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One Foot in the Grave

(The Mortician’s Daughter #1)

C.C. Hunter (Goodreads Author)

4.13 · Rating details · 1,315 ratings · 247 reviews

Her dad’s job is with the dead... and he’s bringing his work home with him.

Once again, seventeen-year-old Riley Smith is the new kid in school and her dad’s career has her back to being dubbed a freak. Truth is, she’s a much bigger freak than her classmates think. The only company she keeps these days is the dead who follow Dad home from work. She can see them. She can s ...more

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Kindle Edition, 325 pages

Published October 31st 2017 by BookEnds

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Nov 11, 2017 C.C. Hunter marked it as to-read · (Review from the author)

Dear Readers,

I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank you for leaving a review. After spending six years writing The Shadow Falls series—and yes, I miss those characters—I wrote This Heart of Mine. That story came from a personal experience of my husband’s own transplant. And it is very dear to my heart.

But because the book wasn’t scheduled for release until February 2018, it would mean a year without a release, so I came up with the idea of The Mortician’s Daughter. I wanted a contemporary Dear Readers,

I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank you for leaving a review. After spending six years writing The Shadow Falls series—and yes, I miss those characters—I wrote This Heart of Mine. That story came from a personal experience of my husband’s own transplant. And it is very dear to my heart.

But because the book wasn’t scheduled for release until February 2018, it would mean a year without a release, so I came up with the idea of The Mortician’s Daughter. I wanted a contemporary feel to the story, one where a character is dealing with some real-life issues. Like having lost her mother, and now afraid of losing her father who may be an alcoholic. But I also wanted to keep my paranormal readers happy. Just a touch of woo-woo. And hence came the ghosts.

Those who read Shadow Falls knows I’m no stranger to writing about spirits. Poor Kylie from Shadow Falls had more ghosts than she cared to deal with, and now Riley follows in her footsteps. Some ghosts only need to be told it’s okay to cross over. Some need a lot more. And as Kylie had Della and Miranda, Riley has Kelsey. Of course, Kelsey doesn’t know Riley can see the dead. But in book two, she’s going to find out. I can’t wait to write that scene.

I love ghost stories. I was a total fan of the Ghost Whisperer. And Medium. Honestly, my love of ghosts stems from the times I actually felt that other worldly presence. Like the time when I was eleven and I woke up to find my great grandmother hovering over me. She’d died the week before. While scared, it was mostly comforting.

I guess I just want to believe our loved ones can reach out and touch us. That some of them might be looking over us. And if they can help us, why can’t people like Riley help them? I’m starting the next book in the series, Two Feet Under, and Riley once again finds herself between a rock and a hard place. The new ghost has spent the last the four years in jail, and let’s just say he's not in a good mood. And what he needs Riley to do is going get her in all kinds of trouble.

Thank you again for taking this journey with me. Please pop over to my website, cchunterbooks.com and check out my blog that I post on every Tuesday. And at least once a month, I do giveaways. So I hope to see you there.

CC ...more

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Jul 24, 2018 Sophie "Beware Of The Reader" rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-series, favorite-ya

Official complaint addressed to CC Hunter author of Young Adult series: The Mortician Daughter.

The plaintiff: Sophie owner of the blog Beware Of The Reader

Nature of complaint: broken Kindle and excessive blood pressure. Possible weight gain in the near future (once the plaintiff stops binging on ice cream). Circumstances leading to said damages: reading The Mortician Daughter.

Aggravating circumstances: CC Hunter hasn’t released the sequel yet while ending the first installment on an unbearabl ...more

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Feb 09, 2019 ☙ nemo ❧ (pagesandprozac) rated it did not like it

Shelves: paranormal, fantasy, netgalley, romance, 1-star, young-adult, ebooks, romance-erotica-mf

(DNF at 20%)

OK. I know DNFing at 20% is pitiful. But quite frankly, so is this book.

There is such a horrendous amount of cliches that I want to stab myself in the eyes, and I just couldn't keep going any longer. I just couldn't.

