Review: "Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues," by Diana Rowland

I was looking for a quick, fun read for a busy week when I remembered how much I enjoyed Diana Rowland’s first White Trash Zombie book. It just so happened that I had the second, “Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues” ($7.99, DAW) loaded on my Nook, and my decision was made.

Becoming a zombie has been good for Angel Crawford. Once a drug addict and on probation for possession of a stolen car, she’s turned her life around. She’s straightened herself out, found a steady job that she enjoys at the coroner’s office – which has the added benefit of giving her access to the brains she needs to survive – and is even dating a police officer.

But as with most things in Angel’s life, that peaceful existence can’t last for long. A mysterious death at a local research lab rocks her world after the body that she’s delivering to the morgue is stolen from her at gunpoint. The event puts Angel in the headlines and pulls her deeper into the complicated politics of the zombie world.

Review: "My Life as a White Trash Zombie," by Diana Rowland

I probably would not have picked up Diana Rowland’s “My Life as a White Trash Zombie” ($7.99, DAW) if not for a recommendation from one of my other recent favorite discoveries, Kevin Hearne. It didn’t seem like something that would normally appeal to me, but I’m glad I gave it a shot, as it was great fun.

Angel Crawford comes from a seriously broken home. Her father gave up her mentally ill mother to protect her, while he descended into alcoholism and she became a junkie. When Angel wakes up in the hospital, she has no idea what has happened, but begins to piece it together. She was found naked on the side of the road by police, with a cocktail of drugs in her system. Now, though, she seems to have a mysterious benefactor. Before she leaves the hospital, she gets a note informing her that she now has a job as a van driver for the coroner’s office, and that if she doesn’t want to go to jail, she has to keep it for 30 days. Along with the note are bottles of a strange liquid that she’s instructed to drink.