Heard it Through the Grapevine by Lizbeth Lipperman is the first book in the new “Dead Sister Talking” mystery series. Publisher: Midnight Ink, May 2013

Sisters Tessa and Lainey Garcia weren’t on speaking terms. But now that Tessa’s dead, her wisecracking ghost is making up for lost time.

Lainey Garcia left Texas nine years ago after her sister Tessa married the only man Lainey ever loved. So when Tessa’s house explodes, the last thing anyone expects is for her to appear to Lainey . . . as a ghost.

Formerly a part owner of the biggest vineyard in the region, Tessa’s got the goods on every fake, floozy, and two-faced liar in town. But Tessa doesn’t know who killed her, and she asks the remaining Garcia girls to uncover the truth. Setting out to fulfill their sassy sibling’s wish from beyond the grave, the sisters discover a mile-wide list of suspects who wanted Tessa dead. Learning the hard way that killers don’t like snoops, Lainey fears she’ll be the next Garcia sent to the big vineyard in the sky.

After being estranged from her older sister, Lainey comes back to Vineyard, Texas for her funeral and guess who’s standing next to her as she’s viewing the body…yes, it’s her sister Tessa who gives her the shock of her life when she asks her to find the person who killed her and this takes Lainey on a journey of self-discovery and a familial homecoming.

This was a fun read that I could not put down. The author did a great job in delivering a knock-out mystery with plenty of suspects and I love how the backstory between the two sisters were evenly woven into this whodunit that kept me on my toes as I had to know what happens next. The humor in this book was entertainingly spicy that had me laughing out loud at the witty repartee between the cast of characters. There are some adult situations contained in this story, but overall I enjoyed the tender-hearted romance that has me eagerly waiting for the next book in this well-written and fantastically terrific series.