Review: My Life as a White Trash Zombie

Diana Rowland
Urban Fantasy
310 pages
White Trash Zombie #1
Downloadable Excerpt
DAW books

Synopsis:
Angel Crawford is a loser. Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of Southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers.  Angel remembers being in a horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the county morgue-and it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.

Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey-just when she's hungriest!

Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because is she doesn't, she's dead meat.  Literally.

Review:
Just like the absolutely gorgeous cover suggests, this book is about a woman, Angel, who just so happens to be a zombie.  Angel is such a complex and interesting character.  And it's a good thing too, because the story really is all about her.  What I mean is, the suspense is due to the crazy situations she's found herself in, and the drama is due to her current dependencies and also her past behaviors.  The story is not centered around some big baddy that's out to get her, or a world ending disaster she's being forced to solve.  Her new dependency creates some gross-out scenes that stayed on the right side of entertaining for me, and some funny moments as well.

Angel's character has so many sides to her.  She keeps changing/growing throughout the book, and it's all the entertainment you'll need.  Her life is a big ol freakin mess. She's been beat down, both figuratively and literaly, her whole life and she's bascially given up.  She lives in filth and squalor, she's lazy, and frankly she's decided she doesn't care anymore. She doesn't think she's better than any of that. For the first half of the book the author sneaks in subtle comments like "I guess I was lucky there were people better than me in this world. Not that it took a whole lot to accomplish that." to make sure the audience gets a healthy glimpse into Angel's view of herself. But Angel will surprise you.  She's a very genuine character and actually thinks and worries about others more than she does herself.  Even when other characters make statements like "Angel, you have a tough and crusty exterior, but you have the kindest, mushiest heart I've ever seen." she still modestly pushes against it.  Her growth throughout the book is a pleasure to watch.

Like I mentioned, the plot really is about Angel and her adaptations into the zombie lifestyle.  And btw, I absolutely loved Rowland's take on zombies. Anyone can read about them.  And as much as I enjoyed the humor and the intense moments the subtle plot created, I could have stood for a slightly messier plot. And I'm not talking about blood and guts, we get plenty of that.  There were a couple of "huh, that's not what I expected" events, but for the most part I felt like I knew what to expect next.  The overall progression was natural and flowed perfectly though, and I'll be looking forward to more.

Bottom Line: Rowland's unique spin on zombies make them approachable and gosh darn it, loveable.  She's created a UF heroine like noone else, who will capture your interest and your heart. I'm looking forward to more Angel Crawford.

3.5 stars