Review - Dead Is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez (2)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Dead Is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez
Series: Dead Is #2
Publisher: Graphia
Publication Date: 1 January 2009
Genre: YA paranormal/fantasy/mystery
My Copy: bought - paperback


Welcome to Nightshade, California a small town full of secrets. It s home to the psychic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom- shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case! There's a gorgeous new guy at Nightshade High: Duke Sherrad, a fortune-teller claiming to have descended from Gypsies. Even though she s psychic herself, Daisy is skeptical of Duke s powers. But when a teacher who was the subject of one of his predictions ends up dead, she begins to wonder if Duke is the real deal after all. Maybe if Daisy can track down the teacher s killer, she can find out the truth. The only trouble is, all signs point to the murderer being of the furry persuasion. Is Daisy any match for a werewolf? Maybe she is . . . in more ways than she bargained for!


Review:
This was the first book I read for the Read-a-Thon on Saturday. I wanted a short, quick read to get me started, and this provided that. Dead Is a State of Mind is a fun, lighthearted story. I enjoyed the mystery and the paranormal aspect; however, it largely failed to live up to the first book. Ryan's secret was obvious to me very early in the book. The suspense was weaker than before, and it didn't take long to figure out who the bad guy was. I found myself highly aggitated with Daisy too. She was curious and fun in Dead Is the New Black, but in this one, she seemed to run away from everything. In fact, most of the book was just her refusing to listen to Ryan. She gets a little backbone towards the end, but it was rather anti-climatic. Although it is a quick read, the pacing was erratic. With that said, it does serve it's purpose as a short paranormal mystery book. My favorite character is easily Poppy. I felt myself wanting the story to be told from her perspective. It probably would have been a more satisfying read with her ghost love and more direct involvement with the murder mystery. The plot idea is interesting. I will read the next book in the series because I did actually enjoy the first book, so I'm hoping this was just a fluke of some sort (I was slightly cranky when I read it). I'd recommend this to someone who read the first book and liked it.

Other thoughts:
The covers on the series seem a bit plain to me, but I do like the colors.



Rating breakdown:
Overall: 2 stars
Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Pacing: 2 stars
Writing Style: 2 stars
Recommend: Maybe?


Other Books in the Series:



If you like this series, try this one:


*All links go to Goodreads*


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