Giving Up the Ghost (Beeler Large Print Mystery Series)

Rating:
Summary: Play it agaim Sam, this may be your last.
Review: Helen really out did herself with this entry in the Hollis Ball/Sam Wescott mystery series. And she couldn't have selected a better subject to do it with. It is high time someone poked some honest fun at all the Elvis impersonations. But Helen is still slow in giving her readers the depth of characterization that both Hollis and Sam deserve. This isn't to say she isn't trying or that she isn't making progress. Somewhere along the line she just seems to be missing the boat.

It appears this could easilly be the last in the Hollis Ball/Sam Wescott series. Chappell stated in an interview she was having problems finding a publisher for entry number 5 in the series. Chould it be that even Hollis and Sam are giving up the ghost? I would be disappointed but I could easily get over it if Hollis doesnt' stop wallowing in the mud so much.

Rating:
Summary: Fun ghost mystery
Review: Hollis is dragooned into judging an Elvis impersonator contest by her no good godfather Albie Lydekker. Her ghostly ex-husband and most of the people she knows think it is a bad idea, so does she. But, Albie is in debt to Bang Bang Devine, mafioso and Elvis impersonator and he wants a contest. Then, Bang is discovered dead in Elvis drag at the seedy Lock and Load motel, and Albie is a suspect. Things get really involved between all of the different Elvii, the real E, Sam the ghost, Snow White the grunge rocker hooker, and all of the usual Eastern Shore characters. It is all alot of fun however. I really didn't even try to figure out who the murderer was, I wasn't surprised, but the characters were so much fun, I didn't really care.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down - what a treat!
Review: I found this the best yet in Chappell's mystery series, which continues the madcap tradition of Cary Grant in Topper. In this book, we learn more about Hollis' feelings for Sam, and his for her, but this wistful aside does not detract from the hilarity of the Elvis impersonators and life on the Eastern Shore. You really can't afford to skip over one bit of narrative in Chappell's work, because you're sure to miss a laugh if you do.