I was expecting more mature characters and a fast-moving story, Instead, it was slow and more YA genre.

If YA style is your thing and non-scary ghost story. Then you'll like this book.

If you like to read about ghosts this is book for you. Not that this one is full of them, but there is one that makes things difficult. It is interesting read, that's for sure. Story I never read before that's for sure. I was sad for Aria that she had to give up her drams to follow her fathers footsteps, but if not that she would never met Sloan, who I found extremely interesting. As their relationship develops, so do problems for Aria.

Death Agents.

Aria has a 22nd birthday to remember. She learns that her family legacy is to help the dead cross over and her life long dream of becoming a professional singer comes crushing down forever.

She goes into training and meets a cute girl named Sloane. The band t-shirt wearing gal has wanted to be thrust into the world of paranormal her entire life.

I'm not entirely sure how I felt about this book. I was telling my wife that I was interested and entertained while reading it but I didn't feel a huge desire to get back to it whenever I stepped away.

It had a big Beetlejuice and Men in Black vibe to me but without the humor. I felt like the unbelievable concept required some comedy and because there wasn't much of that, it took itself too seriously.

There was a whole lot of explanation through education or studying and not enough action. This equated to the feel of telling vs. showing. I would have rather learned about the corporation through experiences as opposed to classroom instruction.

There was a side bit of a romance. Aria develops a crush on her classmate, Sloane. It felt more like a high school relationship vs. young adult. I was taken aback when Aria said she wanted a beer at a concert. Then they had a sex scene and it made me feel awkward because they seemed too young. 'I love yous' came unbelievably quick, as well.

Overall, I liked the concept. I thought there were enough unique and interesting scenes that it continued to be engaging.

The Mortician’s Daughter has an interesting premise, and to an extent, it delivers on it. I was intrigued by the idea of someone who has a genetic ability to see and interact with ghosts, and I like that there’s lore to go with it, with some exploration of Aria’s family history.

I did like Aria and her journey as she uncovered all of this, although I did find her a little monotonous and overemotional. However, I didn’t feel like the romance was that well-defined, going from zero to eleven super quick, and was much more interested in the interactions between Aria and the tragic, departed Clara.

But while I thought a book dealing with death and the afterlife would be a bit gritty, it’s not really the case at all. In fact, it deals more with all the bureaucracy and red tape, and while in some ways, it helps with the world building, it wasn’t particularly interesting after a while.

However, this is the first in a series, so it’s possible it will build on some of the world building aspects in the next book or two, which I may consider checking out. I think if you like paranormal/ghost stories, but don’t mind something that’s more intricate than scary, I think it’s worth giving a chance.

2.75 Stars. This story was okay, but not really for me. I’ve only said a million times how much I love paranormal anything, but I’m also picky because I do love this category so much. Unfortunately, this story had too many things that I just didn’t care for.

I’m not sure if I read the blurb wrong or what but I did not expect the feel of this story. I thought this was going to be a darker, creepier, ghost story. Even reading reviews that stated this story was different than might be expected, I still didn’t realize it would feel so young. The main characters are 22 years old and they could have easily have been 16. This whole book screams YA not NA. The only part not YA was one explicit sex scene that felt like it was thrown in to make this an adult book. Everything from the ways the characters acted, to the control the parents had, had this book screaming young. I like YA and I think this book would have worked so much better if it really was YA.

Besides the characters not seeming their age, this book hit a paranormal pet peeve of mine. I hate, hate when the main character is special, chosen, or life is about to change forever and they know nothing about it but everyone else around them knows everything. It happens way too much in paranormal and fantasy books and it drives me nuts. The character is sitting there knowing their life has changed forever, but no one will answer their questions. If someone actually gives information to the main, it comes out in dribs and drabs with no one answering any important questions which cause the main character to be in danger since they know nothing about anything important. One way for a character to learn some information is by going to a magic, paranormal, or powers learning school. That is what Higgins used in this book. I don’t mind the schooling aspects, I mean Harry Pottery made it into an art form, but the schooling has to be exciting and for me it just felt very flat. It was just a way to info dump instead of being interesting or fun. Everything about this new world was very on the surface and it felt like a missed opportunity to dig deeper.

I prefer to have some romance and love in my paranormal stories, but this was a disappointment too. It was insta-like before the characters exchanged more than a few words and then the “I love yous” popped out after only a few days. There was no real chemistry and no build-up. I guess they liked each other because they had to spend time together? It seemed like romance out of convenience more than two women actually connecting. Again maybe it could have been cute if this was a YA book and more of a connection was formed, but instead it felt really flat.

This is a book one of a series. Sometimes a book one in a paranormal or fantasy series can be tough since it has to build a different world. I could see Higgins really turning around the series in the next installment since there are some good ideas here. If she could age the characters, dig into their relationship, and do more actual ghost wrangling -not enough happened on that end so I was stuck with the waiting room of Beetlejuice in my head the whole time- if Higgins can work on these few things I could see this series getting a lot better. Higgins’ other book, London Undone, has great reviews so I have faith that she can turn this series around. This book wasn’t for me but I haven’t thrown the towel in on the whole series yet.

Wasnt at all what I was expecting. The story was actualy quite interesting. But I didnt pull me in. I'd say it's more of a young adult read. Was just lacking something.

The only thing that I can say about this book , is that I was really annoyed me that there wasn't a second or third book to follow!
Really good read. Great characters and great story telling!

Aria is a recent college grad with a music career on the horizon, but her plans are quickly kiboshed when her family's decades old ability to talk to the dead surfaces within her. She's enrolled in a program with her father's company AfterCorps to learn the art of ghost interpretation. Her only saving grace while Aria navigates her new life, is her very sexy classmate Sloane. They're both about to discover the world is a lot bigger than they think and their lives will change forever.

Based on the except I expected more details about the universe created in this book It had a lot of potential it was a really interesting premise, it never really got past the surface. It looks like this will be a series, so perhaps more details will come in future books. There was so much hinting about something vague happening in Aria's and her parent's life but nothing really happened. I don’t think it delivered on the mystery so it was hard to finish the book. On the other hand, the romance between Sloane and Aria happened instantaneously, there was no build up. You couldn't develop a connection to either character as individuals or to the relationship. Instant love can work sometimes, but it didn’t in this case, it was very superficial. It was an interesting idea for a novel and I did like the author's voice if not the content, so I will check out future books by the author for sure.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book more than I thought! It was different than what I normally read, and despite ghosts popping in, was a great book to read before bed. It does 'read' younger than what you might expect, but don't let that bother you. Just enjoy the story as entertainment. It's better than "bubble-gum stories", but not as dark as Eden Darry's "The House". But that's not a judgement, it's a bit of guidance. "The Mortician's Daughter" can be read at night. "The House", not so much.
The characters were distinct and motivated in their own ways. I really felt bad for Clara, poor lady.

So in closing, read it for the entertainment value, suspend your disbelief and enjoy!

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

I enjoyed Nan Higgin's previous book, "London Undobe".

However, I feel the Mortician's Daughter didn't live up to the previous effort.

The characters - Aria, Sliane are likeable but immature for 22 year olds. Still live at home, still allow oarents to make decisions for them and very sheltered from the purpose of veing an Interpeter.

The story began slowly - I was at the 50% read part begore Aria called her oarents on their subterguge regarding the family business, her paranormal skills and hiw to manage her lifelong dream of sin gu ing with her new responsibiliyy of being an interpeter.

I will read Nan Higgins next book hoping to recapture the smoothness and engrossing story telling found in London Undone.

’The Mortician’s Daughter’ is one of those books where you completely accept the premise and run with it. Aria has always dreamed of being a singer and up until her 22nd birthday that’s where she was headed. When she realises that ghosts exist - and they want to talk to her - life is never going to be the same. Finding out her father’s funeral home business is just a front for AfterCorps, an organisation set up to help the ghosts move on, is also a huge shock. Sloane has known about this side of life forever and joins Aria in training to work for AfterCorps. Far from being freaked out by it all, she relishes the challenge and wants a job in the Criminally Demonic Unit. But the pair are about to find out that there’s more going on within the company than they thought - and deciding who to trust is becoming more and more fraught with danger and uncertainty.

I loved this book. Nan Higgins has imagined a world not unlike our own, but with some magnificently thought out paranormal twists. I felt sorry for Aria when she was faced with giving up on her dreams, but I was also fascinated with the world that had opened up to her. I wanted to know more about it and the first person telling worked well in immersing the reader into each discovery. This world deserves a whole series of its own. A great read.

I was given this ARC for review.

I think this book was more suited for the YA crowd and isn't near as scary or tense as you might imagine.

Aria Jasper discovers she can see dead people on her 22nd birthday. Not only that but she can talk and be affected by them as well. Dead people are a family business. Not only do her parents run a funeral home that also founded and run AfterCorp.

AfterCorp helps new ghosts either pay for the crimes they committed while alive, communicate with loved ones about their final wishes or just cross over to the other side.

Aria has to give up her budding musical career to join the family business. Her mother suggests she sing at funerals to help. Aria discovers a newly deceased ghost that claims her father is evil and the ghost lashes out at Aria. It is up to Aria and her classmate and new romantic partner to unravel what the truth is and help the ghost find peace.

3.5* – When I reviewed Nan Higgins’s debut novel, London Undone, I wrote that it felt as if the author had crammed a lot of things in just one story, as if she had so many things to say that she couldn’t choose. I got almost the opposite feeling with The Mortician’s Daughter, which felt a little flat. Both novels are well-written and promising, and I’m hoping for a “third time’s a charm” situation.

Aria has worked her whole life to become a singer and is on the verge of making her dream come true. All that crashes on her twenty-second birthday when she sees a ghost. Her plans come to a brutal stop as her father enrols her in ghost interpreter school. The only good thing about it is her classmate, Sloane. While Aria’s parents left her in the dark about the possibility of her having powers, Sloane knows all about it and is hoping for a career in the Criminally Demonic Unit.

The Mortician’s Daughter has a definite YA/NA feel. Both MCs are in their early twenties, both live with their parents (Sloane by choice, Aria not really). I like their interactions but the instalove is a bit much even for me. The I love yous seem to arrive when they’ve known each other for a couple of weeks at most.

While the main arc of the story is Aria’s discovery of a whole parallel universe she never imagined and her close encounters with a ghost stuck in the now, what I found most interesting – and underexploited – was Aria’s relationship with her parents. Finding out your father is a big gun in the afterlife business when you didn’t even know there was an afterlife business puts a ginormous strain on that relationship. Aria’s trust in her parents is understandably damaged, which impacts all her decisions, sometimes putting her (and Sloane) in danger.

This is the first book in a series, and I’m hoping Nan Higgins will give us more in-depth goings-on, more substance. From what I’ve read by her so far, I’m sure she’ll find some sort of balance between too-much and not-enough.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

This is the first entry into a series, so I am going to grade this on a curve. It does feel more like a Young Adult book because the lead seems to code younger (even though she is a recent college graduate), but that's a little sneaky. Her big graduation present was to help her move to Los Angeles to start her career as a singer. That is until the ghosts showed up and she realized she was part of a long legacy of super mediums. So, I would put this more into the new adult category - yes, both our lead and love interest stay at home, but they are in their lower 20's and at least one of them choose to live home to help her mother.

Aria is the name of our protagonist, and she comes from a very prominent psychic family that basically started a company to help move spirits to the great beyond. Unfortunately she doesn't know any of that until her "quickening", the manifestation of her powers, and everything she knew is just turned all the way upside down. The only upside is that she meets the sexy Sloane, another late trainee who wants to be part of their demon hunting division.

So I was expecting a lot darker novel, but what I got was a lighter, very by the numbers start to a series. To be fair, there are some heavier topics that are touched on, like the demon division, and that the corporation basically acts as a ghost judicial system that may not be very good at maintaining justice. There's also the fact that Aria was literally left in the dark by her parents, so when her powers manifested, she was completely unprepared. Her parents even enthusiastically help her carry out her dreams, but then basically rip them away from her and forced her into a world she was destined to be part of but knew nothing about. So, when a desperate ghost shows up and starts effectively haunting her, and causing Aria physical harm, she can't trust her parents to talk about it. She ends up relying on Sloane, who is ambitious but loyal.

I thought one of the things that hampered the story was a little of the pacing. Every plot point is in its exact right spot, so it doesn't feel quite natural. For example, Aria and Sloane's relationship was mostly light flirting and some kissing, then suddenly: sex scene. It was almost like the author felt like she had to put it in there just to have it. I thought it was jarring, especially given the tone of their relationship up to that point. There are some other minor things here that I hope get smoothed out in new books.

It is worth the read, mainly because making mediums and speaking with ghosts into a vast, dull, windy bureaucracy is kind of amusing. There's divisions, a wise old ghost who helps other ghosts into the light, and even different job titles (Sloane's mom is a clerk in the corporation). There's a ton of stuff that was just touched on, and I am curious what the next book will bring.

First off I need to say that I should pay closer attention to what genre of book I am requesting from Netgalley. From it’s description I thought I was requesting a detective mystery/ghost story. Looking at my Netgalley bookshelf just now I realize I requested a LGBTQ+ Romance. I am certainly not opposed to reading same, but it’s not what I was expecting.

Ms. Higgins is apparently from my general neighborhood. I love reading local authors and I have to say that when I start a book and within the space of the first two paragraphs the main character is talking about a birthday dinner at my favorite pizza restaurant (Dewey’s!) I know I’m going to like it. Afterall, I just celebrated MY birthday at Dewey’s. If you ever eat there, you MUST have the Porky Fig Pizza. Seriously!

So on with the story. Aria has just found out that she comes from a family of “interpreters,” which is to say her father sees and talks to ghosts. In fact he is the head of an “Agency” started by her great-great-grandfather to help “priors” (aka dead people) wrap up their earthly responsibilities and cross over. Aria has her life planned out and to discover she is an interpreter completely disolves her future. She begins her education as an interpreter where she meets Sloane, who becomes her love interest. Her first interaction with a ghost is an elderly Prior named Clara who insists Aria’s father is preventing her from crossing over. Together Aria and Sloane must find out how this could be possible and get Clara crossed over without dying themselves.

The book reads like a YA novel and I’m not completely sure it’s not meant to be. It was a fun read, although I felt a little let down at the end, like it was wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly after the build up. I think with a little more mature writing this could turn into a really fun series along the lines of the Stephanie Plum novels.

I’m giving the story 3.5 shots of 5. Based on not knowing if it was meant to be a YA novel and for the weak ending. But I do recommend this book and I hope that Higgins can evolve her characters into a series in which they have aged a bit. I would come back to read more mystery stories involving these two women working the space between life and death.

Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Publication date April 14, 2020.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

Aria just turn 22 all her life she dreamt of becoming a singer but that dream is put on hold when she learns that she has to go into the family business of helping the dead.

She meets fellow trainee Sloane and their a instant attraction. I don’t know there love story was ok a bit forced in my opinion because they seem to immature maybe it’s because of their parents I mean Aria parents was bit to much with them being way to overprotective when they did even warn her that this what she going to be doing.

I enjoy this book because it had everything I like in it paranormal mystery romance even if that could have been better. I did like Aftercorps explaining everything even though sometimes the information was a bit much it had me stop reading for moment it felt like it had too much going on and since this look like it’s going a series I hope it’s less informative and focus on the romance and supernatural.

*Thank you netgallery for a copy for review*

Aria Jasper just turned 22, and is looking forward to traveling to fulfill her dream of being a singer.
Everything is going to plan in her life until the evening of her birthday when she sees a ghost.
Everything Aria has known has been a lie to cover up the truth. Who can she trust?

While I enjoyed this book, I sometimes cringed at certain parts because of how young adult it came across as. I expected it to be a little more mature since Aria is 22. However, the book is thrilling and intense! I was able to read this book in one sitting because I really wanted to know how Aria's story ends. There is a ton of mystery from the very beginning that will keep you on your toes throughout the book.

I thought that the love story felt a bit forced and unnatural. I could easily see this story being successful without the need of a love interest. To me, it felt like it took away from the story.
However, I'm a strong supporter of the lgbtq+ romance genre, and I think we need more books like this!

If paranormal mysteries is up your alley, then pick up a copy! You won't regret it.

I tried, but I lost interest in this book. There’s way too much info-dumping, a slow moving plot, and unlikable characters.

This book has a very Goosebumps feel to it. I would definitely class this read for as YA.
It is a very well thought out story. There is a whole other world to the dead, and there is some really in dept knowledge to learn.
It starts of with meeting Aria and her family. She is 22, but throughout this story I would say she is more of a teenager, her parents seem to over protect her and treat her more as a child. She is off to start her life in LA to become a singer, but then that soon changes on her 22nd birthday, and she has to join the family business.

I felt because this was a whole new world of the dead and ghosts, there was a lot going on. Aria falls in love, then there is so much to learn, then she is off singing, then training in the office, then saving a ghost, then being attacked. I felt I would have enjoyed it more if there wasn't so much going on and to be more focused on one or two aspects of the story.
Alongside this, I felt the ending was rushed. Her parents played a big part in this story, and we didn't get to see them at the end which was a little disappointing.

Overall 3 stars, I did enjoy reading this, and would be interested to see what comes next.

The Mortician’s Daugther (Death Singer #1) was my first Nan Higgins encounter. I loved the title and had high hopes for this to be a gripping, somewhat dark tale of death and the afterlife. I didn’t get that. Instead we get a much more bureaucratic style of afterlife management, with counselors and plenty of red tape.

Aria Jasper was meant to have a career in music, her whole life was geared towards it. But then something happens on her 22nd birthday and it all derails dramatically. Suddenly she is to work in the family death business and guide the newly dead to the afterlife. Her parents had kept this from her and so she is completely clueless and woefully unprepared. Secrets and lies will be a theme throughout the story. Aria is bitter.

She meets fellow trainee and love interest Sloane when she goes into training. There is an instant attraction between the two but I had a tough time taking their romance seriously. Mainly because both women had a very immature feel about them. Both still living at home (Sloane with her mom and Aria with her overbearing parents), Aria having sleepovers with her bff. Very young adult. The one explicit love scene surprised me and felt out of place. And that’s what ruined the book for me. It was all too clean, too corporate and with all the secrets piling up (and not too many answers), it became annoying as well. I needed more of an edge. I hope part two will improve on those points.

f/f one small explicit scene

Themes: AfterCorps, when your family is in the death business, sleepovers, junk food, a botched music career, trainees, the rents are not very forthcoming with the truth, the afterlife, bureaucracy, a lot of cold spells, very immature, it didn’t work for me.

3.3 Stars

* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.