Saturday, May 6, 2017

The Secret Obituary Writer by Amy Martinsen

What if obituaries told the truth?

The Secret Obituary Writer is a fun story about Lizzy Langston, a young woman who writes obituaries--not the glorified ones which the family submits to the newspaper, but the stories behind what made people who they were.

Lizzy had started out as a paper deliverer, and on her own, wrote stories about the recently-deceased. including anonymous tips submitted from others, and inserted them into the paper. Readers loved them! After Mr. Jonas, the newspaper owner, discovered who was writing these bonus epitaphs, he hired Lizzy to continue composing them for the paper itself.

After the old farmer, Amos, died, apparently from a heart attack while driving his tractor, cryptic messages begin appearing in Lizzy's email box, claiming that the man died in a more mysterious way. She and an assigned detective, Jackson Clark, begin on a journey to discover the truth, and also find romance amid the shrouds of mystery?

I thoroughly enjoyed Martinsen's characters, the plot, and the premise of revealing the good in people after they've passed on. Secret Obituary Writer is a fun, light read, and I would recommend it to all who enjoy clean romance and a quirky story. 
The only thing I found amiss was justification for Lizzy and Jackson's trip to Germany, but as the story panned out, it made sense in the end.

This story is fun all the way through. To prove this, I asked my hubby for a random number and was given 106. So here is an excerpt from page 106.

I tried to muffle a laugh. “I heard that, Lizzy,” Mr.Jonas said.


“Now if you’ll take your shirt off, I’ll tape these wires to your chest and put the pin on your shirt.” Jackson sounded so professional.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Mr. Jonas muttered.

To give him some privacy I faced forward again, but never having seen a person get wired, I couldn’t resist a peek in the rearview mirror. I should have resisted, though. Who knew Mr. Jonas was so hairy?


Amy Martinsen
Congrats to Amy Martinsen for another fun novel! Her first novel is Changing Worlds, also available at Deseret Book.









Buy The Secret Obituary Writer at Deseret Book and Amazon

Leave a comment and your name will go into a drawing to win a copy of The Secret Obituary Writer or Clairvoyance!

2 comments:

  1. Sounds so fun! Can't wait to read it! (I was a professional obituary writer for a couple of years.)

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