This is a quick, fun read with a more light-hearted unique spin on a murder mystery. That said, I’m afraid it just wasn’t my kind of humour. It wasn’t a surprise to learn the author was a children’s writer. It felt like this might be more appropriately targeted at a young adult audience. Charming a read but not for me.

A witty and fast-paced murder mystery with the unusual angle of the main character trying to solver her own murder from the afterlife. Miriam was quite the character, both in life and death and pairing her up with her elderly neighbour Winnie, the only one who can see her in this afterlife, was a great ploy. Really enjoyed it, a funny and fresh take.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Dr Miriam price is an absolute scream - a narrator you don’t really want to like but end up wondering what she’s going to do next. From her acerbic one liners and her long suffering cast of relatives, colleagues and her single friend Jane, she really does have a complicated and somewhat difficult life. With a mantra of not saying sorry for anything, she doesn’t endear people to her - so when the only person who can see her in the recently living status is her adversary Winnie, we are in for a treat.

Together this dynamic duo create an unlikely and begrudging friendship that develops along with the storyline.

I must admit I shed several tears and am utterly bereft now it’s over. As another reviewer said, I’m gutted to discover that this is the author’s first adult novel - it was brilliant. It’s not often I give out 5 stars, but this is an easy award… it’s utterly brilliant!!

I loved the premise of this- a surgeon is trying to work out who murdered her, from the afterlife. Made even more funnier that the only live person who can see her is a neighbour who she didn’t get in with. Really funny and a great fast paced mystery.

I thrloroughly loved this book and couldn't put it down. It's funny and poignant and the characters are brilliantly written. I loved the relationship between Winnie and Miriam and was sad they didn't have each other sooner. All the relationships Miriam has are nit what she thinks and this is both heartwarming and sad at the same time.

I truly hope that limbo and the afterlife are as described in this book.

As a Year 5/6 English teacher and school librarian, I have seen many children fall in love with Maz’s amazing middle grade books, so when I saw that she had a debut adult novel coming I simply had to read it. What a triumph! Over My Dead Body is a clever, unique, crazy book that has had me literally laughing out loud.

Dr Miriam Price is a superb protagonist - a clever, sharp character full of witty one-liners. I loved her relationship with her arch enemy neighbour Winnie and the two of them combined make a terrific sleuthing team. Winnie is just brilliant with her crazy antics.

I loved the storyline - Miriam finding herself in limbo but knowing she’s been murdered and that her only way to eternity is to prove that she’s been murdered to the coroner. Intertwined in the main story are lots of other threads that deal with some quite serious issues and will pull at your heart strings. Having laughed and laughed throughout, I have to admit to a few tears at the end. You’ll have to read it yourself though to find out why!

I really do hope Maz has more adult fiction coming.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for a review.

Miriam is dead. She’s been bumped off for some reason 50 years earlier than her expected date of death and she’s looking at spending that time in limbo unless she can prove she was murdered. The only person who can help her is her neighbour Winnie who Miriam has fallen out with over a cat…

Miriam is quite a selfish human being but she has her moments of selflessness, particularly when she’s working. Maybe being a busy A&E doctor where she has to look after others causes her to go to the other extreme in her downtime. Whatever the cause, I didn’t particularly like Miriam to start with but as I got to know her better and she went through limbo, her more caring side came out and I wanted her to solve her own murder. I do have to say, her little birthday tradition for Jake did make me laugh!

I felt like a voyeur throughout this book. Miriam led me around her nearest and dearest, watching and taking in their personal lives without the ability to interact or interject. The parts of their lives that she was oblivious to as she focused on either her patients or her own needs. I want to say this book at points made me think of Beetlejuice, not in a dark Tim Burton way but the way Miriam interacts with the people destined for Limbo and the afterlife and then with Winnie in the living world.

This is a fun murder mystery that I flew through. Evans’ writing has the right balance between the darkness of crime fiction and a lighthearted comic tone. This twist on a murder mystery with the paranormal elements and chuckle moments was something a little different and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended!

