Mourning Routine

by S.E. Babin

Restrained Crying: $50
Banshee Wailing: $100
Crying & Rolling on the Ground: $150
Threatening to Jump in the Grave: $250
Uncovering a Murder Mystery: PRICELESS

Kitty Crawford reached for stardom and fell hard. Now, in desperate need of some way to make ends meet, she skulks back to her hometown of Asheville. Unfortunately, the employment offers are slim pickings for a has-been whose sole talent is being able to cry on cue.

That is, until one odd turn leads to another, which leads to the little-known profession of Personal Mourning. Here, the better Kitty can fake it, the more dollars she’ll find stacked up in her bereft bank account. Talk about a role she was born to play!

And townsfolk are just dying to hire her. Her first gig casts her as the bereaved girlfriend of one newly deceased Chase McCormick, someone she would never have dated in life. Still, Kitty will have to act like her life depends on it, because--OMG!--it does.

Can she perform an investigation that could turn out to be murder before she gets her own curtain call? Find out whodunit in this hilarious mystery series filled with fake tears and a very real body count... Order your copy and start reading today!

Mourning Routine is book one in The Funeral Fakers series. Each book stands completely on its own, but you'll have more fun if you read them all together!

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 2, 2018

About the author

S.E. Babin has a passion for writing books with a paranormal twist. Whether it's romance or mystery, she loves taking the norm and turning it into the extraordinary. Her love of reading turned into a curious exploration to see whether or not she could write her own novel.

Beginning with random, terrible poetry and a slightly popular reimagining of Beowulf's Grendel in her high school English class, Sheryl spent way too much time in the library, killing any chance of her becoming a cheerleader or anything even remotely cool. Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SEBabin. She loves to hear from readers!

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Reviews

[John A. Sillasen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, Cozy,Murder Mystery Story

My first read of Babin's so I didn't know what to expect. I had purchased Book 4 in the Funeral Fakers Series because it's by an author I readily read, Carolyn Aspenson Ridder. Little did I realize it was a Book Four in a series so I quickly purchased Books Two and Three before I even realized they weren't by Aspenson Ridder! Of course being Amazon Kindle books, I could have returned them next day when I found this issue. Then I read that each are stand alone stories but better if read in order. Seeing a Preview of Book Two at the conclusion of S. E. Babin's book 1, I read it and decided that I would indeed read the series, maybe even get Book Three. It all depends on how good Book 2 of the Funeral Fakers Series goes. Babin's book was certainly worth reading and I plan to read more of her work now. Sometimes mistakes work in everyone's favor.

[Krystyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoke screen and tears

A great start to a brand new series. Not as funny but having a charm of its own. An out of work actress and a new job that means she can act to her hearts desires but has no-one ginger direction.
She has lost her job and been forced to come back and live with her mom and dad. Now she is on the hunt for a job when she spots an advert for a job. A job as a professional mourner! Her first also has her worried will she be able to pull it off? The assignment has her pretending to be the deceased's girlfriend and means she has to not only attend the funeral but also several family events. Can she pull off the cold hearted man eater personality as the original has refused to attend. The more she finds out the more she questions the death. Then there is the added wrinkle - the man who caused her to loose her job is also here. Can the truth about the man's death be revealed? Will she keep her new job?

[Mari Hinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Who ever came up with this idea is a genius. The concept is hilarious. Characters are wonderfully written. Would like to see what happens with the two main characters.

[Caitlin C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitty went to Hollywood to become a star, but returns home after a huge embarrassing moment shatters her career. She wants to maintain her acting skills, so takes a job as a professional mourner. This means she is hired by a family to attend a funeral and act as a loved one for the deceased. Her first gig is acting as the girlfriend of Chase McCormick. Kitty is really enjoying her new role, when her nemesis, the man who ruined her career shows up in Asheville! She also realizes while playing the role of the girlfriend, that Chase may not have died of a heart condition, as everyone thought....

[Erica Eblin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mourning Routine: A Good Clean Fun Cozy Mystery by S.E. Babin is the first book in The Funeral Fakers series.

I don't typically read cozy mysteries, and I've never read anything written by S.E. Babin. So this book was a first in both areas for me. I was definitely not disappointed. This was such a great book and I really enjoyed the author's style of writing. I WILL most definitely be open to reading more books like this. I absolutely want to finish this series after the first book.

The concept of professional mourners has me split in how I feel. On one hand I am shocked that this would even be a profession. Then on the other, I am wondering what took so long for people to think of this. Most interesting would be that I DID do a Google search on the subject before even starting this book. Imagine my surprise that the concept dates all the way back to 1550 BC with the Egyptians! Not such a new concept really from what I discovered.

