I won this book through the Good Reads First Reads program.

Imagine you're going about your everyday business as a high school student. You've a boyfriend, a decent plan for life ahead of you, good family and friends. One minute you're coming home from school, the next minute you're under the subway and dead. Well, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray..."

[b:The Dead Girls Detective Agency|13493304|The Dead Girls Detective Agency|Suzy Cox|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1335203080s/13493304.jpg|19034284] begins with that death, something that could easily be chalked up to a slip of the foot but turns out to be something far more sinister. Murder. So, in order for Charlotte to move on she's got to solve her own murder - with the help of a few other dead teenagers in similar straits.

For me, [b:The Dead Girls Detective Agency|13493304|The Dead Girls Detective Agency|Suzy Cox|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1335203080s/13493304.jpg|19034284] was a pretty solid three. It was entertaining enough to keep me reading and enjoying the ride, but glib enough for me to be wincing now and again as one too many references were made to current or past trends. It would have been served by being a bit more mature, following trends in YA fiction, but as it was? It was still a fun, if predictable and groan worthy read. It would speak to the younger YA crowd, maybe middle school rather than high?

The book wasn't bad, and had some rather good moments tossed into the mix. In particular, the reasoning behind why certain characters chose to - or not to - go through the Big Red Door to whatever is beyond. Similarly, the concept was amusing and there were a few good questions posited to make a series a distinct possibility. The world is entertaining, and a bit more depth would make it even better ride. If you feel like a silly read to snack to, or a book to maybe get a middle school girl reading? This would be a decent bet. ( )

Started January 19th, 2014.
Got this as an Amazon Kindle Daily Deal cheap.
Rating and critique were mixed, but I guess it cannot hurt.
Beginning is good.
Some nice ideas, but basically not too gripping, and I am tired of the high-school-theme of backstabbing, betrayal and bitching.
And airheads, cheerleaders etc.
Major twist near the end I did not see coming, although as this is supposed to be a series, I asked myself how this would be pulled of.
Not entirely sure I can recommend it, I might read the next book in the series [b:Dead Girls Walking|18744719|Dead Girls Walking (Dead Girls Detective Agency #2)|Suzy Cox|/assets/nocover/60x80.png|26626310] and decide then.

Uh, bad me, I just checked, in the end of this book it was said the next book would be out in January 2014 (as in now or soon), but both here and at Amazon the publishing date is said to be May 15th, 2014. That could still change to a later date.

My rating is 3 stars, not too much romance, which is a plus, no sex. Hm, come to think of it, not much of anything. At least it is not too long.
Might not warrant 3 stars for some readers. ( )

I liked the concept of this book. If you are a teen who gets murdered, you have to solve your murder before you can move on. In Charlotte's case, she really has no idea who killed her. Not a clue. She and the other dead girls are on the case, but some of the things she discovers about herself are hard.

This was an ok read. I liked some parts and some parts were a little weird. ( )

I received this book as a Goodreads.com giveaway. I should first say that I am probably twenty years older than the target demographic for this book. This became painfully obvious when the main character tries to establish how old she is by saying that she was into the band Hole way before the movie Jennifer's Body came out. I was listening to Hole in 1996 or 1997 when I was in high school...so I am ancient. However, that said, I enjoyed this mild story of a girl who dies in NYC and then is required to stay in a hotel there until she can discover who murdered her. There are no new insights here...cheerleaders are mean, as always, and the smart mousy girls are ignored, as always. I really enjoyed the setting of the book and the author takes full advantage of what teenagers would do if set free to do whatever they wanted on the island of Manhattan. I would recommend this to junior high kids who are looking for a fun mystery series or adults looking for candy reading that won't tax the brain too much. ( )

A sweet and easy read that pulls enough strings to keep you interested without making you work too hard. One of the better post-death YA novels I've read. ( )