Today I’m delighted to share my review of Ed’s Dead by Russel D McLean. This is one of those books that I’ve had on my to be read wish list for a while but never got round to reading it. I’m so glad I finally have done. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the book in just a moment, but first let’s take a look at what it’s all about.
About the Book
Meet Jen. She works in a bookshop and likes the odd glass of Prosecco… oh, and she’s about to be branded The Most Dangerous Woman in Scotland.
Jen Carter is a failed writer with a rubbish boyfriend, Ed. That is, until she accidentally kills him one night. Now that Ed’s dead, she has to decide what to do with his body, his drugs and a big pile of cash. And, more pressingly, how to escape the hitman who’s been sent to recover Ed’s stash. Soon Jen’s on the run from criminals, corrupt police officers and the prying eyes of the media. Who can she trust? And how can she convince them that the trail of corpses left in her wake are just accidental deaths?
A modern noir that proves, once and for all, the female of the species really is more deadly than the male.
Geez. and I thought I’d been having a run of bad days lately. My life is nothing compared to Jen in Ed’s Dead. Bookseller by day, she is tired of the old routine, of having a drug loving boyfriend who takes her for granted and having no sign of fulfilling her dream of becoming a published writer. She can at least take decisive action on one of those counts, kicking boyfriend Ed in to touch. So far so good … until she arrives home to find an intruder in her flat. An intruder she accidentally kills. An intruder who looks a lot like Ed …
Now the blurb tells you all you really need to know about how that night works out for her. Instead of calling the police she calls Ed’s flat mate. The first, and possibly the biggest mistake of her thus far relatively uneventful life. Well that and killing Ed of course. What this leads Jen, and us readers, into is a world of drugs, violence and hard edged criminals who will stop at nothing to get back what Ed took from them. She finds herself well and truly on the wrong side of the law, thwarted each and ever time she decides to do the right thing and leaving a trail of devastation in her wake with each move she makes.
What I loved about the book is the fact that it is a wonderful blend of not only thriller, as there are many scenes in which Jen is put in great danger, but also of stonkingly good humour. Dark humour yes, but so many times this book made me chuckle out loud. There are a series of events that occur over which Jen has almost no control and yet seems to somehow come out on top. It possibly helps that some of the villains she is pitted against aren’t exactly the savviest in the bunch, but some truly are ruthless killers. With crooked cops and criminal masterminds on her case, you wonder how Jen can possibly escape in one piece, and yet the story still feels believable. Madcap, in a Fargo-esque kind of way, absolutely, but still believable. In fact so Fargo-esque, I was almost waiting for the wood chipper to come out. Perhaps that would be a little conspicuous in the middle of Glasgow but still …
I blasted through this in just a few short hours and if, like me, you like a books which has a beautiful blend of crime, action and fast pacing, framed by brilliantly funny moments, definitely give this book a try. I’m just hoping there’s a follow up – a kind of ‘Jen For Hire’ comedy action thriller. Highly recommended.
If you’d like a copy of Ed’s Dead it is available now from the following retailers:
Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Kobo ~ Waterstones
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