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

Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues
(White Trash Zombie #2)
Diana Rowland
Release: July 3, 2012

Goodreads     Amazon

Angel Crawford is finally starting to get used to life as a brain-eating zombie, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she's beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. Yeah, that's right--the zombie mafia.
Throw in a secret lab and a lot of conspiracy, and Angel's going to need all of her brainpower--and maybe a brain smoothie as well--in order to get through it without falling apart.

". . . Sweet zombie Jesus, I was fucking invincible."

Angel is back and as mouthy as ever in this sequel to last year's breakout hit, My Life As A White Trash Zombie. This one definitely has a bit of a different feel to it, with Rowland giving Angel some room to grow up. While the first book centered heavily on Angel learning about being a zombie, Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues shows Angel getting to know herself as a person.

The story picks up only a couple weeks after the end of the previous book, with the police department still in an uproar after discovering the identity of the serial killer and still trying to track him down. Angel is such a unique character, even in the world of urban fantasy. I mean, she's a ZOMBIE for goodness sake! She is also full of hilarious one-liners that always make me snort.

"'Yeah, well I ate his brain." I leaned back and laced my fingers behind my head. "Motherfucker shot me. I couldn't let that shit slide.'"

Angel has settled into her new life as a coroner's assistant quite nicely, actually a little too nicely if you ask me. It is clear that Rowland plans to let Angel mature over the course of the series and it seems we can look forward to seeing some good growth, yet I feel like I almost want her to do it a little more slowly. If this is going to be a long series (and I hope it is!) I want to see Angel's growth happen at a slightly slower pace. That must be my love of screwed up anti-heroines talking. I love a good messed up heroine and Angel definitely fits into that category.

"'Thing is, you're right. I don't have shit in the way of education. I had a crap family life, and there was no one to tell me to finish school and go on to college or any of that stuff. And there sure as hell wasn't anyone to help pay for it. But it doesn't matter. I'm working to improve myself, And I don't need anyone telling me that I need to do it. Just me.' And my probation officer. but I didn't plan on adding that little detail."

At the end of the previous book, we learned that Marcus, the police detective Angel had been interested in, was actually a zombie as well. The book ended with the two of them kind of becoming a couple and I was interested in seeing where their relationship would go. I was a little disappointed that in this book, Marcus is kind of a douche. Can't sugar coat it - he was not my favorite person. He is constantly second guessing everything Angel says and thinks and treats her like a little kid. What I was impressed with was how Angel handled him. She stuck up for herself and didn't let Marcus' lack of faith in her convince her she was wrong.

In Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues, we finally get to learn more about what makes someone a zombie and how it works. Rowland created a fascinating story behind her zombies and it was certainly distinct, even believable. We also learn about a zombie network (read: mob) with Marcus' uncle at its head. I'm hoping this means that we will get to meet other zombies in future books. My wish for Angel is a female friend, perhaps even a zombie? She needs a sounding board and good friend, that's something that is noticeably missing from her life. All the other characters in the books that mean something to Angel are all men - she needs a chick to roll with her and be a bit of a role model for her.

Oh, and there are some gross-out moments in this book, that's for sure. But they are nothing an avid reader of urban fantasy can't handle and less than an avid reader of zombie fiction would expect.

I'm excited to see where this series goes and what's in store for Angel in the future. Hopefully we won't have to wait until next year for book three!

"'Zombie Super Powers, activate, you fucking bitches.'"

Recommended for fans of: screwed up heroines, zombies, fingernails falling off, every swear word under the sun, and books with snark.

New to the series? Check out my review of book 1 HERE