The Ghost of Lilly Pilly Creek: Book 1 - A Lilly Pilly Creek Ghost Mystery

Lilly Pilly Creek Ghost Mystery #1

by Abbie L. Martin

"It has Ghost Whisperer meets Gilmore Girls vibes and had me hooked from the first page!" After the tragic death of her sister Autumn, Jones returns to her small Australian hometown in the Adelaide Hills. However, when Autumn's ghost appears to her, Jones is thrust into a quest to uncover the truth behind her sister's untimely demise.

Using Autumn's ghostly abilities, the sisters uncover shocking revelations that suggest Autumn's death may not have been an accident. With danger looming, Jones and Autumn race against time to catch the killer before they strike again. But as they get closer to the truth, Jones realizes that her own life may also be in danger.

As the sisters team up to solve the mystery, they are joined by their loyal friends, Wren and Atlas. Together, they work to revive The Memory Bank, the family's beloved stationery, local history, and bookshop, and solve Autumn's murder. Jones also finds herself drawn to Hugo, the owner of the neighbouring wine bar, who is more than happy to offer his assistance.

In this thrilling cozy mystery, follow Jones, Autumn and their friends as they navigate small-town secrets, unearthing clues and trying to stay one step ahead of a murderer. Will they solve the case in time, or will Jones be the next victim?

Sit down with a cuppa and enjoy this wonderful cozy mystery by one of Australia's newest authors.

"To say I’m obsessed with this new small town paranormal cozy mystery series is an understatement!"

"Set in a cute town that you just want to go and visit and meet all of the delightful characters."

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Cozy, Paranormal, Ghosts, Mystery, Murder Mystery, Fantasy

220 pages, Paperback

Published March 15, 2023

About the author

Abbie L. Martin is a South Australian author who lives with her family in a small town very similar to Lilly Pilly Creek. She has been dreaming of writing and publishing since she was a child, and when she reached her forties, finally decided to take the leap. Whilst also running a business with her husband, and juggling life with three children, Abbie loves nothing better than peace and quiet with a good book and a glass of wine, preferably an Adelaide Hills sparkling.

Reviews

[Tara Kat (MagnoliaPigeonBookBlurbs)]

This was fantastic!!!
I saw a quick blurb about “The Ghost of Lilly Pilly Creek” on Instagram and ran to snag a copy for my kindle! It has Ghost Whisperer meets Gilmore Girls vibes and had me hooked from the first page!
The story follows Jones as she returns home after her sister passed away. While trying to settle her sister’s affairs and decide what to do with the family business, she is confronted by none other than her sister Autumn in ghost form! Together the sisters embark on a journey to heal, save their family legacy and find out exactly what lead to Autumn’s untimely death.
To say I’m obsessed with this new small town paranormal cozy mystery series is an understatement! Super unique plot, great characters and a mystery that pulled at my heartstrings & kept me guessing - 10/10 recommend! I cannot wait to see what The Eldershaw Sisters Detective Agency are up to in book 2!

[Laura and Literature]

This one is advertised as a “cozy mystery” and it is exactly that with a lot of potential!

It was a quick read and left you wondering what’s happening the whole way.

With a bit of editing, this one could be really great!
2.5⭐️

[Hannah]

2.5 rounded up

[Austin Hall]

Very cozy little mystery. I quite enjoyed the character interactions.

It felt like a Hallmark Mystery Movie which I have a VERY guilty pleasure for.

[Anne]

A totally wonderful cosy mystery. Hooks the reader from the first page. Written by an Australia author, and set in a small Australian town, it is the first book in a series, and I'm very much looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Love the characters, and the setting.
So worth reading! And I will be re reading it.

[Christine Fancher]

This cozy mystery based in Australia, written by an Australian Indie Author had me feeling lots of good feelings! I loved the different words used since it was based in Australia! I looked up several things including wetwurst and punnet!
When Jones returns to her small town home after her sister's death, she is unsure how to handle life and her family business.
She is surprised by her sister's ghost 👻 waiting for her their family store, the Memory Bank.
When rumors are mentioned that maybe her sister's death wasn't an accident, they work to investigate it together.
When I saw this book blurb on Abbie's TikTok saying it had Ghost Whisperer and Gilmore Girls vibes, I HAD to check it out! I love both of those show and definitely could see the correlation.
This story had me wondering the entire time, not giving up the mystery til the last moment! The sister connection, a little crushing, mystery, loss of loved ones, and the stress of the future gave me all I could ask for! I really enjoyed this and highly recommend it.
There are some editing things that could be fixed, but it did not take from the story for me.

[Alisha E]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Ghost of Lily Pilly Creek by Abby Martin was such an adorable, enjoyable read. It was a quick read, but I was completely engaged from beginning to end. There is just enough mystery throughout the story to keep you wondering what exactly is going on, or even whether there is a true mystery to be solved at all. I had my suspicions about what might be happening, but there were still enough unanswered questions to make me wonder if I had it figured out correctly.

What I especially enjoyed was how easy and pleasant this book was to read. The writing doesn’t try to be overly deep or complicated. Instead, it lets you settle into the story and simply enjoy it. It honestly gave me Hallmark movie vibes, with a little mystery mixed in, and I mean that in the best possible way.

This is the first book in the Lily Pilly Creek Ghost Mystery series, and I’m so glad because I would absolutely spend more time in this world. Such a charming, cozy little book, and I’m already looking forward to reading the next one!

[Susan Reads Cozies]

I had to read this book as soon as I read it was for fans of Gilmore Girls. I was instantly drawn to the story because the town of Lilly Pilly Creek reminds me of Stars Hollow.

Jones returns home after her sister, Autumn, passes away. She has to decide if she will sell her family home and business or continue with her journalism career. The decision is put on hold when Autumn’s ghost appears to her. The two sisters team up to find out if Autumn’s death was in fact an accident or not.

I love the family business, The Memory Bank. It’s an interesting idea and very fitting for a small town. I love the characters and charm of the town. Its a cozy mystery with a sisterly bond. I love that Jones and Autumn get to investigate a murder and work on their relationship. I hope there’s a book two in the future.

[Misha]

Cozy mystery is correct. This is set in a delightful little town in Australia and features a place I wish existed in real life so I could go visit it: the Memory Bank, which is a former bank building turned into a book store/stationery shop/personal memory vaults. It sounds like a fantastic setting to spend time.

Jones and August are cozy characters, rediscovering their sisterly bond by investigating Autumn's death (murder?) together while Jones gets reacquainted with the town of her childhood and the Memory Bank and works out whether she has a future in this place or working as a journalist for a large media company.

The mystery is low stakes, the characters have a lot of personality as you'd expect in a small town setting, and Jones and August have a charming dynamic as they investigate the central mystery. Just delightful!

[Abbie]

I absolutely adored this little cosy mystery, so much that I read it in one sitting! Set in a small Australian town, I loved the Gilmore girls vibes and references and the little australianisms scattered throughout!

I was hooked right from the start and was kept guessing through the twists and turns all the way up to a thrilling ending! I loved Jones and her relationship with her sister, I loved the cosy book shop vibe of The Memory Bank and I loved the way the town had Jones’ back and in the end came to bat for her, especially Hugo!

I’m thankful to tiktok and my for you page for introducing me to this, and am already looking forward to the second book!

[Di]

A cute cozy mystery, probably a 3.5 rounded up. Set in a small town, I agree it gives off Gilmore Girls feels (the town that is) and I do think if the series continues, and we get to meet and love more of the townsfolk it will get better and better. This follows 2 sisters, one has returned to the family town to bury her sister, but going into the family business finds her sister is now a resident as a ghost. It’s a cute concept, the relationship between the sisters is well written. I can see the continued story of the two solving mysteries in the town.

It’s a quick read and one I will continue to follow. If you looking for something cute and quick, give it a go. Happy Reading 🩷📚🩷

[Sienna]

This has good intentions, and could have been wonderful but really needed editing.

[Emma Blencowe]

I stumbled across this author on my TikTok FYP. An Australian author who had created, as she describes as a "Gilmore Girls meets Ghost Whisper".

Charming little cosy mystery that really hit the spot. I loved the sisters and the small town vibes. A wonderful debut novel, and a series that I am really looking forward to continuing.

I'll also add, can someone make The Memory Bank a reality? What an awesome store.

[Adrianne]

cozy mystery indeed! to be honest it was pretty predictable but I did enjoy reading it. Quick and easy, I love the fictitious Lilly Pilly Creek, makes me want to move to a small town😅

[Tiffany Arney]

Excellent debut novel! Cozy Australian mystery, with characters that you just want to learn more about! Looking forward to the next one!!

[Natalie Laura]

I loved this book so much. It was sweet and heartwarming right from the beginning. The characters were gorgeous and real, with such honest raw points to them. I look forward to the second book!

[Kay]

good cozy

This is a good cozy to pick up! It’s the debut novel for this author. It’s got good pacing and plot, but keeps the cozy feel.

[Tasha]

A very light read. Perfect for a holiday.

[Sasan]

The book had very good ideas, but the execution was a bit lacking for me.

For a book with a subject matter like this one, the tone was a bit too upbeat throughout. It could be because the concept of the ghost was mentioned very early, but I still hoped for a bit more grief.

That aside, Jones is supposedly a journalist and from what I know of them, being curious and asking too many questions is a staple, but not with Jones. She takes things at face value, easily goes with the flow and doesn’t really bother questioning anything like the freakin results of her sister’s autopsy until it becomes a point of discussion.

This aspect of weird characterisation seems to be an issue with at least two characters here. Because other than Jones, there is another character who is supposedly the best real estate agent in town, but actually behaves like a property developer instead and supposedly lacks communication skills, which in turn, just feels like a contradiction. Like how?

Another issue with the book is Autumn’s situation, and it’s where the author seemingly forgot the added restriction in chapter 1 of the limits of where they can go.

Because the rest of the book doesn’t ease into that at all with trials and errors, it’s seemingly completely forgotten and then Jones once again, just takes it at face value to move the plot.

Haven’t mentioned anything about said plot yet, because while it was there all the time, it was so so so so so easy to guess from the first conversation that it became irrelevant for me to try.

[Ken Finlay]

Just before the halfway point in “The Ghost of Lilly Pilly Creek” the following sentence appears:-
“The pair stared at each other in silence, absorbing the fact that it was appearing more and more likely that Autumn was murdered, and they had no idea why or by whom.”
Which is more than slightly strange as, up until that point, outside of pure speculation and gossip there was absolutely no indication that Autumn had been murdered.
It's set in Lilly Pilly Creek, a small town in Australia's Adelaide Hills. Jousnalist Jones Eldershaw has returned to her home place after the death of her sister.
Autumn may be dead but she's come back as a ghost in the family business The Memory Bank.
Her memories of the days before her death are missing and her long term memory seems patchy.
Jones becomes increasingly convinced that Autumn was murdered but there is no information given to the reader which would lead to a similar conclusion.
The police are close-lipped and unwilling to share any information, though Autumn does manage to cull some information surreptitious information along the way.
A solution arrives out of the blue and has very little to do with what has happened during the novel.
As a mystery novel it is no great shakes but it is a nice and gentle read all the same.
3 Stars.

[Karen Bowness]

Small-town secrets, sisterly bonds & a ghostly twist? Say less.

I recently picked up The Ghost of Lilly Pilly Creek and honestly… this was such a fun little Aussie cozy mystery moment.

Set in a charming Adelaide Hills town, the story follows Jones, who returns home after her sister Autumn’s sudden death, only to discover Autumn is very much still around… just in ghost form. Together, they reopen their quirky family bookshop, The Memory Bank, and start digging into what really happened. Was it an accident… or something more sinister?

The story has tight-knit small-town energy, lovable side characters, a hint of romance, and a low-stakes but intriguing mystery threaded throughout. I loved the concept of The Memory Bank (honestly, I’d visit in a heartbeat) and the dynamic between Jones and Autumn added a really sweet, emotional layer beneath the mystery.

It’s definitely a light, easy read - perfect for when you want something cozy, a little quirky, and very Australian. While the pacing and depth might not blow you away, it’s the kind of book you curl up with and just enjoy the ride. Best of all there are three more books in the series.

If you’re into feel-good mysteries with a paranormal edge, this one’s worth adding to your TBR.

[Corinne]

My 6P review: Premise, Plot, People, Place, Prose/Pace, Praise

Jones returns to her home town of Lilly Pilly after the death of her sister, Autumn. She is surprised and yet delighted to find that Autumn’s ghost has appeared and together they try to find the truth behind her death.

This was a unique concept and one I was looking forward to reading. Being a short book, I thought it would have been paced a bit quicker than it was.

I also felt the characters were very one dimensional. I cannot describe any one of them other than maybe some of the quirky tshirts that Jones wore. There wasn’t much by the way of investigating either.

I found the setting wonderful but would have liked to have felt I was in the Adelaide Hills a bit more.

The writing style was pleasant but better editing would have helped. It was a quick and easy read, one which flowed well. I’m surprised it is the first in the series. I felt it should have been a bit longer if that’s what it would have taken to flesh out the characters. A stand-alone would have been better perhaps.

I loved the name they were giving themselves: Eldershaw Sisters Detective Agency

Not necessarily a bad debut novel.

[L.M.B]

3.5 Stars rounded up!

I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would. The writing is simple, the storyline was intriguing and I really liked the relationship between the two sisters. I found Jones to be rather emotional, often found crying in majority of the scenes. But she was grieving the loss of her sister who died two months prior to the storyline, so it made complete sense as to why she was upset. I also really liked Autumn. Her humor was funny and I really liked how despite being dead, Autumn choses to support her sister as Jones continues to investigate Autumn's murder.

