My Life as a White Trash Zombie

Angel Crawford is white trash and she knows it. She lives in an old, broken down house with beer cans for a driveway with her drunk, abusive father. Her addiction to prescription meds and her enjoyment of pot and beer keep her from keeping any one job for long. Angel also has a felony on her record because she bought a car that had been stolen from someone she mistakenly trusted. Her life completely turns around when she wakes up at the hospital. She is told she overdosed on drugs, but she remembers being covered in blood. An unknown benefactor leaves her mysterious liquid medicine and a job offer at the county morgue. Unable to previous stomach any sort of gore or blood, Angel is surprised that she is unphased by the job, even when she has to help with autopsies. The only really weird thing is when she gets really hungry at the smell of brains… Over the weeks she works there, a rash of beheading murders occurs, but they seem to be unrelated in any way. Can Angel figure out what they have in common and stop the killer?

My Life as a White Trash Zombie is a different type of zombie novel and proved to be funny and enjoyable read. Based on the title and cover, I didn’t have huge expectations and I didn’t expect to get as sucked in as I did. Angel is a great main character. Despite her screw-ups, flaws, and complacency, she is a clever person who just needed a second chance. When her drug dependence was killed by becoming a zombie, she took the opportunity to straighten her life out. She went from uncaring and downright lazy to productive, cunning, and vulnerable. Without drugs to numb her, she experiences the world differently. She actually cares about those around her, much more than for herself. I really connected with her character and grew to like her more as the book went on.

One of my favorite things about this book is the mechanics of Diana Rowland’s zombies. Angel didn’t even realize she was a zombie at first. They can blend seamlessly into human society as long as they can consume brains about every couple days. With brains, they are no different than humans. They look the same, eat the same food, and feel the same. The only difference in that state is drugs or medicines have no effect at all. When they don’t have access to brains, zombies deteriorate quickly. Their skin gets grey and very fragile. Nails fall off. Skin is brittle and easily tears. They start to smell of decay. Plus their senses are heightened and the humans around them smell like delicious food. I really like these new zombie mechanics and look forward to how Angel is in the next book when she’s fairly used to her new state.

My only criticism would be the mystery aspect. The villain became obvious and there wasn’t any intrigue or nuance. I expected red herrings and wrong turns, but came away a little disappointed. Maybe the next book will be better now that all the world building is already in place.

My Life as a White Trash Zombie is a quirky zombie read that I highly recommend. I can’t wait for the next book, Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues.

My rating: 4/5 fishmuffins