Customer Reviews

Dead Girls Are Easy (Nicki Styx, Book 1)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Nicki Styx thought it was just heartburn. After all, she is not even thirty-years-old. Next thing Nicki knows, she has the starring role of a TV medical drama. But it is not Nicki's time to die. As she heads for that bright light, she is sent back to the world of the living with instructions about the Golden Rule of "Do Unto Others..." These words do not make too big of an impression on Nicki until she wakes up in the hospital bed and meets her first spirit. Yes, Nicki now sees dead people.

All Nicki wants to do in life (or so she keeps telling herself) is to run the vintage clothing store with her best friend and business partner, Evan Owenby, and maybe go on a date with the hot ER doctor, Joe Bascombe. Yet after her near-death experience, dead people keep showing up and asking Nicki to do them favors. Nicki DOES get to go on a date with Joe, but it falls flat when Caprice, who owns the shop next door, is murdered. It gets worse; while Joe is with the police and offering his medical assistance, Caprice comes up to Nicki and asks her to get the murdering boyfriend out of jail.

But who ever said that all spirits were nice and harmless? Nicki soon finds herself being stalked and harassed by a "duppy" (A.K.A. evil spirit). And this spirit CAN harm the living. Nicki must either do what the duppy tells her to or she better find a voodoo priestess to help. Otherwise, Nicki may find those she cares about dying ... or worse, Nicki may lose her very soul!

OMG! I loved this book so much that I immediately went onto the internet to see if I could find other titles by Terri Garey. If there are any previous novels out there, I could not find them. And if this is the author's debut novel, then she has knocked my socks off! Author Terri Garey breathes life into her characters, even the dead ones! From the first page until the very last I was enthralled with the tale. I lost almost an entire night of sleep because I could not stop reading. The characters are totally believable. There are a few sub-plots that make the story run even smoother (if that is possible). There are a few side items that may carry over to the next Nicki Styx adventure. (Yes, there will be another. I checked.) However, if this is the only Nicki Styx novel you read, you will not feel cheated. This is a stand-alone story. This is an author to keep an eye on. I foresee awards in the very near future. BRAVA! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

It all started with her heart attack....

Nicki Styx is seeing dead people ever since her near death experience. Some of the ghosts have simple requests, but Caprice is a whole different matter. Caprice wants her boyfriend, Mo, freed from jail as he has been charged with the murder of Caprice. Nicki can't figure out how she's going to handle this and Caprice is turning into one nasty ghost! Now Nicki finds herself stuck in the middle of voodoo while all she wants to do is spend time with Dr. Joe Bascombe. Will Nicki be able to get out of this jam or will Caprice spell doom for Nicki?

Terri Garey takes a lighthearted approach to DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY. While the storyline has some dark aspects, particularly in regards to the voodoo involved, DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY maintains an upbeat atmosphere. Part of this is due to Nicki's character and her friendship with Evan. Nicki's conversations with Evan are hysterical at times as they razz one another back and forth. Their easygoing friendship provides a sharp contrast to the dark world Caprice remains captive in, even after her murder.

DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY is the first book in a series and therefore has some of the unevenness one usually expects when an author is establishing the basis for a series. While the majority of the issues are resolved, there are some loose threads left hanging. Terri Garey does an excellent job at ensuring that these issues are ones that will encourage readers to continue with the series rather than frustrating them by what isn't yet resolved. It will be interesting to see how things play out between Nicki and Joe, particularly after his revelations to her about his past.

DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY is pure entertainment! Terri Garey writes a story that is as fun to read as it is witty! Easily recommended!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Dead Girls are Easy has everything a good read should. There's laughter and tears, fun and drama. Add in the voodoo, cemetery trips and Nicki's attempt to 'do unto others' even when she wants to run from her gift and you're in for an entertainment event. Nickki Styxx is interesting, quirky and intelligent. Between her best friend/business partner and the new love interest in her life, she encounters intriguing "dead girls" -- thus the title. Nothing offensive here!

Terri Garey is a new star on the horizon. I look forward to reading each and every one of her books!

I loved the plot of this book by Terri Garey. Nicki has a near death experience and when she awakes, lo and behold, she sees dead people. The dead people all need a little help, "tell so and so this for me", "I need to give something to someone"...but then her neighbor gets murdered. Suddenly Nicki finds out she's fighting for her home, her mind, and her life! With a fun storyline, and interesting characters this story flies right off the words on the page. This is an extremely strong entry into what looks to be a new paranormal series. Two (minor) points bothered me. The first being that the ending wasn't as strong as I feel it could've been. I think it was fairly abrupt and a little too tidy, although there was a short string or two left hanging. Surely those strings lead to some future plot lines. The other thing, is probably my own special quirk but I everytime I read her name Nicki Styx, visions of Motley Crew danced in my head. Slightly odd. Basically, great kudos to this book. Pick it up and enjoy.

I just finished DGAE and enjoyed it so much. I found it both funny and scary. Nikki, the main character is very endearing. I thought the writing was clever with the mystery, romance and supernatural elements well-balanced throughout the story. I really enjoyed this one. I hope there's a sequel because I wouldn't mind spending more time with these wonderful characters.

Since I'm a voracious paranormal reader, I'm surprised I somehow missed this one until my sister lent it to me. But I'm really glad I discovered what appears to be the start of a great new paranormal series to add to my endless list of must-read authors. As a former Atlanta resident who lived just down the road about 2 miles from L5P, I enjoyed the references to the real and imagined L5P points of interest.

This novel was much better than I expected and once I began reading, I didn't put it down (except to sleep poorly!) and finished in 2 nights of reading. The voodoo stuff was a bit creepy and unnerved me a bit, reading late at night in a house over 100 years old with accompanying old house creaks.

Having just completed it, I jumped on Amazon to look for additional books by Terri Garey and see that *sniff* she doesn't have anything else out at the moment. I'll just have to wait for the new book coming in June.

A note about the genre: I would have placed this in either horror, alongside Laurell K. Hamilton and Kim Harrison or in Fantasy, alongside Kelley Armstrong, but it definitely does not belong in Romance. There is a love interest, but it is not the primary focus of the book, and there's too strong an element of horror to fit the romance genre. If you're wanting a romance, this does not fit the bill, but if you're wanting fantasy or light horror, it does.

The only negative I will mention is that I couldn't help noticing the similarities to Victoria Laurie's Ghost Hunter series, which includes the main character who sees ghosts, her flamboyantly gay best friend and business partner, and the doctor love interest who said gay best friend in Victoria Laurie's books calls "Dr. Delicious" and in this one the gay best friend calls "Dr. Yummy." Coincidence? I doubt it, but I enjoyed the book enough that I will have to overlook this!

Because the reviews were so mixed, I wasn't sure I wanted to buy it. But I ran out of fun paranormals to read in the bath tub and so I took the plunge, so to speak. And I'm really glad I did.

It's a bit fluffy... not too fluffy. It's a bit serious... but not too serious. It's a bit creepy, but not too creepy.

If you get this book thinking it'll be a Serious Work, then you'll be disappointed.

But if you tend to like light-hearted books, "paranormals" or "cozies," you're going to be delighted, because this is a great example of the genre and very well written.

The story line is fascinating and not too simple and not too complex. There are hints that will clearly be built on in future books. The characters are charming, and not more than a touch clichéd. Yes, there's a gay best friend... but unlike the gay best friends in every other series, he's believable, with a real personality, not a cardboard cutout stand-in who says "Girlfriend" a lot.

This is one you can sink your teeth into, without grimacing every time the author makes a sophomoric writing mistake. Because, frankly, she *doesn't make* those sophomoric mistakes that plague these types of series.

And if you're wondering about the "excessive question marks," that's a Kindle conversion error. Yes, it's annoying, but it's not the author's fault. I can't imagine why anyone would read the otherwise very skillfully written book and think those question marks were supposed to be there. My guess is, wherever there's an errant question mark, there was supposed to be an em dash.

And from what I can see, following books in the series do not have this problem.

If you have ever watched the show "The Ghost Whisperer", it's pretty much the same, down to the type of store she works in and the male interest being in the medical profession. Not to say the book wasn't good. It was an interesting story line with a few twists and other than avoiding the "evil" ghost (which is understandable) it was refereshing not to spend the whole book with the hero avoiding using her gift.

Ms. Garey, you have done an awesome job of creating unforgettable characters and built a world that made me feel like I was living the story -- left me with goose chills and made me laugh at the same time. A unique, pleasant experience. The title is every bit as awesome and guaranteed the fun, spooky read ahead. You didn't disappoint me and hope to see it as the first of many more to come.

An original story. A delightful heroine. Dead Girls Are Easy is a book you can't put down once you start reading it. I'd like to read more books by the same author. Terri Garey will go fast to be a NY bestseller.
Mona Risk