Dead is the New Black Review

The small town of Nightshade is known for its odd occurrences dating back several hundred years. So you may understand that it came to no surprise to Daisy when her ex best friend Samantha Devereaux showed up at school dressed completely in black, paler then normal, and dragging a coffin around as her latest accessory.

Samantha is the head cheerleader at Nightshade High School and the most popular even though the girls are only juniors. Whether dragging around a coffin was the latest cool thing to do or if Samantha was now a walking dead person, Daisy does not know. Either way, Samantha seems different and needs to be watched extra carefully.

Daisy comes from a family of psychics but she is a norm with no powers to speak of. While her sisters can read minds and use telekinesis, her mother uses her powers to help the police solve crimes. The latest case involves a dead teenage girl. Daisy enlists her best friend Ryan Mendez to help her solve the mystery. But when one by one teenagers are having seizures and wind up in the hospital with mysterious illnesses, Daisy realizes they must work quickly before another person ends up dead.

Will Daisy and Ryan solve the case or will they end up the latest victims to this supernatural person? Who is the culprit and how come the police haven’t caught them by now? Will investigating this case reunite Samantha and Daisy as friends?

Dead Is the New Black is the first book in a new paranormal Young Adult series by Marlene Perez. The story moves along at a fast pace with romance, humor, and a mystery to keep readers intrigued. The characters are completely original and eccentrically hilarious.

I would have loved to read a book like this as a teenager and I am sure the Young Adults that this series is geared towards will find a lot to their liking in this story. Overall, there’s plenty of fun to be had in Nightshade, so dive right in and enjoy!