First, there's the hot ghost boy who is following her who is ~different~ from all the other ghosts. And on top of that, he has that classic YA love interest borderline-predatory attitude; he stares at Riley when she's just in a towel, and he admits he was sleeping next ...more

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Feb 26, 2020 JenacideByBibliophile rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy-ya, fiction-ya-teen, romance, paranormal-ya-adult, mystery-thriller-ya, series, school-settings, please-make-it-stop, paranormal-ghosts

I really enjoyed C.C. Hunter's Shadow Falls series that I had read a few years ago, so when I saw that she had released another YA Fantasy/Paranormal series about the daughter of a MORTICIAN *happy squeal* I just knew I had to read it. And going into it, I totally expected the mushy forbidden romance and the dramatic teenage angst riddled banter between characters. I was ready for a hot ghost boy, a girl with some home issues and a little murder/mystery to spice up my week.

But UGH! I'm surprised ...more

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Oct 31, 2017 ☆Dani☆ ☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ rated it it was amazing

I want to give a huge thank you to NetGalley and EverAfter Romance for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate this opportunity.

Publication Date: 10/31/2017(Today!)

Synopsis: Riley Smith is not your average 17 year old high school senior. She has what some may call a gift and others may call a curse. Riley sees dead people. Since Riley's father is the town's mortician the dead seem to follow him home to Riley, where Riley helps them with whatever they need to cro I want to give a huge thank you to NetGalley and EverAfter Romance for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate this opportunity.

Publication Date: 10/31/2017(Today!)

Synopsis: Riley Smith is not your average 17 year old high school senior. She has what some may call a gift and others may call a curse. Riley sees dead people. Since Riley's father is the town's mortician the dead seem to follow him home to Riley, where Riley helps them with whatever they need to cross over. Dealing with a new town, new school, her dad's alcoholism, missing her dead mom and two new troubled spirits that entered her life, Riley feels like she's losing it.

The two new dead people in her life are different than the others that she has encountered. Hayden is a beautiful guy and is the same age as Riley. He also has abilities that other ghosts don't have such as; Riley can kind of feel Hayden's touch and he's not listed in the obituaries. Abby is a very tormented soul. Some days Abby is dressed up nice because of Riley's dad, others she looks beat up and suffering. Riley also has the ability to feel the spirit's emotions and she realizes Abby's death was more tragic than a mere accident!

Hayden vows to help Riley find out what happened to Abby. The only problem is the increasing feelings that bubble up between the two. Riley knows she shouldn't fall in love with a ghost but Hayden's soul is so beautiful and kind.

While facing all her obstacles, Riley meets strong willed classmate Kelsey. The two girls share grief and other issues and become instant best friends. The two girls battle high school drama, boys and hard emotions.

Will Riley be able to help Hayden and Abby cross over? Will Riley be able to discover what really happened to Abby? Will Riley be able to let Hayden go and set him free and vice versa? Will Kelsey and Riley be able to cope with life and deep rooted issues? Read this YA Paranormal book to find out!

Review: OMG! I loved this book! One Foot in the Grave made me smile, laugh, made the hairs on my neck stick up, and warmed my heart. I loved the characters in this book! Riley was a down to earth girl and knew she has flaws but loves others intensely. Riley is such a compassionate person. Kelsey was strong willed and loving. Hayden was another fantastic character and made me wish he was alive as well! He was so open minded, compassionate and just wanted the best for Riley even if that meant setting Riley free!💖 The reason I am not giving this book 5 stars is because the ending. The ending left me with a cliffhanger and I admit, I can be impatient! At times, the story felt like there was a tad too much going on but overall still was a smooth and well rounded story. This title was perfect for the holiday! I highly recommend this title and can't wait until the next one is released!!! ...more

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Aug 25, 2018 Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) rated it liked it

Shelves: ya-fantasy, i-do-believe-in-spooks, netgalley

I received a free e-copy through NetGalley from the publishers at EverAfter Romance.

Riley is the mortician’s daughter, and she knows it’s only a matter of time before her new school knows it and the rumors start. But her real secret is much bigger. Sometimes, her father’s work follows him home in the form of spirits of the recently dead, and they need Riley’s help. Usually, they need a small task completed or someone to listen to them before they can move on. When the ghost of a murder victim ar I received a free e-copy through NetGalley from the publishers at EverAfter Romance.

Riley is the mortician’s daughter, and she knows it’s only a matter of time before her new school knows it and the rumors start. But her real secret is much bigger. Sometimes, her father’s work follows him home in the form of spirits of the recently dead, and they need Riley’s help. Usually, they need a small task completed or someone to listen to them before they can move on. When the ghost of a murder victim arrives, followed closely by the most “alive” spirit she’s ever met of a boy her age, Riley’s life gets a lot more complicated.

There are some YA books that cross easily into adult territory. There are others that remind me that I haven’t been a part of this audience for nearly a decade, and this is one of them. It’s possible that I might have liked it better when I was a teenager, since its paranormal world is interesting in concept. I probably would have been more interested in a love story with a teenage ghost as well, but as it is now, I thought it took up too much page time for a plot that isn’t adequately resolved.

The writing leaves a lot to be desired. Both the narrative and the dialogue are littered with ellipses, and people just sort of… trail off… in the middle of their sentences… for no reason that I can see. As a lover of beautiful sentences, I’m also not fond of narrative that’s nearly indistinguishable from the main character’s dialogue. Riley’s is full of questions, swearing, and slang that wore on me quickly. I already have one mindless train of thought going 24/7 in my head, and I don’t need another in my fiction. The chapter breaks are utterly odd, sometimes breaking in the middle of a conversation, again for no apparent reason.

Riley is a fairly typical YA heroine. She’s pretty but doesn’t know it (eesh), and the novel points out at least twice that she’s “not like other girls”, which is one of the most tiresome phrases in the English language. Her interest in cars might give her some dimension, except she doesn’t actually have an interest in cars; she has an interest in art, a detail that doesn’t feature until halfway into the novel and is mentioned maybe twice. She barely has a thought in her head that isn’t about counting carbs or going to hell. All that is to say that I don’t find her well-developed or compelling, and neither are the side characters.

My final complaint is how transparent the plot is. I caught on to Hayden’s situation almost immediately, as almost anyone familiar with paranormal popular culture will, but it takes Riley the entire novel to unravel it. For that matter, the book ends rather abruptly without pursuing or resolving that plot, even though the murder victim's is neatly wrapped up. I don’t care for ellipses in place of an ending either, and I doubt I’ll continue with the series.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com. ...more

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Sep 06, 2020 Tisha (IG: Bluestocking629) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Oh my gosh, this book!

Ok, I purchased this book, via Audible, simply for the narrator Amy McFadden. She is one of my favorite female narrators. I truly did not expect to like this book this much. I thought it would be a double win one for the narrator and two for fitting in with my only reading scary or Autumn themed books...until I start with my Christmas and winter reads.

But it turns out to be a triple win since I absolutely loved it. Normally I only listen to an audiobook while driving or f ...more

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Oct 23, 2018 Lyn rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya-bks-i-ve-read, netgalley-read

Riley Smith has the ability to see ghosts, which sucks, seeing as her father works with the dead and they often follow him home. Add in dealing with a cute ghost who’d set up shop in her house, trying to help another ghost get justice, surviving school and the drama with a cute boy who’s interested in her (who is also among the living) and the bitchy cheerleader ex-girlfriend. What could go wrong?

I have to admit that I went into this book with quite some expectations. I’ve always loved medium stories from the time I first read Meg Cabot’s The Mediator series and fell in love with it. I thought this book would be fun and interesting but I was disappointed. The book wasn’t as fun or exciting or even creepy as I’d expected.

The writing was blunt and lacked a certain depth and flow, making the characters appear flat. I had a hard time staying engrossed in the story. I couldn’t connect to the main character, Riley. I wanted to like her but I found a lot of things annoying about her.

