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Sharp Investigations #2
Chasing Empty Caskets
Sharp Investigations is Open for Business!
Too bad the citizens of Sweet Pea, OH don’t know what business is. Tasked with haunted homes, lost bananas and mysteriously disappearing dead people, Cynthia “Cyn” Sharp is chasing the empty caskets. With her sidekick, Sgt. Winnifred Pupperson, K-9, and a helpful homeless man, Cyn is going to solve the mystery, get the man and hopefully keep a pair of shoes.
Too bad the citizens of Sweet Pea, OH don’t know what business is. Tasked with haunted homes, lost bananas and mysteriously disappearing dead people, Cynthia “Cyn” Sharp is chasing the empty caskets. With her sidekick, Sgt. Winnifred Pupperson, K-9, and a helpful homeless man, Cyn is going to solve the mystery, get the man and hopefully keep a pair of shoes.
250 pages, ebook
Published September 15, 2021
4 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
E.N. Crane
14 books46 followersPerry Dog Publishing Presents: E. N. Crane... aka the woman who has the doggo named Perry and made it her publishing imprint and then adopted another dog and now there is nothing to name after him...
My first series: The Ampersand Series, is a dark, moody thriller. Coming next is the Cálida Solano series which will be an extension of Bridgettes world.
The ever growing series is Cynthia Sharp. These books are meant to be fun romps that leave you laughing, blushing and waiting for your next visit to Sweet Pea, OH.
Join my email list and get A Bite in Afghanistan eBook free as well as all the Cyn and Winnie Shorts as they are delivered! You'll also receive news about my romance pen name, Noelle Rider.
https://e-n-crane_perrydogpublishing....
My first series: The Ampersand Series, is a dark, moody thriller. Coming next is the Cálida Solano series which will be an extension of Bridgettes world.
The ever growing series is Cynthia Sharp. These books are meant to be fun romps that leave you laughing, blushing and waiting for your next visit to Sweet Pea, OH.
Join my email list and get A Bite in Afghanistan eBook free as well as all the Cyn and Winnie Shorts as they are delivered! You'll also receive news about my romance pen name, Noelle Rider.
https://e-n-crane_perrydogpublishing....
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 23, 2025
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S CHASING EMPTY CASKETS ABOUT?
So, sure, Cyn (and Winnie) has opened a P.I. business, but is there that much for a Private Eye to do in Sweat Pea, OH? As the book opens (and for some time before that) Cyn is taking on cases involving missing pets, potentially haunted homes, and the like.
But then a makeup artist at a local mortuary approaches her with a case. The paperwork at her mortuary indicates that there are more bodies there than she can find. This has been going on for a while and she wants Cyn to look into what's happening to the missing bodies. Rhetta doesn't want to bring it up to her boss herself and risk losing her job, but something isn't right.
Some of this investigation will end up right where the reader assumes—but there's also plenty going on that you don't expect until it's in your face like a proverbial thrown cream pie.
Meanwhile, Cyn tries to have a love life. She goes on one of the worst dates you've read about and stumbles across another crime or two that she needs to look into. But there are some better developments in that area afterward (after you read about the date, you'll realize what a low bar that is)
We meet a potential new recurring-character and spend time with plenty of those we met before.
TAKE THIS WITH WHATEVER-SIZED PORTION OF SALT YOU WISH TO
Even if the rest of the book was a dud*, the first chapter was so funny that I'd have been more than happy that I paid for the book. Particularly the first 8 pages, the 243 that follow were just gravy.
* It was not
Obviously tastes, especially when it comes to humor, differ, so I can't promise that everyone will have this reaction. And there might be a bit of hyperbole expressed above. But, I started this book the evening after that surgery I had a couple of months ago, and laughing at those pages hurt me. They also made me chuckle as I re-read them before I wrote this section.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT CHASING EMPTY CASKETS?
The important thing to remember is that this is a comedy with a mystery thrown in. Suburban Dicks and the Fox and O'Hare books, for example, are Comedic Mysteries/Thrillers. This is a Crimey-Comedy (there's probably a better name for that somewhere).
So, yeah, the mystery parts may not be the clearest at times. Cyn may overlook some pretty obvious clues, and an action scene or two may come across as convoluted. But that's because they're there to serve the comedy. This isn't to say that this isn't effective as a mystery novel, the "may"s in the opening sentence should be emphasized, but it does come into play.
The running jokes in this novel are—mercifully—different than the ones in the first Cyn/Winnie novel. Crane isn't setting us up for a running gag like Stephanie Plum's car problems (seriously, at this point why does anyone let her drive anything other than that '53 Buick? Why does she try to?). I enjoyed the cast-gag in Barking for Business more, but these were good enough, and I applaud Crane for going somewhere new.
