Published By: Headline
Pages: 320
Released On: 03/08/2023
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 . . .
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This is so fun and unique and quirky and I loved it!!
Let me get one thing straight, I absolutely adored Winnie, the troublesome neighbour. She’s a fabulous character. She’s old, and we all know old people don’t generally get to be main characters in books or films. They’re usually relegated to the sidelines, only there when it’s useful to the main story. But whilst she might not be our main protagonist – that’s Miriam – she is right up there with her. She’s ballsy and bold and confident and grump and just fantastic.
But Miriam herself is the perfect protagonist. Yes she’s got her issues, but so does everyone. But she’s oh so very human. She’s hilarious in her stubbornness and I loved it. Some may find her unlikable, but I think it’s for all the reasons she may be unlikeable is what makes her likeable for me.
I’ve said it before that I prefer character development over plot in the books I read. But this had me on the fence. I think this has the most character development I’ve read in a long time, but the plot is mastered so brilliantly. I can’t tell you which I preferred and I think that’s because each makes the other shine. Without the plot the characters wouldn’t be at their best, but without them the plot may not have found its spark.
It’s actually really moving. And not just because of the actual death. It’s got so many layers. I was expecting a fun and enjoyable light-hearted morbid comedy. But it’s go so much more depth, it’s really quite lovely. There’s death obviously, of those that are old and those we deem too young. There’s financial issues, parental problems, schooling troubles, job issues, friend problems…and yet it’s all handled so tenderly and sensitiely.
This is Maz’s first adult book and if it’s anything to go by, I will devour everything she writes. She has this way with words that is very rare. It’s…it’s hard to explain so bear with me. She’s not just telling the story, she’s not just entertaining us. She’s speaking to us. She’s speaking to you. And it’s hard to get that balance right, but it just works.
For a book about death, I found myself reading it with a permanent smile on my face and laughing loudly several times. It is so heart-warming and life affirming that it’s impossible to feel anything other than joy.
I must say I do hope the afterlife is how it’s described in this book as it sounds delightful – but only if you’ve been good!
Rarely do I read a book that doesn’t have at least something tiny that I didn’t like. It’s rare that I read a perfect book – although there has been some this year already – but this definitely is. It’ll be on my list of the best and brightest books of 2023 that’s for sure. And it’ll definitely be one I recommend to friends, relatives and strangers. There isn’t anyone I can think of that wouldn’t fall in love with Miriam, Winnie, and Maz Evans.
Books By Your Bedside 