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Say It Isn't So, Joe
They helped the ghost of the former owner of their house find a missing item so he could rest in peace. So why has Joe returned? And why won't he leave Carmen and her husband Sebastian alone?
This time, when Joe turns up, he isn't alone. The ghost of his friend Donna Smyth is with him, and she is convinced that she did not die of natural causes. Joe has told her that he knows just the people to figure out her dilemma, an no amount of protest from the couple will make them realize that finding a missing necklace is nothing like finding a murderer.
It's a steep learning curve for Carmen and Bass. Despite their misgivings, they team up with the owners of the local Fitz Funeral Home, and are soon up to their necks in suspects and intrigue. Can they solve a murder that no one thinks happened, and will Joe finally leave them alone if they figure the puzzle out?
Or will they be the next ones lying in state at the funeral home?
This time, when Joe turns up, he isn't alone. The ghost of his friend Donna Smyth is with him, and she is convinced that she did not die of natural causes. Joe has told her that he knows just the people to figure out her dilemma, an no amount of protest from the couple will make them realize that finding a missing necklace is nothing like finding a murderer.
It's a steep learning curve for Carmen and Bass. Despite their misgivings, they team up with the owners of the local Fitz Funeral Home, and are soon up to their necks in suspects and intrigue. Can they solve a murder that no one thinks happened, and will Joe finally leave them alone if they figure the puzzle out?
Or will they be the next ones lying in state at the funeral home?
- GenresMystery
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2022
12 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Young
39 books52 followersKelly Young has lived all over the great province of Ontario. A graduate of the English literature program at the University of Waterloo, she moved to a small town on the shores of Lake Huron in southwestern Ontario with her husband, and together they raised two sons and a clowder of cats.
Kelly worked as a freelance reporter for many years, switching to full time reporting for the local paper briefly before taking herself to a much quieter bookstore. An avid swimmer and former swim team coach who tries to swim 2 1/2 kilometres at least two times a week, she has recently retired from a position as swimming instructor at her local pool.
Kelly currently rules over an empty nest in a small southwestern Ontario city with her husband and two new kittens.
*Not to be mistaken for the OTHER Kelly Young of "Sex with the Lawyer" fame, whose books continually get listed as mine, no matter how many times I ask for them to be removed.*
Kelly worked as a freelance reporter for many years, switching to full time reporting for the local paper briefly before taking herself to a much quieter bookstore. An avid swimmer and former swim team coach who tries to swim 2 1/2 kilometres at least two times a week, she has recently retired from a position as swimming instructor at her local pool.
Kelly currently rules over an empty nest in a small southwestern Ontario city with her husband and two new kittens.
*Not to be mistaken for the OTHER Kelly Young of "Sex with the Lawyer" fame, whose books continually get listed as mine, no matter how many times I ask for them to be removed.*
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 1, 2023
Ghosts Speak
This is a delightful cozy mystery on the paranormal side. It is a story of a girl that sees and speaks to ghosts and through her association others can also see and hear the ghosts.
Carmen sees the ghost of Joe the former owner of the house her husband Bass and her bought to renovate. He brings the ghost of Donna Smythe to Carmen to help her as Carmen and Bass helped him find a family heirloom so he is convinced they can also help Donna.
Donna wants Carmen and Bass to find out who murdered her. There is a long list of suspects but with the help of the ghost cat Magic and the two funeral home directors Carmen and Bass set out to solve the mystery of who murdered Donna.
There are many suspects and some really funny oddball characters. I really enjoyed reading this story and I know that you will enjoy it as well. It has a lot of humor in it to keep you chuckling throughout the book. I think I will be looking to see what else this author has to offer. Nice afternoon on the couch reading.
This is a delightful cozy mystery on the paranormal side. It is a story of a girl that sees and speaks to ghosts and through her association others can also see and hear the ghosts.
Carmen sees the ghost of Joe the former owner of the house her husband Bass and her bought to renovate. He brings the ghost of Donna Smythe to Carmen to help her as Carmen and Bass helped him find a family heirloom so he is convinced they can also help Donna.
Donna wants Carmen and Bass to find out who murdered her. There is a long list of suspects but with the help of the ghost cat Magic and the two funeral home directors Carmen and Bass set out to solve the mystery of who murdered Donna.
There are many suspects and some really funny oddball characters. I really enjoyed reading this story and I know that you will enjoy it as well. It has a lot of humor in it to keep you chuckling throughout the book. I think I will be looking to see what else this author has to offer. Nice afternoon on the couch reading.
March 17, 2022
This is a new and charming paranormal murder mystery from author Kelly Young.
It has a very interesting premise, in which the protagonist can see and hear ghosts, who then help her solve the mystery. There are other characters (including the ghosts) who add to the plotline.
Highly recommend!
It has a very interesting premise, in which the protagonist can see and hear ghosts, who then help her solve the mystery. There are other characters (including the ghosts) who add to the plotline.
Highly recommend!
March 29, 2022
I really enjoyed this book. I love the way she mixes humour and mystery and I found it to be a very good read for gloomy days or any day but it did brighten those greys, gloomy ones for me. I see there are many more she has written that I wasn’t aware of so I can see lots of reading enjoyment ahead of me.
April 18, 2022
Excellent book, very well written! An intriguing mystery ☺
April 3, 2024
What a fantastic book!
Carmen can see Joe, the ghost who used to live in her house. Having helped Joe find a precious heirloom before, he shows up again, this time with another ghost who needs help finding out who murdered her. This is a great book! I read it all the way through in one sitting!
