Dead Heads (Gloomwood)

I just picked up Dead Heads along with several other self-published books. The premise was very interesting and unique in its take on life after death. Turns out this particular afterlife isn't that much different than the living world, just with more grey and death puns.

I liked the main character of Augustan Blunt. I couldn't help but imagine him as Eddie Valiant from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The other characters are pretty interesting and funny, and the chemistry works well. I really enjoyed the British humor employed throughout the novel. I'm not a big mystery guy, but the story kept me interested.

I suppose my only complaints are that the ending feels rather rushed in its conclusion, and that the setting of Gloomwood could have been much more "out there" with its depiction of the afterlife. It came off as somewhat mundane, rather than macabre and wacky.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was pretty neat.

This book started off engaging and fun with a lot of potential. However everything quickly became bogged down with too many character introductions and meandering exposition that didn't manage to add any depth or relatability to any of them. After such a drawn out and oftentimes boring build up, the ending was anticlimactic and hollow. Without spoiling it, I'll just say the villain lacks any realistic motivation and that seems to be a problem for a lot of the characters in this book.

Such a great read.

Detective Blunt, after coming to terms that he now resides in Gloomwood, quickly catapults to lead investigator of solving a murder - in a town of dead people. The unfolding of the mystery, as well as the world building and character development, was unique and engaging with plenty of entertaining doses of sarcasm and wit. I was not expecting the ending.

The author's brilliance and sense of humor shine in this piece. I look forward to reading "Get Ted Dead" Gloomwood Book 2.