Book 3, 2023

[chez_jae]

Don't Wake the Dead by C.C. Wood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Last night I finished reading Don't Wake the Dead by CC Wood. This is the first in the "Wraith Files" series of paranormal mysteries. The main character is Zoe Thorne, who can see and communicate with spirits.

When Zoe loses her boring job at a boring insurance company to company-wide layoffs, she makes ends meet by taking on temp assignments. Fortunately, her house payments are low, as she bought the house for a song due to it being haunted. Zoe doesn't mind her ghostly roommate, Teri, especially since it's thanks to Teri that she could afford the house. Zoe's life continues to chug along until she's approached by Malachi Flemming, who hosts a YouTube show with his friends wherein they investigate hauntings. He's heard that Zoe's house is haunted and offers to pay her for the privilege of investigating. During the course of the evening, Mal learns that Zoe is the real deal when it comes to mediums. He convinces her to join the cast of the Wraith Files. Neither of them could have predicted the turn their lives would take when Zoe spies a spirit at the side of the road one evening and stops to help him. Hank is convinced he was murdered, and he wants Zoe to prove it. She and Mal begin looking into Hank's death, originally ruled an accident, but now they have a killer who's desperate enough to kill again to keep a secret.

I was charmed by this story. I loved Zoe as a protagonist. I liked Zoe's zany friend, Jonelle. Teri was hilarious (I nearly died when she called Jonelle a 'cock-hopper'!). Zoe and Mal are drawn to one another, although Zoe tries to keep things platonic. I was impressed that Mal respected her wishes and didn't push. The plot made sense, and it showed Zoe engaged in activities other than merely sleuthing. My biggest complaint is that the epilogue ruined the happy, feel good ending of the book. It was setting up the next in the series, but perhaps the author could have saved it as the prologue of the next book, rather than ending this one on a creepy, discordant note.

Favorite lines:
♦ "She goes through men faster than a teenage boy goes through hand lotion."
♦ "You're wound up so tight that you'll shoot to outer space if you fart."

A rollicking, fun read, and I'll look for more in the series. Four stars.