Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave

Russell, Ally. Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave
September 16, 2025 by Delacorte Press
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Mystery was abandoned as an infant and adopted by Tia Lucy, who runs the Garcia Graves and Funeral Home. She doesn't mind helping clean up the graveyard, although she and best friend Garrett sometimes get in trouble for accidental misbehavior. She struggles with nightmares, and has been able to smell ghosts for a while; whether this has anything to do with her unknown parentage is unclear. When Lady Ellis dies and her son contacts Tia Lucy for the funeral service, he requests that a necklace be buried with his mother even though one of his sisters would like it. Mystery herself puts it around the corpse's neck. When it shows up two towns away at an antique shop, Mr. Ellis blames Tia Lucy for the theft, even though other people were involved in getting the mother into the family crypt. Mystery, who has been bedeviled by sleep demons, is also haunted by the ghost of Lady Ellis, who tries to talk to her, although Mystery isn't quite sure what she wants. A granddaughter of the deceased, Eliza, is around, and Mystery would like to speak to her. WHen an even more frightening ghost/vampire, the Baron, shows up with hideous demands, Mystery has no choice but to help the ghoul find a "fresher" body, as well as his heart. Raymond, a local man who does odd jobs and occasionally helps Tia Lucy bury bodies, is also working with the Baron. Even though Raymond's involvement in these exploits could exonerate Tia Lucy and the funeral home from any wrong doing, Mystery doesn't want to bother her Aunt. Eventually, she goes to talk to Eliza at the Ellis mansion, and finds very interesting information about the Baron. The necklace was part of a binding spell to keep him contained, and when the necklace left the area, his spirit was set free. Eliza also identifies the Daddy Long Legs (whom Mystery has named Coffin) living in Mystery's hair as a "Harvestman". Sadly, once Mr. Ellis finds out that Mystery has visited, he forbids Eliza to see her again. With Garrett's help, Mystery manages to find that a large rock she's been trying to move is actually a gravestone with "May no place keep this foul soul and fiendish heart, 1863" engraved on it. This is where the Baron's body is, and Mystery manages to find cemetery records that indicate his heart is probably in the crypt with another Ellis. When the Baron taunts Mystery with information about her birth mother, will she be too weak to stop him from unleashing himself into the world? A sequel, Mystery James Returns from the Grave, is to be published in the fall of 2026. 

Strengths: Russell's It Came From the Trees was a big hit with my students, with its mix off outdoor camping adventures and scary beasts kidnapping children. A look at a small town funeral home and cemetery will appeal to readers who are drawn to creepy things and love K.R. Alexander titles. It's good to see Garrett and Mystery work together, and to learn some ins and outs of funeral home life. The idea that ghosts not only have a semi-corporeal presence AND a distinctive, unpleasant smell was a nice twist on ghost lore-- after all, since they don't exist, authors can put their own spin on what ghosts are like. The Baron is fairly frightening, and the information from the 1860s was cool to read. For those who like low levels of gore, Mystery and Garrett do exhume a body and are surprised at how much flesh can linger on bones after 160 Plus years. 
Weaknesses: I needed a LOT more information about the arachnid hiding out in Mystery's hair. It was just a bit odd, and I don't think an actual critter would be very comfortable there. The cover is somehow half a bubble off; maybe the Baron looks goofy rather than scary? There were some things that didn't make as much sense as I would have liked them to. For instance, if Tia Lucy adopted Mystery when she was an infant, why is she referred to as an aunt and not as a mother? 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want graveyard related spooky tales like Smy's The Hideaway, Aldridge's Deephaven or Fournet's Brick Dust and Bones. There aren't as many Goth/Wednesday Addams wannabes as there were twenty years ago.