I also really like how supportive the community is when it came to the Memory Bank, I found those scenes so cute when I read them.

There is a bit of romance in this, which I found cute. When Jones started to gain feelings for Hugo it didn't appear out of place, nor did it feel forced. I also really liked Hugo so perhaps that's why I didn't mind the romance so much. Atlas is also one of my favourite characters, just have to point that out.

Overall, I really liked this story! I'm definitely going to have to read the second book at some point.

[Christie Avery]

THE GHOST OF LILLY PILLY CREEK by @abbielmartinauthor

🍁Cozy Mystery. 🍁Ghost whisperer meets Gilmore Girls . 🍁Set in Adelaide Australia.

The story starts with Jones return to the town of Lilly Pilly Creek after the sudden and sad death of her sister Autumn. Jones is troubled with her choice to stay and continue her family’s legacy of running The Memory Bank or return to her journalism career it is not until she is reunited with her sister in a very different way that things start to get interesting and a mystery that needs to be solved is put before them.

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁.

I loved this book so much it made me laugh and smile, it kept me intrigued until the very end. It was very easy to read and Abbie’s writing is so beautiful. The characters are amazing and so down to earth and relatable that you feel like as the reader you are a member of the town itself.

I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something mysterious and cozy.

[Jennifer]

2.5 starts rounded up.🤷🏻‍♀️

I had high hopes for this one, but it left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. The plot was intriguing, and the setting had a lot of potential, with its eerie atmosphere and hints of mystery. However, this book was so slow and felt like it just kept repeating the same thing.

Very few moments managed to build suspense, the pacing often dragged, making it difficult to stay engaged. I kept waiting for something big to happen, but it never did.

The characters also felt underdeveloped, which made it harder to connect with. This is a big one for me. Not connecting with characters makes me unmotivated to continue, although I did push through.

The writing wasn't descriptive at all. It lacked the ability for me to 'see' and feel anything at all.

If you're looking for a simple read, this might be it. I was able to skim entire pages quickly and not miss a thing. Maybe this could have been a short story?

[Mrs Moa]

I absolutely adore the cover of this book, it’s sets the mood straight away.

A tale of two sisters forced together to search out the truth as to why one of them is no longer alive.

Unfortunately I didn’t vibe with the characters, I felt some of them lacked development. I could tell you what Jones, the FMC, wears but not what she looks like. And Atlas, where did he come from? Was he working at the store previously?

The name “The Memory Bank” repeated often which just grated me. To refer to their family legacy as maybe “the shop/store/work” more often may have broken it up.

However, the concept of The Memory Bank was genius, I loved this idea.

I’m sorry, I so desperately wanted to love this book but it wasn’t for me.

[Barry Pittman]

Two sisters reconnect to search out the truth. Was one of them murdered?

Debut novel from this Aussie author and the 1st in a series of 4 so far. Offered at a discount for a limited time - perfect opportunity to buy into this series.

This was my first paranormal mystery. After watching ‘Ghosts’ I looked forward to some spectral interactions. I wasn’t disappointed. There are laughs, emotions, a hint of a love interest, and a mystery to solve. Overall this is an enjoyable story.

The Memory Bank is a great concept and the perfect setting for a story. This would be a perfect use for the many old bank buildings around the country.

Well worth a read.

[Charmi Zielinski]

Booktok lead me to this Ghostwhisperer/Gilmore Girls vibes book. And I wasn’t disappointed. Author Abbie created the small town vibes so well in this book. I feel there was more room for story and side character development, that could have added more to the story. Although I still enjoyed the book. Some parts felt slow going, others felt fast paced, but in a “I’m so excited I’m doing to read this so fast so I know what’s happening” way. I have already recommended this book to friends, and I look forward to the upcoming second book.

[Jay-Dee Davis]

Small town Australia plus ghosts? How can I refuse?!

This was really cute, however I do wish it was a tiny bit longer. 20-50 pages more would have allowed the author to build up more suspense and possibly keep the reader guessing (I knew the end pretty much from the beginning), and also flesh out her characters further (most read pretty one-dimensional - the only character with depth is Clancy). I hope that the characters will be fleshed out in further books.

I’ve already bought the next one though so obviously I enjoyed it!

[Bookishmom4ever]

Jones has come home to bury her sister Autumn. Unsure of what to do, she decides to stay in Lilly Pilly Creek for a while and run the family business, The Memory Bank. But it seems her sister's sad accident may not have been an accident at all! With the help of her sister's ghost and her friends, Jones sets out to discover who killed Autumn and why. This quick and straightforward read is perfect for lovers of mystery books. The bond between the two sisters is heartfelt and touching, and it just goes to show that love does not end with death.