There are many other things I'd like to compliment, but I don't know how to do that without ruining plot points or jokes, so I'm not going to try. Basically, if you want silly, madcap, fun with plenty of canine-involved slapstick, look no further than Chasing Empty Caskets and the Sharp Investigations series.
---
WHAT'S CHASING EMPTY CASKETS ABOUT?
So, sure, Cyn (and Winnie) has opened a P.I. business, but is there that much for a Private Eye to do in Sweat Pea, OH? As the book opens (and for some time before that) Cyn is taking on cases involving missing pets, potentially haunted homes, and the like.
But then a makeup artist at a local mortuary approaches her with a case. The paperwork at her mortuary indicates that there are more bodies there than she can find. This has been going on for a while and she wants Cyn to look into what's happening to the missing bodies. Rhetta doesn't want to bring it up to her boss herself and risk losing her job, but something isn't right.
Some of this investigation will end up right where the reader assumes—but there's also plenty going on that you don't expect until it's in your face like a proverbial thrown cream pie.
Meanwhile, Cyn tries to have a love life. She goes on one of the worst dates you've read about and stumbles across another crime or two that she needs to look into. But there are some better developments in that area afterward (after you read about the date, you'll realize what a low bar that is)
We meet a potential new recurring-character and spend time with plenty of those we met before.
TAKE THIS WITH WHATEVER-SIZED PORTION OF SALT YOU WISH TO
Even if the rest of the book was a dud*, the first chapter was so funny that I'd have been more than happy that I paid for the book. Particularly the first 8 pages, the 243 that follow were just gravy.
* It was not
Obviously tastes, especially when it comes to humor, differ, so I can't promise that everyone will have this reaction. And there might be a bit of hyperbole expressed above. But, I started this book the evening after that surgery I had a couple of months ago, and laughing at those pages hurt me. They also made me chuckle as I re-read them before I wrote this section.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT CHASING EMPTY CASKETS?
The important thing to remember is that this is a comedy with a mystery thrown in. Suburban Dicks and the Fox and O'Hare books, for example, are Comedic Mysteries/Thrillers. This is a Crimey-Comedy (there's probably a better name for that somewhere).
So, yeah, the mystery parts may not be the clearest at times. Cyn may overlook some pretty obvious clues, and an action scene or two may come across as convoluted. But that's because they're there to serve the comedy. This isn't to say that this isn't effective as a mystery novel, the "may"s in the opening sentence should be emphasized, but it does come into play.
The running jokes in this novel are—mercifully—different than the ones in the first Cyn/Winnie novel. Crane isn't setting us up for a running gag like Stephanie Plum's car problems (seriously, at this point why does anyone let her drive anything other than that '53 Buick? Why does she try to?). I enjoyed the cast-gag in Barking for Business more, but these were good enough, and I applaud Crane for going somewhere new.
There are many other things I'd like to compliment, but I don't know how to do that without ruining plot points or jokes, so I'm not going to try. Basically, if you want silly, madcap, fun with plenty of canine-involved slapstick, look no further than Chasing Empty Caskets and the Sharp Investigations series.
September 9, 2024
I enjoyed this book. I love the chemistry between Cyn and Larry and hope to see that develop. If you’re looking for light, funny and entertaining, this will do the trick.
November 26, 2024
3.5 stars
Not thrilled with the direction this has taken, but still love Cyn and Winny.
Not thrilled with the direction this has taken, but still love Cyn and Winny.
March 31, 2023
Loved it!
September 2, 2021
I found this an enjoyable book. Cyn & her K9 helper try to sort out a problem of why there are no coffins in the burial business building, even though they’ve been paid for & where are the bodies! I got quite a few laughs as I read & was bewildered by a lot of the action. All was made clear by the end of the book.
September 7, 2021
I really enjoyed reading this book.
Great characters and plot.
I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Recommended to all.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Great characters and plot.
I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.
Recommended to all.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
September 14, 2021
I saw the title and wondered why the caskets were empty and why they were chasing them….were they rolling down the road, like a three stooges skit?
Turns out, no that wasn’t it at all. There’s steam, there’s a dog who farts and a retired army officer addicted to coffee. What more do you need?
Turns out, no that wasn’t it at all. There’s steam, there’s a dog who farts and a retired army officer addicted to coffee. What more do you need?
September 3, 2022
Chasing Empty Caskets is the second in the Sharp Investigation series. In this second adventure, Cynthia Sharp and his K9 partner Winnie, are investigating stolen caskets form a funeral home. Then dead bodies come in. It's a good follow up to the first.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews