Genre: Cozy
Mystery/Ghosts
Description:
“When is it terrifying NOT to see a ghost? Los Angeles Alternative
reporter and political activist Elena Guzman knows. She sees dead people – all
the women in her close-knit Mexican-American family do. They only stop seeing
the dead shortly before they die themselves. And right now, Elena’s failing to
see a ghost that seemingly everyone else is seeing — the mysterious wraith seen
abducting Graciela Hernandez, a young immigrant housekeeper.
But Elena has plenty to distract her from her possibly impending
death. Her loyal but unstable best friend Mona is growing dangerously obsessed
with her abusive ex-boyfriend. Graciela is still missing, and Elena is
determined to find her and return her to safety, even if the police aren’t.
This means doing exactly what she fears most: tracking down a ghost
she can’t see. But Elena must power through her dread to find Graciela before
it’s too late…for both of them.”
Author:
Felicia Lee: “Many members of my family have seen ghosts, but I
haven't, and am not sure I want to...so instead I write about them. When I'm
not writing about ghosts, I'm writing non-creepy web and promotional copy for
businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies or writing non-fiction essays (some
of which have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and Salon.com).
I'm also a near-native of Los Angeles, the setting of the Days of the
Dead series. I arrived there from my birthplace in the mysterious east
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) at the age of the 3 and earned two degrees in
English from Stanford and a doctorate in linguistics from UCLA. After 10 years
as a university professor and researcher (and writing unintentionally
terrifying things like my first book, Remnant
Movement and VSO Clausal Architecture: A Case Study of San Lucas Quiavini
Zapotec), I returned to my roots as a writer. I've never looked back.”
You can follow Days of the Dead
series on it's FaceBook page or follow Ms. Lee’s blog.
Appraisal:
Days of
the Dead is what I consider a cozy mystery and I have to admit, I love the
book cover. I found the premise unique, the characters well developed, and
diverse. Elena Guzman is a strong Latina heroine with high moral character out
to make her small corner of the world safer with her journalistic integrity and
her supernatural investigative skills.
When an undocumented seventeen year-old Mexican housekeeper disappears
from an older upscale neighborhood of Windsor Square, the police are eager to
dismiss Graciela Hernandez as a runaway and be done with it. However, Elena is
determined to find the truth and save Graciela if she can. When Betty Markman, a
busy-body neighbor, warns Elena to stay away from the Parks’ house where
Graciela disappeared, because it is a dangerous place for young girls and it’s
haunted, Elena’s curiosity is piqued.
I do have one bone to pick though. I would like to suggest to Ms. Lee
to not use the same name for different characters in her stories. The first
Edward is the art director and layout guy for the Alternative newspaper where
Elena works. Later in the book another Edward, an Edward St. John, is
introduced. He was a known criminal from the past and referred to using his
full name or Big Ed. While that was easy for my old brain to sort out, there
was yet a third Edward introduced toward the end of the story. Edward III,
that’s what I am going to call him, is nosy neighbor Betty’s adult nephew. I
found so many Edwards distracting and Edward III actually threw me out of the
story.
The plot is well paced for a novella and the history around Windsor
Square community is intriguing and adds to the depth of the story. I found this
an enjoyable read and now that I’ve addressed the Edward dilemma readers
shouldn’t get as confused as I did. However, it was a grievous enough error I
had to deduct a star.
I would also like to end this review saying, I think Days of the Dead will make an
interesting series to follow. So, if you enjoy cozy mysteries with a touch of
the supernatural, you may enjoy this series beginning.
FYI:
Format/Typo
Issues:
Aside from the three Edwards problem, I found a couple of small
proofing issues.
Rating:
*** Three Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 25-30,000 words
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