Waking up Dead by Margo Bond Collins review

The start was slightly strange but amusing start of the main character winding up someplace she didn’t expect after her death.
I wasn’t sure where this was heading. It seemed to just tell a story about a woman that died and now is spending her time as a ghost, telling of the tedious events in her life. It was difficult to connect to start with, although amusing anecdotes, the story felt distant.
But suddenly it all turned quite real and intriguing. An event that occurred that she could not control, happening right in front of her but she couldn’t do anything.
I have to admit from the start I didn’t expect much from this novel, but I was pleasantly surprised. The unique perspective of the main character as a ghost trying to help the police catch a vicious murderer. Almost humorous are her antics, but the plot had pulled me in.
As Callie tries to uncover who committed the murder she comes across a young woman Ashara and her grandmother Maw-Maw, who assists her in trying to find the person responsible. The characters are humorous and tend to be quite relatable.
Although some more editing could have been done to improve things, the plot did have some pull, but because the main event happened at the start, it only slowly progressed. Hard at times to keep focused as the characters, in addition with Steven, went about trying to solve the murder of Molly and clear her husband’s name.
The characters did have good rapport and developed as the story went along. I got a good sense of the characters and their personalities. I did wonder if I was going to be at all surprised by how it would end. But then again this isn’t really a who-done-it kind of novel.
Some humorous notes in the story, but there is still a very serious aspect to it as well. Callie finds out the man that had attacked her and murdered her is still out there doing it. So both murder investigations are combined to find and bring those to justice.
Unlike other novels, the unique perspective coming from the main character in the fact that she is dead makes it far more interesting and sets it apart.
Perhaps slow at times, I wasn’t disappointed or surprised at the ending, but still an easy read.
3/5 stars

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Waking-Dead-Margo-Bond-Collins-ebook/dp/B00HKQQRJA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405893131&sr=8-1&keywords=Waking+up+Dead+by+Margo+Bond+Collins