Title: Over My Dead Body
Author: Maz Evans
Genre: Contemporary Mystery/ Thriller
Publisher: Headline
Pages: 320
Release Date: 3 August 2023
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Hello fellow book lovers! I'm back with my review for Over My Dead Body by Maz Evans. Ghost meets The Good Place in this wickedly funny and satisfyingly cosy adult debut, which brings a refreshingly clever (and original) take on the classic, murder mystery format. I guarantee that both comedy loving sleuths and armchair detectives are gonna absolutely love this!
Synopsis
Hello? Can you hear me? Probably not. I'm Dr Miriam Price . . . and I'm dead.
The local police, who couldn't investigate their own nostrils, think I drank myself into an early grave. The nerve! I was murdered. I was just too plastered to know whodunnit, that's all.
Unless I prove to my inquest this week that my death was no 'misadventure', I'm condemned to 50 years in Limbo. I have to find my killer - but I can't communicate with any living human. Well, there's one, but she barely qualifies . . . Winnie - my neighbour and nemesis. It seems the dying can interact with the dead, which is helpful news for me, if not stellar for Winnie. Oh well. She'll live. Maybe.
Suspects? How long have you got? My saintly husband, who'd reached his limit? My best friend, who was anything but? My secret lover, or his wife? My disgruntled colleague? The mother who wrongly holds me responsible for her child's death? Professor Plum? Your guess is as good as mine.
So Winnie - slap on your deerstalker and strap on your granny pants. Let's catch a killer! Assuming we don't kill each other first...
Review
This was such a phenomenal read! The writing was utterly addictive and the lighthearted satirical tone blended perfectly with the darker, more serious themes of the plot (grief, addiction and alcoholism,etc.) The unique concept of the afterlife was also really intriguing and definitely gave off The Good Place vibes, only with a slightly cynical, British twist that really added a sense of realism to the whimsy (which I loved.)
The cast of characters were also exceptionally well developed, adding depth and nuance that made them all soo compelling. But, Miriam and Winnie were definitely my faves (stealing the show and my heart with their antics.)
Miriam (our main protagonist and sole POV) is a witty, self aware character that I honesty hadn’t expected to love quite so much. She’s incredibly outspoken and (like a true misanthrope) dislikes virtually everyone around her. However, her hilariously brutal commentary involving pretty much everyone in her life—from lecherous colleagues and “boring” best friends to virtual signaling, do-gooder siblings—was soo gloriously entertaining.
As was her feud with neighbour, Winnie (who’s now the only person capable of helping her find her killer—on account of no one else being able to see her.)
Winnie was even more loveable thanks to her tenaciously sassy demeanour, and ability to give as good as she gets when it comes to the Miriam. Their banter was top notch (as were the one liners) and the not-friends-but-not-sure-if-we’re-enemies dynamics were super entertaining to delve into. In fact, they had soo many laugh out loud moments together the pair might have just become my new fave crime fighting duo (when they can stop arguing, that is.)
I also didn’t guess the big twist either, which I’m pleasantly surprised about. I usually manage to guess (or get super close to figuring out) who the culprit is, but I genuinely had no clue who it was.
The emotional journey Miriam takes,and the people she ultimately meets along the way made for such a satisfyingly heartfelt conclusion. If you love dark humour or satirical crime fiction then you absolutely must check this out, though do be sure to check the TWs beforehand.
Also, a huge thank you to Headline (and Isabelle) for the finished copy.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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