Almost Dead by Kaz Delaney

Title: Almost Dead

Author: Kaz Delaney

Genre: YA Paranormal Mystery

Opening lines: ‘…It’s all fun and games till you find the dead person in your bedroom. …’

Life is normally tough when you are a teenager, it is part of growing up, and it is even tougher if your mother abandons you and your father brings home another woman and a half-sister you never knew you had. Macey has all this, but she has an even bigger problem, she sees ghosts, and they talk to her, mostly just to argue that they are not dead! Surely this should only happen in books not on the Gold Coast, this is so uncool! The story opens with a dead person called Nick appearing in Macey’s bedroom but unlike the other ghosts she has been seeing lately, when Nick says isn’t dead, he actually isn’t. He is in a coma after a car accident and he has astro-travelled to tell her she is in great danger, but can’t remember who the danger was from – just that it is there. Shortly after this the stalking starts in earnest, with a message in Macey’s bedroom. Nick is limited in how he can help so he gets Macey to contact his very sceptical cousin to help her.

Macey’s character is spot on for a posh well off Gold Coast princess. BUT there is something about her that just makes you want to really love her – and she is certainly not as bad as some of her friends, she is very no-nonsense and independent. In fact Macey is a real girly girl – a refreshing change from all the heroines lately who seem to be almost boy-like in their appearance and toughness. Macey demonstrates that a young woman can be feminine and still search for a creepy stalker, cope with her car being run off the road and being locked in a room full of rats. OK so she may have been a bit of a mess after the rats – but she started off looking good!

I found ALMOST DEAD to be unputdownable! I loved it even though I am probably not the target audience, and my daughters also are both over the target audience! I didn’t guess who it was until all was revealed at the end – I did suspect the accomplice though – but not until a good way through. Oh let’s be honest here – I suspected just about everyone at one stage or another! There is a love interest but it is very subtle, oh so perfect, and takes a back seat to the investigation. So ALMOST DEAD has golden beaches, family dramas, humour, teenage angst, a sexy surfie, a clairvoyant and a boy band all combining into a very, very good read.

Rating: A – Excellent Stuff – a real page turner and hard to put down. I carved out extra reading time just so I could finish it. This book got carted into the bathroom with me, read over meals, read at work, and/or kept me up late at night. If this author has more work, I will certainly read it.

For more about the author – Click Here

With thanks to Allen & Unwin and the author for this copy to read and review. Allen & Unwin recommended retail price is $15.99

Almost Dead by Kaz Delaney is book # 2 for AWW2014

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