Victorian mystery romance

Miss Phoebe Astin of The Economic Undertaker has always spoken with spirits as they leave this life on their way to the next, so a visit from a senior nurse asking to unburden herself was business as usual. But when the nurse's confession reveals she was frightened to death by a doll from her past, Phoebe decides it is time to tell the man who has her heart, Detective Harland Stone. Aided by her brothers, Julius and Ambrose - or hindered as the case might be as they bury bodies and interfere in her potential relationship - Phoebe is challenged to find peace and justice for the dearly departed. For the Astin family, being dead is no excuse for letting crime go unpunished.

Miss Phoebe Astin of The Economic Undertaker found herself charmed by the recently deceased perfume salesman, Mr Edward 'Teddy' Tate, as were many of his former clients. Not unaccustomed to speaking with spirits as they leave this life on their way to the next, the debonair salesman had two requests of Phoebe: to investigate his death, which he believed was not an accident and to send his love to three ladies whom he had been romancing. Phoebe passes the information on to her beau, Detective Harland Stone, and when two of Teddy's love interests are found dead, the detective gets a whiff of a crime afoot. Aided by her brothers, Julius and Ambrose, and her dear friends, the Vexed Vixens, Phoebe is doing her best to grant the dearly departed justice. After all, for the Astin family, being dead is no excuse for letting crime go unpunished (even if he was romancing three ladies, the cad!)

Miss Phoebe Astin is quite accustomed to speaking with spirits as they leave this life on their way to the next. As the mortician at The Economic Undertaker, Phoebe and her brothers, Julius and Ambrose, find themselves inundated with victims from a ferry disaster on the river. But when one of the victims, Miss Elizabeth Rowe, appears to Phoebe and insists she did not die on the ferry, but her killer hopes it will appear as such, Phoebe is compelled to help. Passing the information on to her beau, Detective Harland Stone, it soon turns out all is not as it appears, especially when photographs taken by Phoebe’s friend, Kate, tell a different story. It is a time of flurry for the Astin family, who believe being dead is no excuse for letting a crime go unpunished.