Bury Me When I'm Dead: The Charlie Mack Motown Mystery Series, Book 1

Charlie Mack Motown Mystery #1

by Cheryl A. Head

Charlene “Charlie” Mack runs one of the most respected private investigation firms in Detroit—not bad for a smart and savvy black woman struggling with her sexual orientation and a mother with early-onset Alzheimer’s. When Charlie and her crack team of investigators head to Birmingham, Alabama in search of a missing person, what should be a routine investigation turns into a complex chase for answers. They come across a double murder, shady locals, and a southern patriarch with dark secrets dating back forty years. And when Charlie is attacked on a quiet neighborhood street, the case suddenly becomes personal and potentially deadly. It seems like everyone has a secret to hide, including Charlie.

Note: Bury Me When I'm Dead was previously self-published as Trouble in Birmingham.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, LGBT, Queer, Crime, Thriller

Audible Audio

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

She/Her. Introvert, solver of puzzles, righter of fictional wrongs. I write the Anthony Award nominated Charlie Mack Motown Mystery series-two-time, Lambda Literary Award Finalist, Goldie Winner. Jeopardy Clue in February 2025,
Time's Undoing, published by Dutton Books and based on a true story, is a finalist for the L.A. Book Prize, Anthony, Agatha, and Strand Critics Award.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author and it is the beginning of the 'Charlie Mack Motown Mystery' series. I'm a big fan of lesbian mystery book series, no matter if there are always new couples introduced in each book, or if they are always the same leads. I love to get to know the characters more deeply with each new installment.

Charlene "Charlie" Mack is the head of a Private Investigation firm in Detroit, together with Don and Gil, two other PI's, and Judy who runs their office. There is a lot going on in Charlie's life as she's recently divorced, and her mother is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. And then there is Mandy, the cop she's dating. Charlie is afraid of her feelings, she isn't sure she wants a deeper relationship that shortly after her divorce. When an old friend hires them to find a missing woman, they have no idea in what kind of wasp's nest they're poking into.

The author created a complex exciting plot, not only there are secrets to be uncovered, but the whole case resembles mafia-type crime and deadly danger lurks. Soon it's pretty clear who the backers and henchmen are, but the why and how takes time to be unveiled.

I liked the dynamics and the diversity of the team, Charlie is a black woman, Gil is of Mexican origin and Don is white. It felt like the readers were sitting with the team trying to solve the riddles. The pace and flow were good. I did need some time to get into the story, to get to know the characters but as the story progressed, I felt more empathy with the team.

For me, the most emotionally moving part is the side story of Charlie and her mother Ernestine. She was an independent and strong woman, a teacher, who is slowly falling apart with Alzheimer's, which is hard for any daughter to witness. It was heartwarming to feel the love Charlie has for her mother.

As this is a lesbian mystery book series, the romance takes a backseat but I hope we will see more of Charlie and Mandy in the next installments as I'm a sucker for romance in almost every book, no matter what genre. We've only got a glimpse into their developing relationship and Mandy seems an intriguing woman.

I think the first part of a series is probably the most difficult one to write because the whole foundation has to be laid on which the other parts can be built. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
My rating 3.75 stars

[Monica **can't read fast enough** · Rating 4 out of 5]

In BURY ME WHEN I'M DEAD we get a who dunnit story that also has characters with depth and potential for an interesting and hopefully long running series. The main character Charlene (Charlie) Mack is a wonderfully realistic, relatable, and satisfying character with a lot on her plate. Not only is Charlie the head of her own private investigation company, but is recently divorced with an ex that she hasn't fully disentangled from, she has a new lover that she is afraid to take the plunge with, and a mother whom she loves and admires but who is now facing the early stages of Alzheimer's. If that isn't enough, Charlie has also taken on a case from her former boss whose company has been taken advantage of and he feels it both professionally and personally. Head does a great job showing Charlie at a crossroads in her life. Charlie is 33 so she is old enough to have had a some life experience but still figuring out and mustering the courage to be true to who she is and what she wants to be emotionally, sexually, and even professionally moving forward.