I would recommend this book to anyone. As mainly a romance reader I really enjoyed it. I loved that it can be read by any age. No bad language. No in appropriate bedroom scenes. There were plenty of laughs to be had. The who dunning aspect? There were plenty of clues laced throughout the storyline, but you don't get the whole story until towards the end. But it is fairly clear from early on who was probably to blame.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a funny, clean mystery-like story with a really sweet lady as the heroine, then you'll enjoy this book. Even if you aren't normally a mystery reader --- give this one a try. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it! Just like me.

[Mary Lou Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

MOURNING ROUTINE is the first book in the Funeral Fakers series. I believe they’ll each stand on their own, but that is yet to be seen.

I love Kitty Crawford and Chase McCormick, individually and together. I hope they make appearances in some of the other books in the series (even though they are each written by different authors). I want to know more about his mother and her plants!

This story was fun, funny, and unique. It was also a little twisted and couldn’t avoid a bit of gallows humor. It made me laugh and cringe at some of the over-the-top antics of people acting as real people do – especially when facing mortality.

I lived in North Carolina for a few years and I had no problem imagining the accents in every one of these voices. These people exist!

This was an excellent start to the series. I loved this story and I am looking forward to more from this series. Not only is it a new series, but it is also a whole group of new-to-me authors and I’m looking forward to reading from each of them.

Note: While I received this book as a gifted ARC, my opinions are my own and are given freely.



Title: MOURNING ROUTINE
Series: The Funeral Fakers #1
Category /Genre: Cozy Mystery
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Grammar/editing: book received as an unedited ARC / errors excused
Received from: Sweet Promise Press (as an ARC gifted copy)

[Heidi Lynn’s BookReviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I would like to thank S.E. Babin for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

Mourning Routine The Funeral Fakers, Book 1 by S.E. Babin first caught my eye for the amazingly adorable cartoonish cover. Once I saw that I had to read the synopsis of the book. This was my first time reading from this author however came recommended by Melissa Storm. If you have read my reviews before you know I am huge fan of hers. So, If she suggests her she must be good. Needless to say she was correct! I found this book to be cute, funny at times, and very suspenseful like I like in my books. However, you would never guess that this would be a mystery book by looking at the cover. I guess you really cant judge a book by its cover.

It was extremely comical to me that an unemployed Actress would be hired to play the part of a dead guys girlfriend to please their family. It literally was a role of a lifetime and she went above and beyond in this role. This book had twists and turns at every corner. Some you didn’t see coming in fact.

One thing I loved about this book was it was a brand new fresh idea. It was totally out of the box thinking. Nobody has ever thought of this concept before. Some parts will touch your heart, some will make you laugh out loud, some will tear you up inside with hurt, some parts will make you smile, and some will have you on the edge of your seat.

[Jasmyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of shared worlds and cozy mysteries so when I saw that Sweet Promise Press was releasing the Funeral Fakers series shared world of unusual cozy-style mysteries, I jumped on board. Mourning Routine introduced me to the concept of what a funeral faker is - a person paid to show up at a funeral to mourn for someone they don't know. But this particular job is a little different.

Kitty Crawford finds herself hired to play the part of the deceased's girlfriend - a girlfriend that no one really liked. But as she gets to know the family, she begins to think there's more to this death than it seems. Kitty begins to investigate with the unwelcome (but very handsome) help of the very man that ended her budding acting career.

I loved the playful feeling of Mourning Routine. There was a ton of great banter the characters, and the mystery, while not so mysterious, was fun to watch play out through Kitty's eyes. I had a big question mark after one scene though, and it still bothers me after finishing the book. If you get something poisonous on your hands, how does throwing up help expel it from your system? Did I totally miss something? I feel like I might have, so feel free to jump in and tell me what it was.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting!

My first thought when I started this book was ‘This is gonna be goooood!’ Written in a way that immediately pulled me in and had me turning those pages like a mad woman.

Kitty, a former Hollywood actress, though neither very experienced nor very successful, is back at her parents’ and needs a job. And she finds one: at Exit Stage Left (love that name!) as a personal mourner/funeral faker. Not a popular job, but I liked that it’s so different from your usual bakery or B&B owner (which is also nice, but I liked the different-ness of this). And Kitty’s acting experience comes in really handy! Although you’d expect her to be a better liar, she’s terrible at lying when she’s not in character, lol. And her new job’s kind of fun…until…she finds some things that just don’t add up. Something smells funny…and it ain’t the casserole ‘cause that was delish.

Oh my. This was such fun. I loveloveloveloveloved it! It was exciiiiiting! A good cozy mystery that was different in a good way. Pageturner-y and unputdownable. Can’t wait for more!