The mystery surrounding Hayden was kind of predictable and I guessed at the beginning itself the reason why he was “different”. Add in the hint of a love triangle, I’m sorry to say, that gave it all a tiring slant. It was just one YA cliché too many.

Even the romance felt off and just too fast without any deep connection between the characters. Riley got too comfortable with the ghost guy from the very moment she met him. I also wished we’d gotten a much better explanation of how Riley got her power.

The idea of the story was a good one but it just feels like an attempt to imitate The Mediator with some of the obvious similarities and none of the in-depth writing. The story was just a lot of teen angst rather than paranormal drama. I really wanted to like this book but it wasn’t for me. Maybe others would like it better. Do give it a try, who knows, you might like it. Every reader’s taste in books in different after all.

***Note: Received from Netgalley for an honest review.

Posted on Blog ...more

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Jun 22, 2019 Jessica *The Lovely Books* rated it really liked it

Wow. What a whirlwind! It’s no secret that I’m a huge C.C. Hunter fan. One Foot in the Grave was unique and totally fun. It had the charm that is Ms. Hunter, all packaged up in a paranormal bow. Riley has a unique gift that allows her to talk to and help spirits cross over. There’s also the teeny tiny fact that her father is a mortician who sometimes brings his work home; without his knowledge.

What I loved most about this book is that it had a nice blend of romance and mystery. The love interes ...more

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Jul 12, 2017 Terri rated it liked it

Cannot wait for the next one.

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Mar 11, 2018 Nancy The book junkie rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebooks-i-own, books-to-review, books-to-buy-in-english

Rating: 4.25/5

Review to come!

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Dec 06, 2018 Casey rated it it was amazing

I love C. C. Hunter and have read all her books except “This Heart of Mine” for I have not gotten the chance to buy it, however, it is still on my to-read list. I have been reading C. C. Hunter’s book for nearly six years, ever since I was in 10th grade up until now, where I am currently finishing the last week of my college career. “One Foot in the Grave” was everything that I was hoping for it to have been, especially being introduced to new characters and their drama! While this is a new seri ...more

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Apr 04, 2018 Aly rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, romance, audiobook, october-2020, paranormal, thriller, ya, 2018

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 11, 2019 Tomer rated it liked it

Shelves: digital, spirits, fantasy, freebie-online

Perhaps not as polished as her other series, though there are obvious similarities. The story deals with some serious issues, while still managing to reign a lighter feel on things. there are a few threads woven here, which I expect to unravel fully in the next books of the series.

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Nov 23, 2017 meghann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arc, books-i-ve-won

The author's series set in Shadow Falls are among my favorite books. I was definitely sad to see those wrap up, but I am so excited for this new series as well as another book she has coming out. So I was totally stoked when I won a giveaway from her website that included a digital ARC of this book on a nifty flash drive with the book cover on it, as well as bookmarks and a notebook with a personalized message written in it.

You have no idea how happy that made me! Unfortunately, at the time ...more

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Sep 20, 2017 Sarah Gries rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Okay... holy crap!
CC you've really outdone yourself this time. First of all I just got done reading This Heart of Mine, and made my mom listen to my incoherent crying about the book. Holy hell...

Where do I begin? From the beginning right? Well right away I fell in love with Riley. She's spunky, different, and well doesn't take any shit from anyone. What really got me was the fact her father was an alcoholic. It really hit home.. growing up in a home with an alcoholic wasn't easy, but it taught ...more

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Oct 21, 2019 Bon rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Hello, Operator? I'd like to report a terrible book.

I thought this would be a cute spooky season read, haaahahhaa the joke is on me. Now I feel as if I read this so y'all don't have to.

From technical issues and a misleading Kindle page count to a simply terribly-written protagonist, this was not what I expected. Just going to word-vomit my thoughts:

1) honestly, who couldn't figure out from almost page one what is up with ghost boy
2) I HATE THE MAIN CHARACTER. She has this horrific superior att ...more

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Nov 07, 2017 Kayla Brunson rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal

I was so happy to get my hand on this book! If you know me, then you know that C.C. Hunter is one of my favorites.