Head portrays the relationship between Charlie and her mother in a way that really moved me. I am impressed with the way Charlie handles her struggle to find the balance of respecting the need for Ernestine to not be treated as a child and keep as much independence as she can while acknowledging the fact that her mother is no longer the same woman that she was before the onset of Alzheimer's.

In the story there was one opinion that a character had about a possible relationship that I was "no ma'am-ing" no matter the forced precaution, but I can't say what it was because it's a big spoiler. I can kind of understand where she was coming from, but still-no! (If you've read this let me know and we can discuss privately where no one will get spoiled!)

In short, BURY ME WHEN I'M DEAD is an interesting multilayered mystery featuring family secrets, generational tensions, good old fashioned greed, with strong main and secondary characters that I would like to know more about. I'm adding this one to my favorites list and will be ordering the next books in the series. I look forward to following Charlie's journey and adventures over the next books.

***I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.***

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[Carolyn McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast-paced book, and while it was confusing a couple of times keeping characters straight (pardon my pun), I did enjoy it. I especially enjoyed the diversity of characters. There were a lot of secrets, and I'm pleased I figured a couple of them out before the end of the book. Charlie's mother was a bit of a pleasant surprise, and a great addition to the story.

I'm glad I finally read this. On to the next one!

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bury Me When I’m Dead is book one of a new series (for me) that centers around private-eye Charlene “Charlie” Mack and her team. It’s a typical first book that needs to introduce the cast and has to find its feet and all. I liked it and I want to spend more time with these people. I also like to see how Charlie and Mandy’s relationship will evolve. It’s a crime/mystery, so romance takes a backseat but there was enough to make me sit up and take notice. For now, Charlie is still trying to figure it out.

Cheryl A. Head is off to a great start!

f/f but also some m/f as Charlie is getting to grips with her new-found queerness

Themes: Detroit 2005, Birmingham Alabama, police procedural , tight-knit team, racial diversity, mom with Alzheimers, missing person.

4 Stars

[Anna Avian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good old-fashioned whodunnit story with well-developed characters. It started off with a good pace but got a bit slow towards the end. I didn’t particularly like the representation of bisexuality but I’m curious to find out how Charlie deals with her fear and internalized homophobia for the rest of the series.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is the kind of story that I love to get caught up in! I went along for the ride of my life as I explored Detroit and Birmingham with Charlie Mack and her partner in arms, Don. The author brought Charlie to life for me and I could easily relate to the struggles she faced while she tried to solve the most perplexing case of her career. This is the first book that I've read from this superb author and I can definitely say it won't be my last!

[Jamie Canaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only do you get a PI but it’s an agency so you get a whole team! Charlie Mack is a PI with an agency she started with fellow PIs Don and Gil–who she previously worked with at INS/homeland security–and their office manager, Judy. They’re four completely different personalities who annoy each other like siblings–Judy always quoting musicals to Don’s annoyance–but at the end of the day are a great team. Which they need to be to stay alive in what starts as a simple case and gets really dangerous and complicated quick.

Mack’s father’s friend, once her mentor, needs her help: as the owner of Reliable Restaurant Supply he’s discovered that an account executive was stealing and disappeared with over a hundred grand. Mack and her team are to find her, which leads the team to travel from Detroit, Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama. Only the case has a lot of layers, people, moving parts, and secrets–oh and that danger I mentioned. So it quickly becomes clear that it’s a far-from-easy case, and they’ll need to make more than one trip to Birmingham.

And while trying to focus on the case, Mack is also trying to spend as much time as she can with her mother who is living in a care facility with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s, and Mack has started dating a cop but is spending more time hiding from her feelings and not committing.

If you like watching cases as they unfold step by step, while trying to put the puzzle pieces together yourself, and procedural shows that involve teams of investigators, here’s your next great read. It’s everything you want in a great PI novel. And I immediately bought the second in the series upon finishing.

(TW parent early stage Alzheimer’s/ ableism/ forced vasectomy on teen)

--from Book Riot's Unusual Suspects newsletter: https://link.bookriot.com/view/56a820...

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is there anything better than discovering a great new-to-me series that is already several books long? This book introduces us to former ICE agent Charlie Mack, who owns a private detective firm in Detroit. Her case here involves corporate embezzling, but ends up being a far more complicated tale of family secrets that takes her to Birmingham on an investigation that grows more and more dangerous. FYI it's set in 2005 even though The book was published in 2016--trying to figure out exactly what year we were supposed to be in distracted me a bit until it was confirmed. The mystery here was interesting, but not riveting--what really drew me to this book was Charlie, as well as the rest of her colleagues, Don, Gil, and Judy. Charlie is recently divorced and exploring a relationship with a woman for the first time, and also coping with her mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my favorite kind of mystery with characters I could believe in and a main character I could relate to easily. Charlene "Charlie" Mack is an African American PI which is not often found. Charlie's struggles felt very familiar to me, especially dealing with her mother's early on-set Alzheimer's. Charlie's struggles with her sexuality and her fear of falling in love and allowing herself to be love are issues that readers can identify in themselves. The mystery has enough twists and turns that keep the reader guessing and it doesn't read like a" heard that one before". I read this one in a day because I couldn't wait to see how it all came together.

Ms. Head delivers everything you want in a good mystery and I can't wait until the next Charlie Mack mystery.

[Kellye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, action packed first book in a PI series about a bisexual black woman investigator and her partners. LIke all good PI novels, you get a great sense of the character, the locations and the time period (in this case it's the aughts even though it was written in 2016.) Definitely can't wait to devour more in the series.

[Eric Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not an avid reader of mysteries -- while I appreciate the talent it takes to pull off a good "whodunnit," I typically find myself drawn to interesting characters instead. The thing is, a book can have both. "Bury Me When I'm Dead" isn't a mystery in the traditional sense, anyway. It follows a team of private investigators who begin a routine missing persons case and only find out later they've stumbled into the middle of something much bigger. There is a murder that's an important part of the plot, but by the time we've reached the climax, there's little doubt who the perpetrator is. So ... no big cheesy SURPRISE! ending, but rather a case unfolding, getting deeper and more layered, with truths slowly coming to light as we move along (probably the way it happens more often in life) with the big question being: will the bad guys get away with it, or will they be brought to justice. And in the center of it all is Charlie Mack - a female, bisexual, recently divorced, Black PI with a new girlfriend and a mom who's just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. There's a lot going on with Charlie, but she's easy to get to know, gloriously imperfect, and truly heroic despite being, at times, all too human. She's compelling enough that I want more - which is good, because there are six Charlie Mack mysteries currently in print, and I would guess that I'll be seeing her again.

[Mary Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've not been a reader of mystery books until recently, when I began to pick up cold case mysteries to do research for a novel I'm working on, and now I'm kind of hooked on the good ones, like Cheryl Head's novel about the search for a missing Black woman bankrolled by the man she embezzled from who wants to know why the fine upstanding girl he hired years ago turned into a criminal. He turns to Charlene "Charlie" Mack, a respected Black PI in Detroit whose team of two men have police backgrounds much like hers. The trail leads them to Birmingham and a family with dark secrets dating back forty years. Add in locals who try to block the investigation, a very sympathetic shopkeeper who's not what he seems, a Detroit connection who tries to kill Charlie, and a double murder, and this is a book that's hard to put down. Running in the background is Charlie's own struggle with her sexuality as she courts Mandy, a local Detroit cop, even as she still sees her ex-husband on occasion, and the problems inherent in overseeing the care of a mother with Alzheimer's, and you have a very complex character with feet of clay who you find yourself rooting for at every turn.

[Carol Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first novel of teh Charlie Mack series is finally available in paperback again! I really enjoy this series about an African American woman private eye who's the leading partner in a multiracial Detroit firm. In this book, Charlie is beginning to get involved with another woman and approaches that warily. Trailing a crime leads her to Birmingham, Alabama, a far cry from Detroit.

Head's characters are well drawn and fast paced. The character of Charlie's mother, Ernestine, who is developing dementia but is still highly intelligent, adds depth to the series.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, fast-paced mystery. Loved these characters.

[Shé M]

DNF once I figured out the ending

[EB · Rating 3 out of 5]

@ 3h18 (35%) - I came to this series via a list on "Electric Lit," I think. How can I have already forgotten - it was just LAST NIGHT that I was looking for something new to listen to. (Today is 6/1.) I enjoy the Adam Dalgliesh books a great deal but need a break from looking at the world from the POV of a straight white dude. So I went hunting for queer (sapphic) murder mysteries. So far so good. This one isn't anything remarkable or impressive but it's good enough to keep listening. My primary complaint is that the writer provides too many unnecessary details; e.g., narrating actions and movements that don't add anything to the story. That's a small complaint, tho. And seems pretty common for books in this genre. Otherwise - the characters are developed well enough and are likeable / relatable, and the plot is holding my attn. I don't especially care how the mystery will be solved but I'm enjoying the process of collecting clues and putting pieces together. Hopefully it stays listenable until the end🤞And with any luck the subsequent books will also be good!

PS - I *think* it takes place in 2005. August of 2005. Which was a v important / pivotal month in *my* life, so it's weird to think abt all these events happening at the same time (obv it's fiction, but - still). Also, it's funny - how they refer to things like "cellular telephone" or "your mobile." And they have a weird (for 2025, not for the early aughts) way of describing a car GPS system. I forget that those technologies weren't common yet in 2005. (Altho - the pub date is 2016 - I wonder how much of this book she wrote back in the early aughts and then didn't have time to really WORK on it until she retired to be a full-time writer? Or if she *intentionally* set this book back in the early aughts when she sat down to write it closer to 2016?)

Another remark, while I'm here - the one sex scene we've had (w2w) so far was TERRIBLE. Nope. No good. Don't need anything like that again. Good thing that's not what I'm reading it for. Or I'd be SUUUUUPER disappointed 😢 (Also it seems like the main character is bi, not lesbian, since she had an affair w/ one of the partners in the firm? Eh - wevs.)

UPDATE at END (6/2) - I did NOT stay up listening to the last hour last night even tho I very very much wanted to. So I finished while getting ready for work this AM. Overall assessment: I think I was able to enjoy this as much as I did d/t appro low expectations. By 'low expectations' I mean I was looking for a story to keep me company - not transform or awe or challenge, etc. I wanted reasonably believable characters (incl a queer protagonist) being in the world and doing cool shit.

There were some really beautiful passages - incl a description of a gun-fight b/t our heros and FBI agents on one side vs the bad guys on the other as (I'm paraphrasing) like the summertime flashes of lightning bugs, were it not for the accompanying sounds of guns going off. There was 1 passage I bookmarked (couldn't help myself) that I'll go back to find and transcribe. I really, really liked learning about both Detroit and Birmingham, two cities I've visited (I think?? Detroit for sure) but only briefly and know v little about. Overall the characters were engaging, tho *slightly* cliche/formulaic. Maybe it felt like they were formulaic b/c they weren't as well-developed as I prefer. But - I *more or less* kept them all apart and could figure out who was who as the story went. Without taking notes from the outset. So - yay! That made it fun. There were also some BIG TWISTS just past the middle and again towards the end. Twists I def did NOT see coming. Those were super fun, too.

Another comment abt expectations. This is a fantasy story. The events described within are *not* particularly believable. I went looking to see what the writer's background is - perhaps law enforcement? in which case, mea culpa - but it's in communications and media. For example. I don't think the FBI would partner with a small-time PI firm they have ZERO prior relationship with, *esp* to resolve a case they've been building via undercover surveillance for TWO YEARS. I could certainly be mistaken, tho. There's kind of a... an otherworldly? element to police procedurals... in that the story is kind of "We value truth and justice so highly that we'll pull out all the stops in order to catch the bad guys." Which means doing things *ordinary* citizens can't, like flying all over the place, looking up private deets on suspects, asking strangers questions (who doesn't have SO. MANY. Qs for strangers! But it's *generally* impolite to enquire / pry!), etc. Breaking rules to save lives!! What I mean is. Part of the appeal of these stories is the EXTRA-ordinary-ness we get to participate in. A secret dimension to the *normal* life that's happening all around us. (Well, sort of secret. But more - participating in *normal* life with additional POWER. Whether that's having money, info, fancy tech, prestige/reputation, etc. There's a tremendous POWER element at play here.)

So when *that* fantasy element is already there it's easy to extend the fantasy to "FBI enlists the valuable assistance of PIs from Detroit to thwart and capture super evil dude(s)." Heroism, self-importance thru self-sacrifice, getting by on your wits, etc. - lots of similarities to more *traditional* fantasy stories. But a different setting and a different (I'm guessing?) audience.

OK - enough abt that. A few more bones to pick:

First. I looked up the pub date, expecting 2005 or 2006, and was surprised that it was 2016. Why was I surprised, you ask?? B/c of the cringey and outdated biphobia. I mean, even in 2005 biphobia was so yesterday, but in 2016? What editor let this go to print? I noted 2 passages:
1. A few mins b5 the 5h mark we found out she was married for 2 years and when she filed for divorce her husband wasn't very surprised b/c (1) she's "self-contained" and (2) she's bisexual. OK - I get the "self-contained." She just isn't really built for romantic / domestic / sexual partnership / exclusivity. Some ppl are like that. But getting divorced b/c she's *BISEXUAL*?! That doesn't make any sense.
2. Around 6h20:30 her girlfriend made a biphobic comment (didn't write down the deets) - something, again, abt how it must be difficult for her to commit b/c she's bi. WTF THE 90s CALLED THEY WANT THEIR BIPHOBIA BACK (ahem *Chasing Amy* ahem *Kissing Jessica Stein* which is *actually* 2001 but you get the point).

However. It does seem like 'bisexual' is a new part of herself that she's exploring. I like that she doesn't agonize over this part of her identity - it seems totes normal for her to date a woman. She agonizes over falling in love (eeek, scary!) and PDAs (also, yes, can be uncomfortable) but not that she's experiencing those things WITH A WOMAN. So bonus points there. Not enough to erase the biphobia. But. Credit where credit's due.

Second. One of the 3 partners in the PI firm, Don, has a son on the autism spectrum. Around 5h50 he tells a Catholic priest that his son is a "gift" who is "here to teach him." BULL. SHIT. His son is a human being who is having his own completely independent experience of his life, you ableist M.F. (Perhaps there was some inventiveness since the priest had put him on the hot seat - "How has your Catholic school education helped you over the course of your life?" - but CHRIST there are THOUSANDS of non-ableist things you could reach for. Even actively anti-ableist! E.g., "When my son was a toddler, I was a total jag b/c when we found out he was autistic I didn't want him to be my son / my responsibility anymore. I was an asshole b/c I was, by virtue of my relationship w/ him, sequestered to the 'lower ranks' of society. He generated a hell of a lot of extra work for my wife and I b/c he couldn't just be NORMAL and like the buttwipe that I was I resented him for it. But then! I remembered my Catholic school education and realized that 1) my son deserves the same autonomy and respect to which everyone is entitled 2) our country is in the shitter b/c of the way we marginalize those with differences (something with which I never had to wrestle, obvs, since I'm a gun-toting, white straight cis dude); I've come to VALUE not SNEER AT difference.)

Third, when the main character went semi-public w/ her relationship w/ a woman Don (see immediately above) was kind of creepy abt it and got all up in her business. She elegantly stepped around his homophobia but I wish she'd called him out on it, instead.

In conclusion: def a book worth reading if you're looking for a middle-of-the-road, cozy-ish story abt semi-hardboiled PIs! FWIW it's good enough that I have the 2nd book of the series in my queue 📚👍

Passage I bookmarked: 6h02:30 (64%) This latest revelation washed over him. He was a ship tossed by a vast ocean of secrets in which he was simultaneously mariner and master. [i.e., he keeps secrets and is also finding out ppl *around* him have kept info from him, as well]

[Velvet Lounger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie Mack is a lesbian PI in Detroit, her small team are former officers of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and they make a tight knit group whose members compliment each other. Together they have formed and built a highly respected firm of Private Investigators.

Called to Birmingham, Alabama on the trail of a missing person, Charlie knows she is stepping into her own history, and facing new challenges. What seems like a simple case suddenly becomes deadly, with mafia style patriarchs and dark secrets that date from that cities infamous past. Charlie is right in the middle of a complex web, dealing with the history and attitudes of a different generation, solve a crime, keep out of trouble and all while trying to support her mothers failing mental health.

