Ruth Reviews: Suzy Cox's - "Dead Girls Walking"

“They say you should wear clean underwear in case you’re hit by a bus… they don’t warn you about what you wear over it though…”

Charlotte gets to spend eternity wearing her school uniform and a pair of her Mum’s shoes that she borrowed without permission. That’s pretty unfortunate. But what is truly unfortunate for Charlotte is that she was murdered. Now she is one of three members of the ‘Dead Girls Detective Agency’ (along with token male Edison) who solve the murders of their fellow teens. Dead Girls Walking is the second book in the Dead Girls Detective Agency series by Suzy Cox. This time the agency is working on solving the murder of budding actress Mercy Grant, who was killed just when she was in the middle of performing Hamlet.

It reprises its original characters well and the continuity is good. These teens were murdered, but rather than moving on to the next life they’ve stuck around to help other teens in the same predicament. The concept is fresh since the focus is on the ghost-side of things with a hint of the living. However, the author does try a little too hard to get the ‘teen speak’ down. If you haven’t read the first novel, it’s simple enough to pick up the plot and concept, which comes with pros and cons. In the positive, the characters are developed well enough, with good explanations of what has occurred in their past so that you can enjoy this novel without any prior knowledge. This is also a downside, as the novel isn’t as fresh as you would really like a sequel to be. The other battle going on is who is the star of the book. Charlotte who was our main character for book one, steals the limelight of our new victim Mercy, and their two stories collide somewhat haphazardly on the page.

Overall, the plot is fast moving, but there is a very large cliff-hanger that is sprung on the reader. While this makes the ending a little frustrating, it certainly intrigues you to want to check out the third novel. If you’re looking for a light read, Dead Girls Walking is a good choice.