[Ken Finlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitty Crawford, her L. A. acting career in tatters, is back home and living with her parents in Asheville, North Carolina.
With her money running out she needs a job and she finds one, only it is not quite what she expected.
She’s now a Professional Mourner, expected to show up at funerals and turn on the tears. Her acting skills should make it a doddle!
But her very first engagement is well outside her comfort zone – she has to play the part of the late Chase McCormick’s girlfriend, the vicious and cheating Candy Harper.
Candy has said she won’t be attending the funeral so Kitty, at the behest of Chase’s mother, has a full-on role to play.
And she plays the part to the hilt, channeling her inner hussy at every opportunity.
But the more she learns about Chase the more she suspects that his death was not an accident!
The plotting is somewhat forced and the author, S. E. Babin, deliberately raises the ante right at the end.
“Mourning Routine” is a six-book series (each written by a different author).
It’s refreshingly different.
3.5 Stars, raised to 4 Stars.

[J Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great start to a new cozy series!

Kitty Crawford's big break in Hollywood didn't quite go as planned. She's back home in Marshall North Carolina unemployed, out of money, and living with her parents. Since her only skills are crying on-demand and acting she's a little limited in the job market. At least working as a professional mourner for Exit Stage Left will give her a chance to keep her acting skills honed. It turns out to be a lot more complicated then it seemed at first glance and her first job could turn out to be her last one.

This book has so many great parts, but I do not want to be a spoiler. Kitty is a great leading lady in this theater of the Absurd. The characters are relatable and likable. There is good humor a little bit of mystery and a hint of a possible future romance. This is a really good start to the series!

[Vivienne Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a witty yet sometimes profound narrative that will keep you turning those pages from start to finish. Kitty Crawford is an unemployed actress, who has more time on her hands than money, leaves Hollywood, and returns to Asheville, North Carolina, to become a professional mourner. Still, things are not what they appear to be. This well-written plot has likable, cagey, and relatable characters, great dialogue, and explanatory colorful settings. There are many twists and turns, pretense, secrets and lies, deceit, and exploitation, all leading to an ending that will leave you speechless. I can relate to this story because as a child, I would hear the elders talk about people who enjoyed attending the funerals of those they did not know. Whether they received payment for doing this is anyone’s guess.

[Ozsaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fast, cute story, with an upbeat feel. I liked the man character, and I was entertained by the role she had to play. It was a lot of fun.

The basic idea, an actress becoming a paid mourner at funerals after a disastrous mistake in Hollywood, was cute and was well handled. The story was surprisingly uplifting in places, in spite of the sadness of a death in a family. Kitty, the main character, was kind and sympathetic. She did exactly what she was asked to do, and actually went above and beyond.

The mystery itself wasn't all that difficult. The love interest was nice, though nothing really happened. I guess that's what "clean" means when used to describe this type of book.

Overall, a light and easy way to spend some time.

[Doug Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

With her acting career faltering, 28-year-old Kitty Crawford returns from southern California to her parents' home in Asheville, North Carolina. She applies for a job at Exit Stage Left, a firm that supplies actors to pretend to be mourners at funerals.

In her first assignment, Kitty is hired by Emma McCormick to play the absent girlfriend of her son Chase, a young man with weight issues and a heart defect who has suddenly died at age 32. In getting into her role, Kitty comes to care about the McCormicks and discovers evidence that Chase may have been murdered. The actress ends up in some very real danger.

This is a fast-moving story with a likeable lead character and an interesting premise.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book in a collection by different authors, all about “Funeral Fakers”. Out of work, or disillusioned actresses being hired to professionally mourn at funerals. Kitty is a down on her luck actress who moved home after being “blacklisted” in LA. After finding a discarded want ad, she applies to “Exit Stage Left”. Being hired to work a funeral as the girlfriend of a recently deceased gentleman, she goes to meet his family and learn to be the woman she is impersonating. Along the way, she begins to suspect foul play. She explores, the mystery unfolds… My only complaint is I want to know what happens to Kitty and Seth!!! :)

[Starla B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't even say how much I loved this book. I'm really interested in the characters, and I feel involved with their lives. I want to know what happens next! I found this book funny and engaging, although it did hit a little too close to home in the beginning. (I also moved back home from California after I had been determined to make it and fell short of that goal.) I can't wait to find out more about the relationship between Kitty/Seth/the Sheriff, and I *REALLY* need to know what happened between Kitty's parents and Ruthie! A great beginning to a new series.

I received this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

[Betty Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Kitty returns home to her parents from California out of a job, out of money, disgraced and blacklisted because of something that that happened on the set where they were filming. She found that jobs were few and far between.

Desperate, she took a job where she was paid o be a mourner at funerals. The first funeral she was hired to mourn at was for a young man that was said to have died because of his bad heart. You have to read the book to find out all that happened while she was a mourner for this family. All that happened was even an attempt on her life.

Its a fun, sometimes a little scary and always interesting read.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mourning Routine is a wonderful, fun start to this series of Funeral Fakers written by different authors. The concept of an agency hiring personal mourners is a unique idea to base mysteries. Kitty's dreams of being an actress are destroyed in LA so she returns home to Asheville, North Carolina and is hired to play the part of Chase McCormick's grieving girlfriend. Something didn't seem right about Chase's death and Kitty finds herself investigating a potential murder. Well written, hysterical, awesome characters- an all around fun, clean read and I can't wait to see where this series goes next. This is a cozy mystery above the rest- a definite must read for mystery lovers!

[Anne Donaldson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I defy readers to read this and not fall in love with Kitty. This is one of the most delightful and rewarding light reads I've had recently. Firstly, the premise of paid mourners really amuses me. And then you have Kitty, newly-hired professional mourner; Ruthie, her boss who is so well drawn; Kitty's family; THAT MAN that cost her her career; and of course the family of the deceased. I will never look at another funeral in the same way again - I want to spot my own Kitty!

There is some suspense and mystery, some romance, much amusement - this is a lovely book and comes heartily recommended.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This actually is the second book in the Funeral Fakers book series; I read the second one first. It is an enjoyable book, easy to read and a strange concept to understand, hiring someone to pretend to be someone else at a funeral. That’s what the main character does since she left Hollywood after a terrible embarrassment and finding it hard to get other acting jobs. The book was good, the characters were okay but it didn’t grab my attention that much. I did like the surprise ending. If you want an easy read, this one will do it for you.

[Julia David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute story. I liked the humor. Kitty is an actress and what does an out of work actress do when she goes home in disgrace? She becomes a personal mourner. That does require some acting talent. She is assigned to play the girlfriend of a man who died. His mother wants him to be remembered a certain way and his girlfriend refused to come to the funeral. She was too busy. When she is researching the man, she finds some things that may indicate that he didn't die of natural causes. How can she prove it? Will she live through it?

[David Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily providing my honest review.
Who knew that there is a call for professional mourners, not I. I'm still not sure that this is a legit job, but loved the book. Out of work and back home, living with her parents, 28 year old Kitty needs a job and acting is what she knows. When the job of professional mourner pops up, she takes it. I loved this book and truly recommend it. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

[Tamra Delasalle Padgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Kitty returns home from felled stardom she must find a job in order to not live with her parents forever. She gets a job as a personal mourner and takes her first assignment as the girlfriend of a guy who lives the next town over.
The first in a new series is funny, mysterious, a little drama and always some love included. Grab your copy today so you will be ready to grab book 2 and keep reading.

[Nancy Silk · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Enjoy Some Laughter In This Cozy Mystery"

In Los Angeles, Kitty Crawford's acting career to reach stardom has failed. She returns home to Ashville but jobs are hard to find. She does have one great talent: she can cry tears on cue! She can also fake mourning since she's been locally hired to play the girlfriend of the deceased man at the funeral. This story is hilarious and full of mystery. A quick read to really boost your spirits! I loved it!

[Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little read. I have actually heard of professional mourners before but never an acting agency that hires them out. Kitty goes the extra distance for the family though when she suspects "her boyfriend" did not die of natural causes. Nice character development. Nice foreshadowing too with the murder weapon. Couple possible future story lines were introduced as well. Looking forward to Funeral Fakers #2 to see what trouble Kitty can get into next.

[KathiTheBookNerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say, when I started reading this book (the fourth one in this series for me) I almost put it away again. Like the other three books it started with a wannabe actress who couldn't make it in the big city and moved back home to live with her parents.

But then the book took more or less a whole different turn and I was very pleasantly surprised. I would've loved to read more about Seth and the sheriff, to me the book ended unfinished. It was a good read though!

[Amber Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story.... I loved Kitty. This was a great first story in what I am hoping is a very long running series. This is an enjoyable cozy mystery. The intrigue is there and keeps you guessing... and rooting for Kitty as she attempts to unravel the central mystery. Can't wait to read the next few books.

[Dena Tyndall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC for an honest review.
I liked this story and lok forward to more like it. It was a great mix of mystery and humor. Kitty did a great job showing her acting skills playing her role of Candy. I was really glad Seth didn't end up truly being a jerk! I look forward to reading more in this series.

[Melissa Castor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intriguing concept for a book, beautiful city, fun characters! Who knew there was such a thing as a professional mourner? In this book, an out of work actress moves back home and gets a job being a professional mourner. She plays the girlfriend of the deceased and ends up discovering he was murdered. I will definitely be reading the rest of this entertaining series!