Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes

Rita stares at the screen. No matter how she tries all the zeros will remain.  Where has all the money gone, and where is her husband? Little by little she starts realizing what situation she is actually facing. What she doesn’t know is that her husband has gone away, hiding with a woman he just met. Suddenly, everything Rita believed in, is gone. In just a few hours her life has been shattered.

 

Rita is the daughter of an undertaker. The family business her father built has also been drained by Rita’s former husband. Everything is gone. Rita’s father is devastated and well aware of the funeral business’ already strained economy. To avoid the shame of bankruptcy he takes his life.

As if being in grief and utterly destitute isn’t enough Rita becomes witness to a death. Since she didn’t do anything to save this person from dying she feels guilty. But when the heirs hire her for the funeral arrangements all remorse disappear. She gets a hefty revenue, but not enough to keep the creditors away from knocking on the door. The inhabitants of the city live on far too long, that is bad for her business.

 

In connection with a murder Rita is questioned by the police, who suspect that she's hiding something. But it is not at all what they think. In the end, she sees only one way out, one that requires careful planning. To her surprise the policeman leading the investigation becomes her allied.

 

 

Pages 330

 

Reviews;

“I see at once that this author duo knows what they are doing. Fast pace, short chapters, and something new and original, namely a detective story with an undertaker as the main character.

 It feels like they've found something really good and "own" here.”

/Johanna's Crime Writers Corner

 

“It is rare to encounter a Swedish crime novel that feels like something entirely new, but this is actually the case with “Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes”. The uncommon protagonist, the desperate but determined Undertaker Rita Benson, is a really welcome addition in the Swedish detective flora.”

/ Crime Garden

 

“The couple Erikson-Granbom have achieved a well-written funny and exciting story that sometimes is scary but just as often cozy. The authors have put extra effort on creating compelling characters.”

/ Dast Magazine

 

“So well written, delightful twists, fun twists, it is a long time since I felt such a sense of pleasure while I was reading, delightful characters ........... just say one thing, read this.

Buy it, borrow it, or at worst - steal it.”

5 coffins out of 5

/ Pockethexorna

 

Very black humour and a lot of laughs amid the corpses and marriage crises.

Think this could appeal to as well traditional detective readers and to those who prefer gentler stories as “Kaffe med rån” (The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules).”

 

Johan Zilén, Akademibokhandeln Syd