Carmen can see Joe, the ghost who used to live in her house. Having helped Joe find a precious heirloom before, he shows up again, this time with another ghost who needs help finding out who murdered her. This is a great book! I read it all the way through in one sitting!
July 16, 2024
This was such a fun book to read! Quirky ghosts, a murder mystery, and a splash of humour kept me well-entertained throughout. Kelly Young’s smooth writing style dropped me right into the scenes and brought the characters to life. The story flows along at a quick pace with plenty of action and suspense as the snarky main character, Carmen Rodriguez, exposes a killer.
An absolutely delightful cozy mystery, Say It Isn’t So, Joe, is the second installment of the Haunted and Harassed series. Having met Joe in the first book, A Ghost Named Joe, I was eager to read the next, and now I’m looking forward to more in the series. Joe is an exasperating, but loveable, old man ghost who seeks Carmen’s help to find the truth about the death of his ghost friend, Donna. As Carmen is the only one who can see Joe and Donna, they need her as a link between the world of the living and the deceased.
When Carmen discovers she is a conduit for others to see her ghost friends, it allows her husband and her two funeral director friends to assist in finding Donna’s killer. With an array of interesting suspects, author Kelly Young kept me guessing till the end. I loved the interaction between Carmen and her husband, Bass, as well as their oddball relationship with the ghosts. And who wouldn’t love a ghost cat named Magic and a new kitten added to the mix? Cats, ghosts, funeral owner friends, and suspicious relatives set a spooky tone to the story, interspersed with lots of quips from Carmen that had me laughing as I tried to figure out who killed Donna.
If you’re looking for a well-written cozy paranormal mystery on the lighter side, I highly recommend this series. Say It Isn’t So, Joe is a great book for lounging outside on a sunny day or for a nice rainy afternoon read. And I loved that it’s written by a fellow Canadian author and set in Canada. Carmen, her husband Bass, and their third wheel, the ghost of old man Joe, are characters you will want to invite into your home.
An absolutely delightful cozy mystery, Say It Isn’t So, Joe, is the second installment of the Haunted and Harassed series. Having met Joe in the first book, A Ghost Named Joe, I was eager to read the next, and now I’m looking forward to more in the series. Joe is an exasperating, but loveable, old man ghost who seeks Carmen’s help to find the truth about the death of his ghost friend, Donna. As Carmen is the only one who can see Joe and Donna, they need her as a link between the world of the living and the deceased.
When Carmen discovers she is a conduit for others to see her ghost friends, it allows her husband and her two funeral director friends to assist in finding Donna’s killer. With an array of interesting suspects, author Kelly Young kept me guessing till the end. I loved the interaction between Carmen and her husband, Bass, as well as their oddball relationship with the ghosts. And who wouldn’t love a ghost cat named Magic and a new kitten added to the mix? Cats, ghosts, funeral owner friends, and suspicious relatives set a spooky tone to the story, interspersed with lots of quips from Carmen that had me laughing as I tried to figure out who killed Donna.
If you’re looking for a well-written cozy paranormal mystery on the lighter side, I highly recommend this series. Say It Isn’t So, Joe is a great book for lounging outside on a sunny day or for a nice rainy afternoon read. And I loved that it’s written by a fellow Canadian author and set in Canada. Carmen, her husband Bass, and their third wheel, the ghost of old man Joe, are characters you will want to invite into your home.
November 21, 2025
BOOK REPORT
I almost gave up the ghost (pun definitely intended) two-thirds of the way through this book because it was so repetitive and predictable.
Plus, I’d been somewhat bothered from the get-go by the cover, which was more sci-fi than paranormal and/or cozy, and _horribly_ troubled by the bizarre formatting of not only a line of space between paragraphs but also a really large indent at the start of each new graf.
Did I mention that none of the characters seemed believable?
Not even the cats.
Oh, well. At least Kelly Young has written some books that entertain some people, even if I’m not one of them. And, I got to enjoy a delightful special holiday coffee (“Sweater Weather”) my husband brought me from a local establishment while finishing up, so the first part of this day can’t be considered a total loss.
I almost gave up the ghost (pun definitely intended) two-thirds of the way through this book because it was so repetitive and predictable.
Plus, I’d been somewhat bothered from the get-go by the cover, which was more sci-fi than paranormal and/or cozy, and _horribly_ troubled by the bizarre formatting of not only a line of space between paragraphs but also a really large indent at the start of each new graf.
Did I mention that none of the characters seemed believable?
Not even the cats.
Oh, well. At least Kelly Young has written some books that entertain some people, even if I’m not one of them. And, I got to enjoy a delightful special holiday coffee (“Sweater Weather”) my husband brought me from a local establishment while finishing up, so the first part of this day can’t be considered a total loss.
August 2, 2024
This first book in a fresh and original new series absolutely lives up to the promise of its charming prequel - the author's humorous voice shines through, and I laughed out loud so many times through the book. Joe, the charming, sometimes irascible 92-year-old ghost, continues to be the star of the book, and the new ghostly protagonist that joins him (no spoilers) requesting for help is equally interesting. A very different premise for a cosy mystery, but that's what makes this series so much fun.
February 5, 2024
If you've seen the TV show, Ghosts, then you'll have somewhat of an idea of what Carmen Rodriguez is experiencing. and these ghosts won't leave her alone until she solves the murder of one. The dialogue is witty, and the story maintains a steady pace from start to finish. Part of a series - pick it up!
October 6, 2023
I had so much fun writing this book! It was a five-star experience.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews