Review – One Foot in the Grave (The Mortician’s Daughter, Book 1) by C.C. Hunter (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 325 pages
Publisher: EverAfter Romance
Release Date: October 31, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1635764178
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Mortician’s Daughter series
Source: Gift
Rating: 4/5 stars

“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 speak to them. And Fate seems to think she can help them solve their last problems so that they can move on to the other side. Which is odd, because with the loss of her mother and her father’s alcoholism, she’s got enough problems of her own.

But nothing could prepare her for the next tormented young spirit who darkens Riley’s door. The young woman’s death wasn’t the accident everyone believes. Soon Riley finds herself face-to-face with the killer and her only protection comes in the form of another spirit, Hayden, a boy her age with a heart-melting smile and understanding eyes that make her feel safe. If she can escape becoming the killer’s next victim, Riley knows she’ll have to help Hayden move on too, but what if she can’t let him go?”

This is the first book in the Mortician’s Daughter series. The second book in this series, Two Feet Under, is expected to release in October of 2018. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The premise isn’t all that unique, but it is well written and I enjoyed the characters and thought the story was engaging.

Riley Smith can see ghosts and helps them solve their unfinished business. Her dad is a mortician and sometimes the ghosts follow him home from work. Riley’s life gets complicated when two things happen: a young blond women who has been brutally beaten desperately wants Riley’s help and Hayden shows up…he is different from other ghosts Riley has seen and wants her company. In addition to this Riley is struggling with how to deal with her dad’s increasing drinking.

While this book wasn’t all that unique I still enjoyed it. The characters were excellent, the mystery was well done, and I enjoyed the premise. This book was an engaging and easy read that was tough to put down; it pretty much read itself.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and plan on continuing the series. I would recommend to those who enjoy paranormal YA featuring ghosts.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge