Verity's sister Melody plans a pirate treasure hunt for her birthday with her boyfriend Duranja, Verity and Ellis. Verity and Duranja do not get along. I blame Duranja because he is constantly disrespectful and dismissive to Verity. Frankly, I didn't see what Melody saw in him. There's plenty of mystery, intrigue and ghosts in this book, as faithful readers expect. The competition forces Verity to work with Duranja and their relationship starts to change. I was saddened to see Melody and Duranja's short courtship moving faster than Verity and Ellis's, which has moved very slowly. A visit with Verity is always a pleasure. I read this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

#DreadandBuried #NetGalley is another exciting book in this quirky cozy mystery series.
Verify is going on a double date, but its not one she's thrilled about, since one of them is her nemesis.
Catching up with Verify is always fun, you never know what is gonna happen, which really is the best part of these books.
I would love to hang out with her, maybe not her ghost friend, but definitely with Verity.
There's nothing better than a wonderful, colorful character and an adorable pet skunk.
I highly recommend this series to all readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.

These characters are like coming home to your own small town. 5e twist with being on an island with pirates was fun.

Great as always!
In this instalment we get to know more about characters that we just have a glimpse but we have gotten to love through out each book.
This one could be read as a stand-alone, and hopefully a whole new series with Melody and maybe a pirate ghost.
Couldn’t put it down from beginning to end.

Would recommend it to any fans of cozy mysteries.

Dread and Buried is the twelfth novel in Angie Fox’s Southern Ghost Hunter mystery series. Ghost hunter Verity Long and her boyfriend lawman Ellis Wydell are accompanying her sister Melody and her boyfriend and the bane of Verity’s existence, detective Alec Duranja, on a special birthday weekend for Melody. While Melody and Ellis both support and believe in Verity’s special abilities, Alec does nothing but belittle and try to catch her doing something wrong. It is Melody’s biggest birthday wish to bridge the gap between her sister and boyfriend and has set this weekend on Phantom Island to accomplish this goal.

Phantom Island is the site of long ago pirate Rebel Bill Brown and his gang. A descendant of the pirate is continuing the family inn and holding treasure hunts as part of the weekend stay. With a $10,000 prize at stake, there are three other groups in competition with Verity’s group. First are the twins from a treasure hunting reality show, Zara and Zadie Williams. Also, mystery writer Rick Stone and his wife, Mindy, a retired coroner, form a team with the final team being a single person, Professor Fielding, who has studied the island and the legends of the treasure that lies hidden.

On the evening of their arrival, Verity’s ghostly companion Frankie the German tunes her in to the ghostly plane before taking off on his own. And there is much to see. As they delve into the hunt the evening they arrive, Verity makes contact with a powerful ghost on a rock bridge they must cross to get to their next clue. This brings Verity front and center to solving the happenings of centuries ago. But with things that occur on their quest, the group is thrown into a current day mystery of who is trying to harm them when a forced rockslide injures Melody and Ellis, leaving the hunt up to Verity and Alec with surprising results.

This is another fun romp into Verity’s ghostly adventures. With great characters, interesting surroundings, and the license to create imagined worlds, Ms. Fox has provided her readers with an interesting and fun read. I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

pet, skunk, situational-humor, urban-fantasy, paranormal, series, friendship, gangsters, verbal-humor, law-enforcement, vacation, family, ghosts, cozy-mystery, ghost-hunting, competition, treasure-hunt, treasure*****

Not an unbiased review because I absolutely love the real star of this series--Lucille Desiree Long AKA Lucy, Verity's pet skunk!
It's Verity's sister Melody's birthday and Melody’s boyfriend (the offensive) Deputy Duranja has made arrangements for Verity, her boyfriend Ellis (Duranja's boss), Melody and himself participate in a weekend treasure hunt on an island haunted by pirates. Duranja doesn't believe in ghosts or Verity's ability to see and converse with ghosts, but he does believe that their group can win the competition and the money to buy Melody an engagement ring. There are a lot of scary parts to even out all the hilarity that makes this another entertaining fun read!
I'm not sure about stand-alone quality since I am addicted to this series, but I think that it should do.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Moose Island Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
Now I just have to wait to get the audio!

Princess Fuzzypants here: I have enjoyed all of the stories of Verity and her family and furriends, including the spectral ones. She”s very close with her sister, Melanie, so for a birthday treat, she and her beau are on a double date weekend with Melanie and her beau, Alec, who just happens to be Verity’s nemesis. She wants her two favourite people to get along instead of sniping at each other. The weekend starts off rocky, very rocky but when they start to get fully involved in the treasure hunt that is the crux of it, they must learn to work together.

The biggest problem is Alec does not believe in ghosts nor does he believe Verity has special skills. He is about to have a first hand lesson in the world that Verity straddles. Another participant in the treasure hunt is willing to take no prisoners and someone is going to get hurt or killed. Along the way, thanks to sharing Frankie’s ghostly power, Verity is also determined to bring two lovers who have been separated for centuries back together. That is if she and Alec can get out of there alive.

It is lots of fun with some interesting characters including dead pirates and a parrot named Pearl. It has a happy ending and by the end, Verity and Alec discover common interests. Five purrs and two paws up.

Dread and Buried finds intrepid ghost hunter Verity reluctantly participating in a scavenger hunt on an island that was once a pirate stronghold. Why reluctantly? Well her three teammates are her boyfriend Ellis, sister Melody and Melody’s boyfriend and her nemesis Deputy Duranja! Melody is in love and thinks close proximity will make Verity and Duranja forget their differences and finally get along – it’s more likely one of them will throw the other over a cliff! Throw in her resident ghost Frankie, who put together island and pirates and came up with hidden treasure decided to tag along for the ride. Who needs the Scooby gang when this lot are around!

Pirates, missing treasure, suicidal brides and attack parrots abound on Phantom Island and this was just in the spirit world. While dealing with the ghostly issues, Verity has to deal with a treasure hunt where all the teams will do whatever they have to, to win the grand prize and, if any one gets hurt then that’s just too bad.

This all came together to make a fun-filled murder mystery with a generous helping of intrigue as events conspire so that Verity and Duranja have to team up and work together to save the day. Compared with the previous books in the Sugarland series Frankie’s part in the story was minimal but if I’m being honest I think this actually made me enjoy this book more than some of the earlier ones.

Another great addition to the series! The mystery is full of surprises. I was completely wrong about who was behind it all.There's action and humor and pirates! I love these characters, they feel like old friends. I'm never disappointed with this series.

I love this cozy series so much! Another great one featuring Verity and Frankie, and the rest of the group. This time they visit a haunted island and go on an actual treasure hunt. I love the setting and the dynamics of the characters. I am a Goonies kid, so I would love to go on a treasure hunt. I love how Frankie the ghost is always present and giving Verity his powers when needed. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

The 12th book in the Southern Ghost Hunter series has us right back in the thick of ghost hunting action, this time with pirates on a haunted island where Verity’s sister Melody has convinced her to do an a double date holiday with Ellis, Verity’s long term boyfriend and Melody’s other half Duranja – who also happens to be Verity’s nemesis and has been trying to arrest her for years due to dead bodies always turning up in her vicinity.

This was such a fun read! This series moves between books that are fairly light fun romps to ones that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up – this is the former. Verity was at her best trying to balance the needs of the living and the dead and although this book was lighter on Frankie than some of the others when we did spend time with him he was clearly having a ball!

I loved the way we got to hear how the story of the pirates and the island had changed over the years - by hearing the story from Bill the living descendant and then finding out what really happened through Verity's run in with the ghostly pirates themselves... It was a clever plot device that meant there was always a new bit of story to be discovered - and a reminder that the history we know might not always be the whole truth...

A really fun story with lots of action – a must for anyone who enjoys lighter paranormal reads.

Dread and Buried by A. Fox, published by Moose Island Books is the twelfth installment in the Southern Ghost Hunter Mystery Serial.
Welcome back, Verity Long ghost hunter, her boyfriend deputy sherrriff Ellis and compagnion ghost Frankie from Tennesse.
They're on a weekend getaway to Phantom Island, are roped into a treasure hunt - an adventure packed with pirates, family, treasure, danger, twists and unexpected turns. I love, love, loved meeting characters, old and new, get roped in with them to a new adventure too. A delightful read, 4,5 stars.

Ghostly pirates, a treasure hunt...and murder? Well, it is a recipe I thoroughly enjoy in a cozy. This is a lot of fun. Verity, her boyfriend, sister and her new beau and Verity's long-time nemesis Alec Duranja spend the weekend on an island where they will participate as a team in a treasure hunt competition to find a pirate's buried loot. Soon the clues becomes dangerous if not down-right deadly and Verity will have to bury old grievances and partner with Duranja to solve the mystery and keep her loved ones safe.

What can I say? I love pirates, treasure hunts and a mystery. This one delivers in spades. I missed the antics of her spunky skunk, who stayed at home, and her ghostly sidekick was mostly MIA while trying to cozy up to the ghostly ghastly pirates but there were still plenty of light moments. As a plus, Duranja and Verity may have actually come to a kind of understanding and there will be less bickering in the future.

This is a fun series. The mysteries are good, there's plenty of humor and charming characters. Go read if you are interested in some ghosts, a cozy and a laugh.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Dread and Buried is the twelfth book in the Southern Ghost Hunter Mystery series. When Verity Long, ghost hunter, goes to a ghostly pirate island to take part in a treasure hunt as part of her sisters birthday weekend, she finds herself tangled up in another ghostly investigation. Along for the trip is Melody’s, Verity’s sister, boyfriend and Verity’s nemesis, Alex Duranja. Will the two be able to overcome their differences in order to help their team win the treasure hunt or will their strong dislike for each other get in the way?

I have loved every book in this series and have been excitedly waiting for this book to come out. It was definitely worth the wait! Instead of taking place in Sugarland, TN like most books in this series, we get to visit a ghostly pirate island with Verity and company and I think this change of scenery added the perfect mix up to this series. I loved everything about this book, from the characters to the ghosts to the treasure hunt angle. I’ve always enjoyed the back and forth battle between Verity and Duranja in this series, but I loved the take on their relationship in this book and seeing how Duranja’s relationship with Melody forced them to have to work together for the good of the team. This was an interesting angle of this book and I really enjoyed seeing the character dynamics.

Another great element of this book was the treasure hunt and the ghost pirates. This is the perfect mix up for Verity and I loved seeing her and Frankie, her gangster ghost, interact in this different environment. As always with this series, this book had me captured from the very first page and I can’t wait to see what is in store for Verity in the next book! I highly recommend this book and this entire series!

Thanks for NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book!

I always enjoy reading book by Angie Fox and this story is not a disappointment. It has mystery, pirates, a treasure, humor and, of course, ghosts. Loved the characters, missed Lucy. Get the book, you won’t be disappointed.

The treasure hunt, the ghosts’ stories, and the mysterious murder were all done supremely well. It had me at the edge of my seat and I couldn’t put it down.

Verity, Ellis, Melody, and Duranja are on a pirate island participating in a treasure hunt adventure for Melody’s birthday. Duranja still doesn’t believe Verity can see ghosts and thinks that she is a liability, and Verity thinks he is uptight and unpleasant. For Melody’s sake, they reluctantly agree to a truce, that they don’t exactly stick to. The game is on, but it soon becomes clear that there is more afoot than fictional missing pirate booty.

Do you remember that scene in The Incredibles where the family is in the van, dropped from a rocket, Mr. Incredible makes a very fast and impressive parking maneuver, and Dash yells, “Let’s do that again!”? Well, this adventure felt like that. Fast, furious, and fantastic.

Let me start by saying I absolutely love Ellis. He is super supportive and when Verity goes into “ghost mode”, he doesn’t ask unnecessary questions, he just stands ready to help. Verity and Duranja are at each other’s throats, which was a lot of fun to read, but it got even better when they were forced to work together and acknowledge that maybe the other person isn’t that bad. For all of Duranja’s faults, he is an excellent detective and he treats Melody like a queen. Verity and Frankie are the stars, as usual, and Verity helps ghosts who are stuck and solves the mystery in her usual, adorable, bumbling way. Frankie expanded his horizons to become an honorary pirate for a little while.

I can highly recommend this book and the entire series if you like ghosts, mysteries, and adventure written in a more light-hearted tone. This book can be read on its own, but I think reading the series in order will make more sense. The characters and their relationships change and grow over time and you don’t want to miss that.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

They just keep getting better and better! This new installment in the series takes us on a remote island- Melody arranges a pirate treasure hunting getaway to try and get Verity and Duranja to stop fighting. Little do they know that someone is there looking for the real treasure and they won't stop at murder to find it. When Melody and Ellis are injured it's up to Verity and Duranja to team up and find a potential murderer with the help of a ghost bride and a dead parrot. Will Duranja finally believe that Verity is not a fraud? Will they finally sop fighting long enough to find the culprit?

Verity's back and she's got her work cut out for her between pirate ghosts (PIRATE GHOSTS!), a treasure hunt that is more than a little dangerous, and her sister's boyfriend (the pragmatic cop who doesn't believe in ghosts or Verity's ability to see them). In fact, Duranja just might be the biggest roadblock on this "vacation".

On top of all that, the other teams participating in the treasure hunt are...how to put this? One's more than a little cutthroat (acceptable in times of piracy and whatnot, not as much fun during a game) and everyone's a little untrustworthy. I mean, everyone seems to have secrets and those secrets all seem to revolve around the legend of the pirate treasure.

Anywho. Verity gets to spend some quality bonding time with Duranja, celebrate her sister's birthday, smooch her honey, watch Frankie do his thing, fraternize with pirates, and solve a very old puzzle. In other words, it's always a good time whenever Verity shows up!

Dread and Buried by Angie Fox.
Dead men tell no tales.
Until they meet ghost hunter Verity Long.
Verity Long is proud to say she gets along with just about anybody—dead or alive. But she’s put to the test when her well-meaning boyfriend and her sweet-as-pie sister con her into a remote island “double date” weekend with her sister’s new flame and Verity’s long-time nemesis, Alec Duranja.
I did enjoy this book. Love Verity character and Frankie the spirit. 5*.

Angie Fox' Verity Long mysteries are always entertaining and well plotted. I laughed a lot reading this one and it was a fast read as I had to end it reading as fast as I could.
We catch up with the usual characters and there's a lot of fun in the tresure hunt and the mystery part.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine