Funeral homes are supposed to be quiet…Jennifer Spencer inherits her uncle’s funeral home. Her move to the Niagara Region into the apartment above the Home went well, but in the first week. someone breaks into the funeral home. Then, Jennifer finds cash in a casket, a lot of cash. Certain it has something to do with the break-in, she’s unable to convince the police and winds up on their list of … on their list of suspects. But Jennifer has families to serve and funerals to arrange; that is her number-one priority. Someone sinister and dangerous wants the cash back; that’s their number-one priority and Jennifer Spencer, funeral director, is in the way.
Author’s note: The main story continues in Book 2 – Winter’s Mourning. The series is best read in order.
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Casket Cache by Janice J. Richardson is the first book in the “Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery” series and was published in 2016. The author is new to me, but I’d seen a few of her book reviews and social media posts previously and wanted to read one of her novels. I was happily entertained and will continue reading the series in the future.
Jennifer Spencer (~25ish) inherited an uncle’s funeral home several months ago. She’s quickly adapting to life in a different but familiar town, learning how to run her own business. In between the time her uncle passed on and she took over, a temporary director / mortician ran the show. Jennifer has an easy transition with him, hires a great new helper she can mentor, and loves being guided by her uncles’ former assistant / manager who wants her to succeed. Then some weird things transpire… Jennifer learns what really happened in her uncle’s wonderful funeral home during those last few months. Was the temporary director responsible or just an unknowing fool who was too focused on his job?
What a fantastic story! I loved learning all about the mortuary business and seeing the protagonist’s empathetic heart when dealing with a man who lost his son, a couple who had a stillborn child, and family grieving for their loved one. While this cozy veered from the traditional approach in terms of “find body, solve crime,” it’s fully set the stage for great things to come. I liked how Jennifer didn’t actually investigate anything but reacted to situations she found herself put in from a business perspective. Using friends and new colleagues, she realized something was amiss and provided all the details to the police. In the end, we solve one crime but had some open questions on the other: a mini-cliffhanger. I loved that aspect of the story.
Richardson’s writing style and tone make this an easy book to read. I like the main character, and her supporting cast seems to be well-rounded and have a lot of potential. The Niagara setting makes for a wonderful backdrop, and the possibilities in a funeral home are kinda cool. I’m glad I found this one and look forward to reading more later this year.
When Jennifer Spencer’s beloved uncle, Bill, passes away, he bequeaths his funeral home business to her and her twin sister, Anne. Anne is a journalist, but Jennifer had taken after her uncle and earned her mortuary license and takes over the family business with Anne as a silent partner. The business is successful and steady, and soon after Jennifer takes over and moves into the apartment above, the funeral home is burglarized. When the police investigate, they find no one there, and nothing is missing. However, while the police are watching, Jennifer discovers a large amount of cash hidden in one of the caskets and suddenly finds herself under suspicion of some unknown criminal activity. While someone continues to get inside the funeral home, Jennifer juggles business and tries to discover where the money came from and who is breaking in to look for it.
“Casket Cache” is the first book in the “Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery” series by Janice J. Richardson. Richardson, a veteran funeral director herself, gives us a fascinating look behind the scenes of the funeral industry as well as an engaging mystery to boot. I enjoyed the various characters, and Jennifer is especially personable and caring. In fact, the entire staff Jennifer inherits or recruits seem like very nice people, people you could really depend on during your time of need. The setting in the Niagara region of Canada is great, and I liked hearing about the area. With the undoubted opportunities for stories arising from the funeral business and the characters all beginning to settle in at Spencer’s, I look forward to many more books in the series.
I recommend “CASKET CACHE” to cozy mystery readers and readers that might like a peek inside the funeral business.
‘Casket Cache’ is the first of the Specer Funeral Home Niagara cozy mystery series. While I enjoy a good mystery, this book particularly appealed to me because the Niagara area of Ontario is quite familiar to me and, as stated by the author, “one never gets tired of the falls”.
This is a well developed mystery, with a few surprising twists and turns to keep the reader guessing along the way. The main character is very likeable, as are the rest of the main cast. Setting mystery stories in a funeral home is very clever as the author obviously knows her material, but also because it’s quite unique in the cozy mystery genre amongst the many that are set in restaurants, hotels, and various small town establishments.
I really enjoyed reading ‘Casket Cache’ and will gladly read more books by this author.
There were parts of this novel that were good. The characters were good. I just got bored because it moved too slowly. I almost stopped reading half way through, but decided I wanted to know what happened in the end so skimmed past the plodding parts.
cosy-mystery, law-enforcement, friendship, family, murder, Canada, crime
Excellent read! Jennifer inherited the funeral home in Niagara Falls when her uncle died and she had already completed the course work and was working at a corporate home in Toronto. Although she had helped out when her uncle was there, there was still a pretty big learning curve for the business side of things. Then she has to go to a crime scene for a deceased and things start to get crazy.
This book should help increase awareness toward the work and problems that the sensitive persons who work in this field are faced with as there are several non homicide scenarios woven in.
I really enjoyed this story and learning about what happens behind the scenes in funeral homes. Also the characters.