Review of Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland

Publisher: DAW
Series: White Trash Zombie #2
Format Read: Paperback
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Buying Links:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble  The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

Angel Crawford is finally starting to get used to life as a brain-eating zombie, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she’s beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. Yeah, that’s right—the zombie mafia.

Throw in a secret lab and a lot of conspiracy, and Angel’s going to need all of her brainpower—and maybe a brain smoothie as well—in order to get through it without falling apart.

Reviewed By: Bea

Quote:

I packed up my stuff-including the study guide, the pages and pages of problems I'd worked under Nick's watchful eye, and the "homework" he'd assigned me-and headed out to NuQuesCor.

As angry as I was at Marcus, I wasn't stupid enough to ignore what he'd said about violating my probation. I knew something weird was going on at that lab, but any attempt to sneak in would definitely rank up there with some of the stupider things I'd done in my life-and I'd done some hugely stupid shit, trust me.

Therefore, I wasn't going to do any sneaking at all. Well, maybe a teensy bit. But I wasn't going to break any laws. Or at least I wasn't planning to break any laws. With my history, it was probably best not to make sweeping statements like, This will be totally legal!

Bea's Thoughts:

Okay, first of all, I love this cover!!! The color, the design, the concept, everything. The cover really conveys what the book is about and what you can expect. If I weren't already reading the series, that cover would have grabbed me for sure.

If you have read Rowland's Demon series, this isn't it. :D Like those books, there's a mystery and Rowland's real life experience as a police officer, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant add layers of realism that many paranormal mystery books are lacking. But these books are more light-hearted, more humorous, and deal with zombies plus unlike most urban fantasy or paranormal books, the lead, Angel, is distinctly lower class. That's a refreshing change and Rowland doesn't patronize, demonize, heh heh, or glorify being lower class but offers what feels like a genuine portrayal. Angel has made mistakes in the past and in this book they come back to make her life miserable but she doesn't give up, she keeps trying. I liked that, while she was disappointed and sometimes downcast, she didn't whine about her circumstances. She accepted that her mistakes wouldn't just disappear but neither did she lay down and give up, she kept going.

Angel is adjusting well to being a zombie and is starting to think about her future; potentially she could live hundreds of years. There are cracks in her romance with Marcus including his failure to take her seriously. In this book, she proves that she's smarter, certainly more clever, than her past behavior might indicate. The plot gets convoluted at times but it was exciting, Angel discovers she's a bad ass, we get a reasonable sounding explanation of how zombies are created, there's intrigue and betrayal, plot lines are introduced that have great potential and the story is a pleasure to read. It did drag a little in the middle but happily that was brief and soon the story was back on track. It was one of those books where I stayed up late to finish it.

I don't recommend reading this until you have read the first book but if you like urban fantasy with a little humor, you have to read this series. It's original, fun, smart and a heck of a ride. 

I borrowed this paperback from my local library.