Dr Miriam Price is dead and the police presume it was an accident.
Miriam may be dead but she is determined to prove she was murdered
A comical, smart whodunnit with a paranormal twist.
Wickedly funny with superb one liners
However I did feel for Miriam being around her family and friends watching their personal lives without the ability to interact with them
As a well known author of junior novels It’s the author’s first foray into adult novels and I do hope it’s the first of many.
Thanks @mazauthor @headlinepg & @netgalley for the eARC

Debut adult novel from the very talented children's author Maz Evans, Over My Dead Body is a unique take on the 'cosy crime' genre in that the murdered Dr Miriam Price is having to investigate the crime herself!

Miriam has dedicated her working life to becoming a respected A&E doctor, but her personal life was not as perfect. She is determined to prove that, despite the scene around her body, she did not kill herself. If nothing else, the powers-that-be will not allow her out of Limbo into her perfect afterlife if her death is recorded as misadventure and she only has a few days to prove it. There is nothing for it but to team up with her nemesis neighbour Winnie who is the only one still able to see and speak to her, which leads to some hilarious interactions between the two! Hearing about some of the things they have done to each other over the years since they fell out was a highlight for me!

This was a very funny read, as well as being witty and well-plotted. The characters alongside Miriam, Winnie and Martin in particular, were a pleasure to read about and I really enjoyed the development of relationships between them all.

Highly recomended if you feel like a fresh and funny take on cosy crime!

A comedy mystery whodunnit, written from the viewpoint of the murder victim, Dr Miriam Price, who is doomed to spend the next 50 years in limbo if she cannot prove that she was murdered. She sets out to do this with her elderly neighbour, Winnie, who has acquired the ability to see Miriam due to being a few days away from death herself. The portrayal of the after-life is reminiscent of the Good Place, and the investigation has some nods to Winnie’s favourite TV series, Diagnosis Murder, but the humour is decidedly British with several laugh out loud moments and extremely wicked observational asides.

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Absolutely loved the characters of Miriam and Winnie! This book is a joy- part whodunnit, part unlikely-pairing-with-comedy- results- it was the perfect summer read. Miriam is a great protagonist- spiky, sarky, and a little bit messy- and totally human. Winnie is old age goals- full of spirit and attitude. Maz Evans writing bubbles with humour and made me giggle and gasp in equal measures at the plot twists and sharp one- liners. Completely recommended!

gosh, what a bundle of fun. a truly unique interpretation of the afterlife, a snarky heroine who, while at times was VERY difficult to love, always managed to make me laugh with her insults and had great chemistry with her elderly crime-fighting companion, and some Grade A resolution at the end, this book was a recipe for success! although some of the dialogue was a bit extra and the mystery was fairly predictable, I still had a great time. sequel? sign me up!!

This was such an amusing book and a little different to my usual genre.

I really enjoyed the main character, she was witty and sharp and I was definitely hooked straight away. I wanted to consume the book straight away and I'm glad I did.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which stood out from other crime novels I have read. I initially thought it might fall under the category of ‘cosy crime’, but the characters of Dr Miriam Price and her elderly neighbour Winnie proved themselves to be anything but cosy. Their ongoing feud provided a comical element to the story, which continued even after Miriam’s murder. Despite being sworn enemies in life, Miriam and Winnie formed an unlikely alliance and even developed a fondness for each other.

It’s not hard to see why Miriam could think of so many people who might want to bump her off. She was rather abrasive, often downright rude, perhaps rather selfish and at this point, furious. I suppose you can understand why, having been murdered but condemned to spend decades in limbo since she’s classed as a ‘death by misdventure’. I can see why she would be none too happy about that. However, over the course of the book you come to understand Miriam and while maybe not agreeing with all she has done in life, she certainly becomes a bit more personable. As a dedicated and skilled doctor, she has sworn to ‘do no harm’ and even in death, that’s a vow she takes seriously.

I really enjoyed meeting all the other characters in the book and finding out about their potential reasons for wanting to murder Miriam. That maybe sounds a bit odd but through them we find out more about Miriam and through them Miriam finds out more about themselves. Quite a few of these stories were very moving, particularly that of young Bella.

I highly recommend Over My Dead Body as it kept me guessing about the culprit while also being surprisingly poignant at times. It’s a fresh and funny read that is both entertaining and uplifting, which, it has to be said, is quite unusual for a crime novel.

Despite its intriguing premise, the characters put me off from engaging with the story. Miriam herself was the main culprit. I was not a fan of her narration. She was unnecessarily rude and cutting which I didn’t find funny. Miriam wasn’t a good person when she was alive and made no improvement in death. Still, I was looking forward to her antagonistic partnership with Winnie. Sadly, my dislike for Miriam overpowered any enjoyment I could have had.

The actual murder mystery wasn’t particularly captivating as the story kept on going down unnecessary side plots that revolved around secondary characters. By the time it was revealed who murdered Miriam, I was indifferent to the outcome.

Overall, the infuriating main character and the meandering plot prevented me from ever getting hooked by the murder mystery element of the novel.

So this book caught my eye on net gallery and I am so glad it did. This book is absolutely hilarious and it had me in stitches throughout whilst dealing with sensitive topics with real grace at the same time. This book being in the first person really helped to capture Miriam’s sense of humour as well as her relationship with her friends, family, colleagues and the arch nemesis neighbour Winnie.

I really don’t want to spoil this book at all as it is so good and I really do recommend this book if you enjoy a mystery with a bit of witty humour alongside it

I couldn’t put this book down - hilarious, heartwarming and thought provoking, it really kept me turning the pages.

I’ve long been a fan of Maz Evan’s middle grade books (her Who Let the Gods Out? series is a firm favourite) and this is her adult debut about Dr Miriam Price who wakes up one day, discovers she has been murdered and has to solve her own murder as a ghost.

The plot was brilliantly created with lots of funny moments - Miriam’s long running feud with her neighbour Winnie has some of the funniest pranks I’ve ever heard of - and the relationship they develop as the book goes on is brilliant.

It’s a really thoughtful look at the afterlife and what we could do if we got to go back and look at our lives and make amends. To start with Miriam was a really unlikeable character but she grew and changed during the book and at the end became probably one of my favourite characters I’ve read about this year.

I really highly recommend picking up a copy of this book when it’s published this Thursday (3rd August)! Thank you to the publisher @headline and @netgalley for the free digital copy of the book.

After spending years of reading and laughing aloud at Maz Evans' books for children, I was really keen to read her first adult book. I was expecting it to be be pacey, funny and emotional and it was, but in so much bigger ways than I was anticipating.

Dr Miriam Price has been murdered but the police believe she took her own life. If she doesn't prove that she was killed with a few days, she has to spend 50 years in Limbo - the Birchanger Services of the afterlife. To aid her, she has to rely on the assistance of her nemesis - next-door neighbour, Winnie. Her character especially was an absolute joy to experience.

This book, along with being a who-dunnit, is packed full of one-liners (the volume of these did take some getting used to) and humour, but equally made me cry at times. Maz really is able to make her readers feel all the emotions and I am really excited to read her next book for grown-ups, along with the equally brilliant ones she writes for children. A great read. 4.5 rounded up.

OH MY GOSH I LOVED THIS!!!! Honestly what a fantastic introduction to the highly recommended Maz Evans - I think I'm going to go back and read her kids stuff too. What an amazing, hilarious read. The storyline of this grabbed me and Maz is clearly well known for her humour in her writing. This was so fun - an unusual storyline trying to solve a mystery alongside some serious dark humour and a really bitter old lady who was great fun...A few excellent twists I didn't see coming (including who killed the cat!) and all in all a 10/10 5* Read!!! Thank you

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an arc of 'Over My Dead Body'.
Often when you see a book blurb with " laugh out loud funny" or "absolutely hilarious" they turn out not to be...this is the exception! What a brilliant book. Maz Evans gives us an amazingly comical insight into her idea of heaven and the afterlife ("Guess again, Belinda Carlisle. Heaven ain't a place on earth.") Her characters, both alive and dead, are interesting, well rounded and have exactly the right amount of like-ability. Thoroughly enjoyed this 5* book from the very first page all the way through to the perfect end.