The Dead Girls Detective Agency (Dead Girls Detective Agency #1) by Suzy Cox
Description:
Pop quiz: What would you do if you had to solve your own murder to get anywhere in death?
Maybe if I hadn't slept through my alarm, slammed into Kristin (my high school's reigning mean girl) or stepped in a puddle, destroying my mom's new suede DVF boots (which I borrowed without asking), I wouldn't have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I wouldn't have been pushed in front of that arriving train. But I did, and I was.
When I came to, I was informed by a group of girls that I'm dead. And that because I died under mysterious circumstances, I can't pass straight over to the Other Side. But at least I'm not alone. Meet the Dead Girls Detective Agency: Nancy, Lorna, and Tess--not to mention Edison, the really cute if slightly hostile dead boy. Apparently, the only way out of this limbo is to figure out who killed me, or I'll have to spend eternity playing Nancy Drew. Considering I was fairly invisible in life, who could hate me enough to want me dead? And what if my murderer is someone I never would have suspected?
Maybe if I hadn't slept through my alarm, slammed into Kristin (my high school's reigning mean girl) or stepped in a puddle, destroying my mom's new suede DVF boots (which I borrowed without asking), I wouldn't have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I wouldn't have been pushed in front of that arriving train. But I did, and I was.
When I came to, I was informed by a group of girls that I'm dead. And that because I died under mysterious circumstances, I can't pass straight over to the Other Side. But at least I'm not alone. Meet the Dead Girls Detective Agency: Nancy, Lorna, and Tess--not to mention Edison, the really cute if slightly hostile dead boy. Apparently, the only way out of this limbo is to figure out who killed me, or I'll have to spend eternity playing Nancy Drew. Considering I was fairly invisible in life, who could hate me enough to want me dead? And what if my murderer is someone I never would have suspected?
My Thoughts:
The Dead Girls Detective Agency promises for a gripping murder mystery with some ghostly fun thrown in for the hell of it, yet all we got was a pathetic wannabe mystery. Where was the clue solving? The detecting? All that fun tracking-the-killer-from-beyond-the-grave stuff? I know it was in there somewhere but I guess it was just piled beneath all the cheese, overdramatic boy drama and twelvie nonsense. I have to say that I am really disappointed that this wasn't as good as it could have been.
The characters were shallow and rather immature for their age. The bickering and whining and bitching was just dull. I didn't have the patience for it all. David wasn't worth the drama and neither was Edison. All the mysteriousness centred around them was just dull, dull, dull.
The only thing that I really enjoyed in this was the paranormal aspect. I really loved the idea of being obliged to solving your own murder before you can "move on". I loved the idea of the Keys, the doors, the hotels, the apparitions and possessions, the Jabs and all the other ghostly elements. It was fun to join Charlotte as she explored what she could do, but I wish there had been a heavier focus on it rather than the melodramatic soap opera stuff.
The murder mystery was also disappointing, and so bland that I really don't have anything else to say about it, other than to say that the killers identity was completely anti-climatic.
Overall, this wasn't great and it could have been so much better. I hope the series improves over the next two books or a lot of potential would have been wasted.
2.5 stars
The Dead Girls Detective Agency promises for a gripping murder mystery with some ghostly fun thrown in for the hell of it, yet all we got was a pathetic wannabe mystery. Where was the clue solving? The detecting? All that fun tracking-the-killer-from-beyond-the-grave stuff? I know it was in there somewhere but I guess it was just piled beneath all the cheese, overdramatic boy drama and twelvie nonsense. I have to say that I am really disappointed that this wasn't as good as it could have been.
The characters were shallow and rather immature for their age. The bickering and whining and bitching was just dull. I didn't have the patience for it all. David wasn't worth the drama and neither was Edison. All the mysteriousness centred around them was just dull, dull, dull.
The only thing that I really enjoyed in this was the paranormal aspect. I really loved the idea of being obliged to solving your own murder before you can "move on". I loved the idea of the Keys, the doors, the hotels, the apparitions and possessions, the Jabs and all the other ghostly elements. It was fun to join Charlotte as she explored what she could do, but I wish there had been a heavier focus on it rather than the melodramatic soap opera stuff.
The murder mystery was also disappointing, and so bland that I really don't have anything else to say about it, other than to say that the killers identity was completely anti-climatic.
Overall, this wasn't great and it could have been so much better. I hope the series improves over the next two books or a lot of potential would have been wasted.
2.5 stars
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