Ms Head has created a complex character that we are only beginning to know in what we can assume is to become a series of detective novels. Charlie and her mother are multi-demensional and a real treat, feisty, independent, interesting. Ms Head weaves this tale into Ernestine Mack’s personal history, and brings them alive in the telling. The characters at the PI firm are a delightful mix, gruff, charming, intelligent, difficult, real people with contradictions, personal battles and a genuine care for each other. The cast involved in this particular crime range from the slightly baffled victim to an array of variously guilty players, all of whom are drawn with skillful observation, as are the many bit players we meet along the way.

The pace is steady with occasional intense pressure points; we know ‘who-dunnit’, but we don’t quite know who did what to whom, and why, which keeps the interest going. The story ebbs and flows with genuine skill, giving us moments of quiet and calm, offset with intense emotions and rapid action. I particularly enjoyed how Ms Head winds the personal stories into the criminal investigation, making the players more real with their personal struggles.

The writing flows, eloquent and yet fitting to the theme, with that subtle edge of the classic PI tale. I thoroughly enjoyed this introduction to a new PI classic and look forward to finding out more about Ms Mack and her crew.

[OOSA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keep Looking, You Might Just Find What You're Looking For and More

Charlene ‘Charlie’ Mack runs a four-person investigative office. She along with her staff are called upon to find a missing person believed to be stealing inventory from her employer. The story takes you from Detroit to Birmingham. Along the way a lot happens before the group gets to what's really going on.

Cheryl A. Head’s “Trouble in Birmingham” grabbed me from the beginning. The author did a great job of weaving a web. She had me guessing throughout the entire book. Reading about people disappearing, murder, secrets long ago buried and the whole plot had me believing one thing and I was shocked in the end.

The plot was well developed although some of the underlying stories of the different characters probably could've been left out and the novel would have been just as good. I did find a few grammatical errors and missing punctuations, but overall a very well-written story. I look forward to the next installment in what seems to be a great series. Great work, Ms. Head!

Reviewed by: Lisa M.

[Lisa R Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlene Mack, PI.

Charlie Mack owns a PI business with two partners from her ICE days. They get a case involving employee theft from a restaurant supply company, that also involves a murder. The investigation takes them from Detroit to Birmingham chasing a suspect. Plot has twist and turns that culminate in a exciting shoot out that includes the FBI. One plot twist, Charlie finds she is bisexual and in love with a beautiful lady police officer, Mandy. Charlie is having a hard time coming to terms with her sexuality and slips up with her ex husband. As this is the first book in the series, we will hear more of Mandy.

The MCs are developed and the story moves along fast. The secondary characters add interest. If you are a mystery, police procedural fan, you will be happy with this book. Enjoy!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie Mack is a smart, brave, compassionate soul who runs a PI firm in Detroit with two macho-men former co-workers from DHS. She has been tasked with finding a woman who stole thousands from a kindly small businessman, and the search leads her to Birmingham, danger, family secrets and the truth of the theft. Did I mention that Charlie is a Black bi-sexual woman, and the FBI might be involved and her mother is starting the long slippery slope to Alzheimer's? This is a complicated, alphabet-department-filled story with so many characters that I had to struggle to remember who was who and where they fit in. But the pacing is good and it has enough twists and turns that you will want to keep reading.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would really give 3.5 stars if I could. I think it is a promising beginning of a series that I know continues. but it could (in my view) use some editing. It's a bit too long. There's also a device that Head uses that I don't think I like. This is mostly told third person from the point of view of the detectives. But every now and then there's a snippet from someone else's viewpoint---generally one of the bad guys. I am not sure what this is suppose to do but I find that it removed most of the suspense. Indeed, I'm not sure I'd really call it a mystery when you do that. very curious to see if she continues this practice. And I will keep reading the series.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I finished it but skimmed the last several chapters. I thought it was boring and relied too heavily on the FBI in the plot. The characters need more development to make me care about them. The sub plot where Charlie's mother (who has Alzheimer's) goes shopping, gets confused and robbed, then goes missing was a pointless distraction. The part where the FBI wiretaps caused static and clicking on the phone lines was ridiculously stupid. I wanted to like it and the first quarter showed promise but the plot and character development then slowed down, so the rest of it was dull.

[maya strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded to 4. this was a fast paced book turned slow burn, with a few endings tied a little too quickly in my opinion for a book with so many characters, settings, and subplots. but i enjoyed it! it's an unapologetically snarky, street smart, and endearing cast that i'm sure i'll grow more attached to in book 2. very nancy drew, very casual yet formal mystery.

[MaryJo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different sort of mystery/detective story. Appreciated the inclusion of various ethnicities/races. And a look at both Detroit and Birmingham. There sure is a Bad Guy or two in this, and references to more violence, as well as actual scenes of it. The mother/daughter relationship between Ernestine and Charlie is very sweet medicine.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlene Mack has recently opened a detective agency, appropriately named C.A. Mack Investigations. The young African American sleuth has two partners, Gil Acosta and Don Rutkowski, both of whom worked with her in her previous job as agent at the Department of Homeland Security. Another associate, Judy Novak, holds down the office and manages to get the others vital information through phone calls or internet searches.

Introducing these supporting characters is impor¬tant because, unlike almost every other detective story I have ever read, this one involves the presence and activity of each one—not just the titular head of the agency and the series. It is, in fact, more like a TV series (the author had a successful career in TV production) that follows a number of police officers in their daily duties. In a TV series, this is appropriate; in a detective novel, not so much.

The mystery is not complicated. Joyce Springer, a salesperson for a restaurant supply company has disappeared after $100,000 comes up missing. Charlie and her team track Joyce to Birmingham, where they find out that her brother Paul and cousin Andrew have been murdered. Could these murders have anything to do with the embezzlement in Detroit? Well, of course they do, but it’s complicated and all kinds of family secrets are involved—secrets that go back 40 years.

The idea is not a bad one—I enjoyed learning about the various (and nefarious) relationships between the characters. The plot itself, though, is built on straw. Instead of running away, if Joyce had just called her employer—who thought of her as the daughter he never had—and explained the situation, there would have been a completely different case. And if she had done so near the end of the novel, a bunch of bloodshed might have been avoided. And as for the climactic scene at the end where the FBI helps set up an ambush for the criminals—well, don’ get me started; it’s as silly as it is unnecessary. But there’s a lot of shooting and people getting pistol whipped, so I guess that makes up for it.

On a personal level, Charlie is trying to come to terms with her attraction to Mandy Porter, an attractive police officer. Yet when she is depressed, she calls her ex-husband to come over for sex. Earlier, she had an affair with her partner Don, a happily married man. I would have liked to see more internal dialogue where she ponders her sexuality and her attraction to Mandy.

And then there’s that old bugaboo, point of view. The author seems to forget at times that she is writing third person limited point of view from Charlie’s perspective—not omniscient. Or maybe she just didn’t think about it at all. She often ventures into the minds of Charlie’s partners, the criminals, her mother, and even some incidental characters. At least once the pov changes from one paragraph to the next. The chapters devoted to her mother’s wanderings around Detroit are especially cringe-worthy and absolutely unnecessary. Giving us internal insights into the bad guys’ heads is simply easy writing that brings up the page count.

I suspect that this book suffers from the old first novel syndrome. Too, it may have been rewritten to fit into a series. I hope that Charlie is more the focus of subsequent books in the Charlie Mack series and that the author gets a better handle on how she wants the books to proceed.

Noe: I read the ebook version of this book that was available on Amazon in June, 2020.

Another Note: This review is included in my book The Art of the Lesbian Mystery Novel, along with information on over 930 other lesbian mysteries by over 310 authors.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheryl A. Head has launched an engaging mystery series with Bury Me When I'm Dead. It's more than engaging. It's a bet-you-can't-eat-just-one bowl of chips. Protagonist Charlene (Charlie) Mack leads three colleagues at a Detroit-based private investigation firm. Its latest case soon expands beyond a simple missing person probe. That person, Joyce Stringer, is the suspected perpetrator of a billing scam at a restaurant supply company. The intricacy of the scam parallels the intricacy of the plot Head has devised.