Our main character is Riley and she can talk to ghosts. Her ghosts follow her dad home from work and she helps them crossover. One night she gets two ghosts at the same time, except one doesn’t seem like a regular ghost.

I loved Riley! She was smart, brave, and stood up for what she thought was right. She had a lot on her plate with finding her way in a new town and school, making fri ...more

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Feb 15, 2019 Paula Phillips rated it really liked it

This particular book when I was reading it, I felt a bit of deja vu as it has a storyline that has been used quite a bit before. Riley Smith has just moved to town with her dad who is the town's mortician. Riley though has a secret; she has a gift. She can see ghosts who have not yet passed over to the other side. These are the ghosts who have unfinished business on earth, a bit like Jennifer Love Hewitt's Ghost Whisperer. A few of the spirits in this book include a grandma who leads Riley to fi ...more

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Jul 15, 2019 Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm rated it really liked it

Riley Smith's father is a mortician who makes the dead more better looking and look alive inside the coffin. One would think he rubs shoulders with the dead, but the truth us, it's his daughter that deals with the spirits. Yes, Riley sees ghosts, feels their chillingly cold vibes and as much as possible, helps them cross over the light. She's had this experience for more than a year now, except this time, she encounters one that's warm, clingy and looks oh so handsomely alive..

But this isn't onl ...more

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Dec 30, 2018 Susan rated it really liked it

Promising Start

One Foot in the Grave is a promising start to the Mortician’s Daughter series. Riley can see dead people. And in her father’s line of work, she can’t avoid them. Riley has all the woes and worries of a teenage girl, plus a whole lot more. Fresh idea, like-able characters, and a story that will keep you turning the pages. Looking forward to more in this series.

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Oct 28, 2017 Shelley rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017-release, young-adult, received-for-review

*Source* NetGalley
*Genre* Young Adult, Contemporary
*Rating* 3.0

*Thoughts*

One Foot in the Grave, by author C.C. Hunter, is the first installment in The Mortician's Daughter trilogy. 17-year old Riley Smith is the new girl in Catwalk, Texas. She's also a senior at her High School where everyone believes she is a freak because of what her father does for a living. But, if they really understood Riley and what she can do, they would probably run away screaming. No seriously. You see, Riley can see a ...more

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Aug 02, 2019 Jessica rated it really liked it

KNEW IT!!!!!! And that’s all I’ll say about that. I really enjoyed this book. It was pretty straight to the point. It didn’t overshare or spend to much time describing things. I liked the mystery and the bit of romance. Interested to see where the rest of the series goes.

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Dec 27, 2020 Sandra rated it liked it

Shelves: ebooks, own-it

Pretty standard YA fare with all the classic tropes but still a fun read if you like that sort of thing.

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Oct 01, 2017 Lisa Richards rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya-paranormal-romance

I love getting in on the ground floor of a new series. This book was soo awesome. I read it in one night and could not put it down. This book has YA romance, paranormal and a mystery all rolled up in one.
Riley and Hayden were amazing characters. Riley is a grim reaper and helps ghosts go into the light. As I had just read an adult book with a grim reaper in it, I was able to look at both of these books and really could not decide which one was better. Riley's character was pretty spunky and I l ...more

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Jul 20, 2018 Jackie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

*cue friends theme song* so that’s what they meant when they said your love life’s doa!

“One Foot in the Grave” tells the story of Riley, a young girl starting over in a new town and trying to navigate these changes with her widowed father who may or may not be an alcoholic, and who also happens to have the ability to see and talk to the dead. When a spirit comes forward with unfinished business and another joins the group who refuses to be helped Riley sets off to right the wrongs of the past a *cue friends theme song* so that’s what they meant when they said your love life’s doa!

