Review: The Dead Girls Detective Agency by Suzy Cox

 

I won an ARC of THE DEAD GIRLS DETECTIVE AGENCY by Suzy Cox from Epic Reads (@epicreads) on Twitter.

Summary from Amazon:

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 hate me enough to want me dead? And what if my murderer is someone I never would have suspected?

I always enjoy a good murder mystery; the who-done-it, following the clues, the psychology behind the murder, and of course, the big reveal at the end when all the pieces fit together.  It's an added bonus when the main character is trying to solve her own murder.  

At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like Charlotte.  She seemed so fashinista girly-girl (describing her boots---I had to think hard who DVF was!), but the more we got to know her, the more I liked her.  She wasn't just a spoiled princess, she liked photography, she liked music, and most of the time, she wore Converse!  But the thing that surprised me the most about Charlotte, was the ending.  I wasn't expecting her to say that to Tess, but then I also wasn't expecting Tess to do what she did, either!

I wasn't expecting the murderer to be who it was.  Though, once the clues started pointing in that direction, I was like, "DUH!"  I kind of felt like I had seen this as part of a movie or tv show at some point, but it was written in a way that I just didn't care if I had.  I liked it. 

The author, Suzy Cox, is British (or at least, lives in London), and at some points, the book felt like it had more of a British feel---some of the slang was different (like calling a resume a "CV").  Though, I'm pretty sure had I read this in high school, I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

All in all, a pretty interesting murder mystery.  If you are a fan like I am, then you'll enjoy it. 

Thank you, @EpicReads and HarperCollins Children's Books for sending me a copy.  I really appreciate it.