Stringer's family has roots in Birmingham where Charlie and one of her colleagues are soon knocking on doors, asking questions and meeting retribution. The story toggles between Alabama and Michigan while introducing Ernestine Mack, Charlie's intelligent and resilient mother who has received an Alzheimer's diagnosis, as well as characters in Charlie's bisexual love life. Keeping track of the characters, especially the villains, was catnip that kept me reading until the wee hours. I do have concerns about Head's use of autism in three characters. The spectrum is broad.

Keeping this a spoiler-free review means keeping it short. Readers who enjoy well wrought locations, authentic dialogue, tempting red herrings and a strong lead character will find this mystery rewarding. It's no cozy, but the physical violence and gunplay are not gratuitous.

I first read Head's writing through Time's Undoing, an enthralling work of historical fiction with roots in the author's family lore. Bury Me When I'm Dead is a good follow-up that leaves me eager to find out what is next in the Charlie Mack Motown Mystery series.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

After having started with the most recent title in the series first, I went back and caught up with Charlie Mack & her team of private investigators in book one. The small Detroit-based P.I. agency is hired to find a missing woman accused of embezzling large sums from her employer. Events get hairy fast after clues leads them to Birmingham, Alabama. Both cities, Detroit and Birmingham, have seen better days; the novel itself is set in 2005, when agencies such as Homeland Security (they team's former employer) were new and 9/11 fresh in everyone's minds. Charlie's personal relationships get bounced around the more embroiled she becomes in her case. Her mother Ernestine, a former educator, is in the early stages of Alzheimer's; the two navigate good days and not so good days. Their relationship is of paramount importance to Charlie. She's also processing her own internalized homophobia in her new relationship with police officer Mandy. Relationships are central to the series and Cheryl A. Head develops complex, satisfying dynamics. Their investigation turns up more than one twist, keeping the story's momentum moving forward. I love how Charlie's blend of strength, intelligence, and compassion, along with her flaws.

I've really enjoyed this series so far, and once I catch up with book 2, I'll have another installment to look forward to in October.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie pondered how easy it was to observe but not really see the people we casually interact with day to day. . . We notice uniforms, name tags, and even faces sometimes. We don't really see the person.

Being a Private Investigator requires seeing what goes unnoticed and looking for patterns and inconsistencies. The PI's in Cheryl Head's Bury Me When I'm Dead and the FBI team they eventually work with show their finesse and their remarkable technical skills in this first of her Charlie Mack Motown Mysteries.

Head creates a believable world and fills it with diverse characters, well-researched locations, and tactics to where I felt that I could know them all. Charlie and the three others who work at their agency are likeable; I look forward to meeting them more in the subsequent novels. Head's writing style is comfortable to read.

On a personal note, I used to work with Cheryl in Detroit. Her intelligence, wit, and humanity all come through here.

A Goodread!

[Joan A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually, I read "Bury Me When I'm Dead" on my Kindle, so I should say "A Real Page Swiper." Cheryl A Head's first of six in a series of Charlie Mack Motown Mysteries is truly engaging. Be prepared to read it all night long until you finish it, if you can afford such a luxury with your time. I really couldn't put my phone and/or my Kindle down with this story. Charlie Mack, the female protagonist, is so soulful and so smart, you can't help but love her. The lesbian aspect of her life makes her even more intriguing. It's just one of the many components that makes her such a great character. All of the story's additional characters are also really well developed and very lovable or despicable, as the case may be. The many plots are riveting and very well thought out. Cheryl A Head's attention to detail and her descriptions are eloquently written with a sense of humor and a dash of honesty that is just excellent. It's truly a great read.

[Coralee Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talent shows from the opening page to the heart pounding climax. Charlie Mack is someone that you would hire. A savvy business owner (PR firm right out of college, then a dojo) she now owns a private investigation agency. Head discusses serious issues sometimes directly such as racism, sometimes
subtly, Charlie's investigative team is multi ethnic while completely speaking from a Detroit point of view. The plot opens with an investigation embezzled close to $100,000 and disappeared. Head can switch dialogue from easy banter to menace without skipping a beat. I was impressed by how quickly her characters came alive to the reader. The puzzle is challenging, the suspense is real. When meals were described with loving attention I was hooked. Six volumes to date, looking forward to the whole series. The novel was a finalist in the Lambda Literary Literary Award. Deservedly so.