“One Foot in the Grave” tells the story of Riley, a young girl starting over in a new town and trying to navigate these changes with her widowed father who may or may not be an alcoholic, and who also happens to have the ability to see and talk to the dead. When a spirit comes forward with unfinished business and another joins the group who refuses to be helped Riley sets off to right the wrongs of the past all the while hoping not to end up on the other side herself.

Here’s the thing and it’s going to sound stupid so stick with me but my biggest critique for this novel is that it didn’t make me feel anything because it spent so much time telling me things instead of having them come about organically over the course of the book.

The characters are so flat or amped up just enough to be a perfect cutout or whatever their role is without any variation making them completely unique to this world. The mean girl is easily identified as the cheerleader with the hot boyfriend who ends her threats with “bitch”, the boyfriend never realizes he’s dating the early 2000s mean girl until she comes after the newbie, the main character needs to be brave and courageous so let’s call her a badass 14 times and say she looks good with a black eye early on in the story instead of actually making her do something worthy of the title, you catch my drift?

It’s all so dull and boring that I felt nothing over the course of the book, even the romance was off because it happens so fast and from the very beginning despite the bits of foreshadowing it’s got a few technicals no one ever acknowledges, it sits there lurking just off into the shadows of some conversations but there’s never a moment where the absurdity of the entire ordeal is ever addressed and I couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to hang around for that ride.

I was really hoping for a fun, slightly dark story with echoes of a Ghost Whisperer premise but sadly this was nothing but a dead end.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review** ...more

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Jun 27, 2019 ♡Julalicious Book Paradise♡ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Review to come.

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Nov 01, 2017 Jessica (a GREAT read) rated it it was amazing

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

I was beyond ecstatic to learn that C.C. Hunter had a new Paranormal YA series coming out! One Foot in the Grave is the start of The Mortician’s Daughter trilogy. This time, our heroine already knows of her connection to the paranormal, she can see and talk to ghosts! I love me a good ghost read! Possibly because The Mediator series was one of the very first Paranor I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

I was beyond ecstatic to learn that C.C. Hunter had a new Paranormal YA series coming out! One Foot in the Grave is the start of The Mortician’s Daughter trilogy. This time, our heroine already knows of her connection to the paranormal, she can see and talk to ghosts! I love me a good ghost read! Possibly because The Mediator series was one of the very first Paranormal YA series I read eons ago and I loved the possibility of a romance between a living human and ghost! It has it problems, but you still can’t help but rooting for there to be a way!

Not only does this story have the possibility of a cross-dimensional romance, but there’s also a murder mystery of sorts afoot! But I’m getting ahead of myself! The story begins with Riley trying to settle into her new surroundings at the second move she and her dad made in the past two years. She’s beginning to suspect her father is a closet alcoholic but hasn’t been able to prove it yet, but since he lost his last two jobs and she’s seen other signs that could be the result of drinking too much. Then it happens, a ghost comes to Riley begging for help! She wants Riley to find her ring to give to her family. But then a funny thing happens, yet another ghost appears, only this time, he looks different than the usual sort of ghosts she sees, but he’s still clearly not of the living. Hayden is just different.

I was actually rather surprised by how quickly things started to develop between Hayden and Riley. Sure I expected romance between them, the cover description gives us that much of an idea. But man, I felt like it just happened so quickly. Add in that there also happens to be another guy, Jacob, at Riley’s school who has a crush on her and you have the makings of one awkward love triangle! Lol! What will eventually come to be final though has yet to be seen at this point, though I am pretty sure I will be heartbroken either way!

It’s not long though before the first ghost reveals that she didn’t die by accident, she was murdered and she wants Riley’s help to get her killer put behind bars. Though it doesn’t exactly come out that way. It was while Riley was trying to find the ring that she ended up running into the murderer. And now he has set his sights on Riley.

There was definitely an air of danger to this story once it’s revealed who the killer is. It was positively frightening because he was one seriously bad dude. And when a serial rapist sets his sights on you, well, it naturally makes for intense and scary reading!

Then there’s also the fact that Riley is trying to prove her dad is drinking and confront him about it. There’s a good deal of drama in this story as well in that scope of things. Add in the conflicting feelings over two boys, one dead, one alive and you pretty much have one rockin story in your hands!

The ending to One Foot in the Grave gives you a sense of conclusion to the murder mystery and yet still packs a punch with one whopper of a cliffhanger! Granted, I did sort of see this one coming once some things were laid out for us to know. I made a guess and it turns out I was right!! And man, I don’t envy Riley for the troubles she will be having in the books to come!

One Foot in the Grave is the perfect paranormal read! There’s ghosts, there’s mystery, there’s romance, there’s surprises around every turn and there is still more to come! This is going to be one delightful series! I can already tell!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars ...more

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Jan 07, 2019 Katherine Paschal rated it it was amazing

Shelves: supernatural, suspense, teen, ghosts, heart-wrenching, mystery, scary

**Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **
Riley has a lot on her plate at the moment- be it the drama of starting a new high school her senior year, dealing with her father's potential alcoholism, the grief that comes with everyone at school knowing she is the daughter of a mortician, oh and yeah, doing favors for the dead so they can pass on. Riley sees the dead and has for the last year and a half, keeping her secret while doing small tasks for the spirits so their souls **Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **
Riley has a lot on her plate at the moment- be it the drama of starting a new high school her senior year, dealing with her father's potential alcoholism, the grief that comes with everyone at school knowing she is the daughter of a mortician, oh and yeah, doing favors for the dead so they can pass on. Riley sees the dead and has for the last year and a half, keeping her secret while doing small tasks for the spirits so their souls can be free. But now she has two ghosts coming to her, one a cute mysterious boy who seems so alive and another a woman who wants a big favor from Riley.

I am a big fan of C.C. Hunter, be it her YA mysteries or supernatural and when I was lucky enough to discover this series I was so excited to read it. I feel like not enough people know about The Mortician's Daughter series and that is a huge shame since it is so freaking good! I loved everything about this series and was instantly lost in the pages, not even aware that hours past and I was half way through in a sitting. The mystery was great, the supernatural was scary, and the characters were realistic and relatable.

Riley is our narrator, a teen girl who tries hard to be a good person and do right with so many burdens overwhelming her. I really liked Riley, I found her to be an endearing character and I wanted to help her any way I could. I love that she is self sufficient and capable, and that she goes against the norm by doing things such as joining auto-shop (not to be cool, but for practical reasons so she can fix her own old/expensive car) and standing up to bullies even if it makes her unpopular. She doesn't really care, just biding her time for the last 6 months of high school until she can escape- but unfortunately she will never be able to escape what she is.

I loved Hayden and his charm and mysteriousness. I will say that I knew his secret basically from the beginning (hey I am a movie buff and love Reece Witherspoon), but that in no way took away from the story or the world. It was odd for me though to root for a relationship between a dead boy and a living girl, only heartbreak can be the outcome, but boy I shipped Hayden and Riley hard.

I loved everything about this story and want more asap. I highly recommend this for fans of YA paranormal and mysteries. Give the series a try, you will enjoy it!

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Jul 30, 2018 Hélène Louise rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary-ya, ya, ghost-story, family-story, ebook, netgalley

I really appreciated this book that I nearly read straight through. The main theme was quite interesting and delicately used, as were parent-teenager relations. Riley’s home’s atmosphere is oppressive despite the love her and father share, thecp reader is easily immerged in the story. The narration is simple and efficient (just a little too stereotypical for my taste sometimes). The best kept secret of the story is immedialty obvious for the reader; but the fact that Riley’s, a very clever girl, ...more

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About C.C. Hunter

C.C. Hunter

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C. C. Hunter is the New York Times bestselling author of over thirty-five books, including her wildly popular Shadow Falls and Shadow Falls: After Dark series. In addition to winning numerous awards and rave reviews for her novels, C.C. is also a photojournalist, motivational speaker, and writing coach. In February 2018, Wednesday Books will publish her contemporary young adult and hardcover debut ...more