. 4 stars out of 5, and I hope she writes more in this wonderful town. ...more

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Mar 03, 2017 Marty Hamernik rated it really liked it

Loved it!

Loved it! Kept me guessing the whole time. The characters are interesting to get to know & the plot is totally unexpected.

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Jan 30, 2016 Karlene Browning rated it it was amazing

Stayed up way too late finishing this book. Loved it.

This is book 2 in the Obituary Society, but it works as a stand-alone. I loved the first book, The Obituary Society, so much that I purchased this one the very second I finished the first one.

This is the story of two sisters who couldn’t be more different—and yet, they both have a strength that’s admirable. They interact with various characters in the town, so we get to see some of the ones we loved from book one.

The plot in this book was a ...more

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Mar 14, 2016 Judy Christiana rated it really liked it

First, I will say that I got this book as a free kindle book. The title interested me and I also liked the cover art. (I will also say that I download The Obituary Society book, but did not realize that book preceded this one. I think I would have liked it better, if I read them in order)
Having said that. I did enjoy the book after I read about half of it. The first half was slow moving to me and did not hold my interest as much as I would have liked it to. I also do not usually read paranormal ...more

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Feb 27, 2016 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: magical-realism, cozy

The Stranger's Obituary is book two in the series. When I first found out that there was another book I was super excited, then when I found out that it follows another story line I was massively disappointed. I generally don't like to spend a whole book getting to know and love characters then not getting to hear as much from them going forward. I got the book anyway (I borrowed free through Prime, though I would have bought it if borrowing wasn't an option) and I am so glad I gave it a chance. ...more

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Feb 13, 2017 Kay rated it it was amazing

I enjoyed this book, maybe a little more than the first Obituary Society book. I plan to read the next!

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Aug 13, 2015 Barbara Zeh rated it really liked it

Shelves: suspense

This is the second book in the series, and we find ourselves back in Auburn. I did like this installment, but the story overall seemed to move a bit slow.

Mina redefines housebound introvert. When her movie star sister Bernadette (Bernie) shows up, Mina’s world is turned upside down with the swarm of paparazzi. As if being overrun with reports isn’t trauma enough, one particular dark eyed reporter seems to see right through her, seeing even her darkest secrets, which she can’t let happen. When it ...more

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Sep 14, 2015 Judy rated it liked it

Shelves: mysteries, paranormal

This is the second book I've read in this series. The Obituary Society for which the series was named is not as prominent in this one, and if I hadn't read the other one I wouldn't have even understood their place in the story. Still, it was a decent mystery with a little "woo woo" but not enough to put me off. I found the characters interesting, and I did care what happened to them, which is important to me in evaluating a book. If you like a small town mystery and don't mind an active ghost, y ...more

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