Dead Girls Are Easy

Un romanzo veramente squisito questo “Le ragazze morte sono facili”, opera di esordio di Terri Garey. Fresco, irriverente e innovativo sotto alcuni punti di vista, pur rimanendo sul classico sotto altri aspetti che rappresentano, tutto sommato, la colonna portante del romanzo. In molti riscontreranno qualche similitudine con il telefilm Ghost Whispers, ma a parte l’introduzione – comune a moltissimi altri romanzi del genere – i collegamenti terminano in fretta.

Nicki è una ragazza normalissima – per quanto possa esserlo una sagace dark vintage – ma l’aver sfiorato – letteralmente – la morte la riporterà indietro con uno spiacevole souvenir dalla sua esperienza premorte.

E se, da una parte, l’esperienza in ospedale show more porterà nella sua vita il sexy dottor Bascombe, dall’altra, l’idea di vedere le anime dei morti non entusiasma per niente la nostra Nicki, che si ritroverà a dubitare seriamente della sua sanità mentale. E con lei anche la maggior parte delle persone con le quali troverà il coraggio di svelarsi.

Se a tutto questo aggiungiamo che una delle sue più care amiche provvederà a farsi uccidere, nonché a vendere la sua anima al Male – per gelosia – e decidere che sia proprio Nicki (ancora alle prime armi per quanto riguarda spiriti e affini) a doverla aiutare… possiamo dire che non c’è limite al peggio. Povera Nicki!

Questo romanzo è una lettura fresca, leggera e perfetta per una serata d’estate, in grado di farti fare quattro risate (Nicki è veramente una forza della natura!) e abbastanza intrigante e ben scritto da catturare l’attenzione del lettore in poche, rapide, pagine.

La narrazione presenta un ritmo crescente che scivola, con facilità, dalla spassosa introduzione a una parte centrale e finale man a mano più interessante, cupa e perfino misteriosa. Il romanticismo c’è, senza dubbio, ma non rappresenta il centro assoluto del libro e permette al lettore di non fossilizzarsi troppo sulle smancerie dei due protagonisti che, per fortuna, di zuccherino hanno ben poco. Sono una coppia apparentemente opposta ma in realtà ben assortita, giovane, dinamica e divertente.

I personaggi, benché abbastanza stereotipati (il miglior amico gay, il dottore scettico ma innamorato e tanto sensibile…), appaiono tutti perfettamente in grado di andarsene in giro sulle loro gambe grazie a tanti piccoli particolari, introdotti dall’autrice, che riescono comunque a renderli unici, a loro modo.

Evan è strepitoso, in tutto quello che fa e dice… Soprattutto quando non si preoccupa di far incavolare l’amica se ritiene che questa abbia bisogno di aiuto.

Joe è ben lontano dal classico bello e dannato ma, piuttosto, alla bellezza aggiunge un tocco di charme, savoir faire, intelligenza e sagacia che lo aiutano a far breccia nel cuore, ben protetto da uno spesso strato di sarcasmo, di Nicki.

Lo stile della Garey è divertente, irriverente, fresco, giovane ed esplosivo. È diretto e piuttosto semplice nel descrivere in prima persona le esperienze di Nicki Styx, dandoci, inoltre, una bella panoramica dell’assurda mente della nostra protagonista. L’autrice dimostra anche di sapersi muovere in un ambiente più cupo e meno leggero, come quello degli incantesimi Vodoo, e di saper costruire una trama intrigante, misteriosa e priva di buchi logici nonché nonsense.

A differenza di molte sue colleghe, Terri Garey non ci fornisce un semplice romanzo introduttivo alla saga ma, ringraziando iddio, un romanzo strutturalmente completo dal finale aperto, ma che vede concludersi i tre casi seguiti dalla nostra Nicki alle prese con amori, sorelle gemelle, anime, fantasmi vendicatori e vodoo.

In definitiva, un romanzo da leggere, apprezzare e con il quale passare qualche ora (visto oltretutto che non presenta una lunghezza eccessiva) nelle calde sere estive. Consigliato. show less

First read: September 2007
Re-read: February 2021

I have been wanting to reread this series for a while, but was unsure if it would stand up to the test of time. There were some issues I found this time around that I didn't pick up on before- like how much of a creep Joe actually is; sabotaging Nicki's car so she'd be forced to rely on a lift from him, and using his status as her medical doctor to get close to her.
On the positive side, the paranormal ghost story was much scarier than I remembered, and was genuinely chilling.
Overall, it was a good reread and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Another fun book I seem to be in the mood for! Nicki has a near death experience and therefore, can see dead people. Admittedly, not too original, but still fun.

There's a few twists here, plus a romance that's not too objectionable. One of the dead that she sees might actually be an evil spirit. I love the voodoo stuff in this book, hokey as it may be.

I'm just hoping that MY heart murmur doesn't give me a heart attack after a dentist visit! I went to the dentist yesterday and then laid in bed and thought about that last night. actually, seeing all those ghosts might be fun. Maybe.

Bought for Myself
Overall Rating 4.25
Character Rating 4.50
Story Rating 4.00
Future Member of the Snort Club (I think)

NOTE: I was hesitant about picking up Dead Girls are Easy because I read Devil Without a Cause. I loved Sammy, so I wasn't sure how I would react to Nicki. My friend Christi said I had to read them because Nicki was my kind of leading lady. As always, Christi was right!

What I Loved: Nicki Styx! Terri Garey has written a smart nontraditional beauty. Nicki isn't afraid to speak her mind even though she has insecurities and a whole heaping mess full of problems. I love those kind of characters that can keep a sense of humor while tackling things that just pop up in their lives. From Dead People to long lost relatives, Nicki show more manages to handle everything with her own unique brand of humor and hutzpa. Also love Evan, Nicki's BFF! He is so full of awesome! The following quotes are from him....

He tore his gaze from Christian Lacroix’s spring collection to take a good look at my face. “Oh, dear Lord. It’s Kelly Osbourne the morning after. What happened to your mascara? Your lipstick is all smeared.”

“He should’ve told you.” “Then why didn’t he?” Evan threw up his hands. “Honey, if I knew the answer to that I’d either be a straight man or a shrink. And I’d much rather have the two hundred bucks an hour.” “Two fifty,” I said glumly.

What I Liked: Not in love with Joe the boyfriend/doctor. It really isn't his fault I am not in love with him. I am still really trying to wrap my head around all the circumstances surrounding him. However, I have a feeling I will come to love him very much!

Complaints: None!

Why I gave it a 4.25: This was such a fun beginning to a new series for me. The story, plotting, pacing, and characters were all fantastically done! show less

Entertaining and easy to read, Nicki has a lot of attitude and Joe seems cute - a little one dimensional still but I am sure that will improve. I think Garey could have played up the dead wandering around a little more - harrased Nicki with it bit - Mrs Goldblatt was fun. Some neat little twists and i'll look forward to seeing where the series goes.

I really enjoyed this fun paranormal read!

When Nicki Styx has a near-death experience after suffering from heretofore unknown heart problems, she's sent back with the message "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

That sounded great, and the doctor who saved her life in the ER looks pretty dang good, too. But soon Nicki finds out just exactly what that whole "Golden Rule" stuff was about. The spirits of people recently departed, who have unfinished business on Earth, seem drawn to Nicki. And they all want her to solve their problems.

Some of these ghosts/spirits are friendly, some are funny, and some, like the spirit of Caprice Dumaine, seem downright evil. It seems Caprice was involved in some truly witchy voodoo, and now show more it's up to Nicki, along with Caprice's Granny Julep, to set things right.

This was a fast, breezy read that has some laugh-out-loud moments, along with some truly creepy ones. Although the issues with Dr. Joe, Nicki's savior/boyfriend at first seemed a little too far out there (even more than seeing dead people!!), I was interested in this side plot by the end of the book.

I can't wait for the next book in the series! show less

I loved the plot of this book by Terri Garey. Nicki has a near death experience and when she awakes, lo and behold, she sees dead people. The dead people all need a little help, "tell so and so this for me", "I need to give something to someone"...but then her neighbor gets murdered. Suddenly Nicki finds out she's fighting for her home, her mind, and her life! With a fun storyline, and interesting characters this story flies right off the words on the page. This is an extremely strong entry into what looks to be a new paranormal series. Two (minor) points bothered me. The first being that the ending wasn't as strong as I feel it could've been. I think it was fairly abrupt and a little too tidy, although there was a short string or two show more left hanging. Surely those strings lead to some future plot lines. The other thing, is probably my own special quirk but I everytime I read her name Nicki Styx, visions of Motley Crew danced in my head. Slightly odd. Basically, great kudos to this book. Pick it up and enjoy. show less