Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Dead is Beautiful by Jo Perry. It's an interesting combination of paranormal and crime fiction with a noirish vibe.
Jo Perry earned a Ph.D. in English, taught college literature and writing, produced and wrote episodic television, and published articles, book reviews, and poetry.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, novelist Thomas Perry. They have two adult children. Their two dogs are rescues.
Jo is the author of Dead is Better, Dead is Best, Dead is Good and Dead is Beautiful, a dark, comic mystery series from Fahrenheit Press.
Follow @JoPerryAuthor on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Goodreads, Visit authorjoperry.com, Buy Dead is Beautiful
Dead is Beautiful finds Rose leading Charlie from the peace of the afterlife to the place he hates most on earth, “Beverly Fucking Hills,” where a mature, protected tree harboring a protected bird is being illegally cut down.
The tree-assault leads Charlie and Rose to a murder and to the person Charlie loathes most in life and in death, the sibling he refers to only as “his shit brother,” who is in danger.
Charlie fights-across the borders of life and death–for the man who never fought for him, and with the help of a fearless Scotsman, a beautiful witch, and a pissed-off owl, Charlie must stop a cruel and exploitative scheme and protect his beloved Rose.
This is the fourth book in the Charlie and Rose Investigates series, but this can absolutely be read as a standalone novel.
I have to admit the beginning reads like some mixture between an environmental activism plot meets the paranormal world. I was distracted by the whole nakedness issue. Eleanor tries to save both tree and owl whilst her boobs are dangling in the wind and Charlie is eyeing up her assets. That whole scene was doubly bizarre because of the lack of clothes.
Charlie and Rose are tight and they have something in common, as much as a man and a dog can have something in common that is, they are both dead. Wandering somewhere on the ethereal plane. neither here nor there just everywhere, especially everywhere Rose thinks they need to be. Even if it is the scene of a crime about to happen and the two of them can't do anything about it. They can only watch and wait to greet the unfortunate victim.
Aside from the contentious relationship Charlie has with his brother, the relationship between Charlie and Rose is one of the most pivotal in the story, and the series. The interactions between them, albeit it lots of chat from Charlie and multiple variations of a bark from Rose, are actually quite interesting. At times it appears as if Rose is his super-ego (hello Freud, my old friend), his conscience and feeling of guilt. She leads where he is hesitant and dithers.
It's an interesting combination of paranormal and crime fiction with a noirish vibe. A read with two very intriguing sleuths, perhaps more so because they are restrained by their lack of mortal coil.
Buy Dead is Beautiful at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Published by Fahrenheit 13 in paperback and ebook formats on 13th February 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Fahrenheit Press.
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