Over My Dead Body is a rollicking good fun murder mystery featuring the cantankerous middle-aged recently-deceased alcoholic Dr Miriam Price who has to solve her own murder while negotiating Limbo, manifesting to the soon-to-be-dead and observing her friends and family cope with her death and the inquest.

I really enjoyed this book. The character of Miriam was witty, naughty and wickedly funny but underneath it all was a caring woman who tried to do the right thing. I liked the arc her character went through and the various resolutions for all the supporting characters which Miriam facilitated. A highly recommended read.

Dr Miriam Price is dead. People think she comitted suicide but she knows better and now she is out to prove that she was murdered from the afterlife.

A great concept and I really liked the sound of this one.

There are certainly some moments that made me chuckle but on the whole I didn’t feel particularly engaged with the story. I found Miriam to be really irritating and although I’m sure that’s deliberate I began to not care about her or the outcome.

She does improve as the story goes on but by that time I had disengaged a bit. I did enjoy Winnie though and the exchanges between her and Miriam were the most entertaining part for me.

Evidently in the minority looking at other reviews so think this is maybe a case of it being me rather than the book!

Thanks to Headine for the chance to read an early copy

Absolutely adored this book!!! It was funny and fast paced a proved to be the perfect read to get me out of a reading slump, I would highly recommend this book to everyone

Zinger-tastic post-death murder mystery that I didn't want to end.

I like to highlight memorable quotes from e-books I read, to mention in my reviews. Well, I must have highlighted a third of the text of Maz Evans' latest, giggling and guffawing my way through it. She's been saving her best lines for adult fiction clearly, and we've read all her kids' books in my house already.

Maz, you're the Queen of Bantz, you really are. My god, this was funny. And with a Scrooge/Miranda Priestly/Cruella-type of 'heroine' that you get the feeling from the first you should probably loathe. But you don't. You can't. She's too godd*mned funny. Self-centred. Witty. Smart. Twisted. Sarcastic. Funny.

I'd say 'misanthropic' isn't really strong enough for Dr Miriam Price. I mean, she's just died and everything so you might think it wouldn't matter anymore. It does to Miriam though, what you think of her. As she's looking at her dead body and not really at all happy nobody thinks she was actually murdered. Death by Misadventure?! I don't think so.

Visiting the afterlife, Miriam learns that if it goes in the books that she died in this way, she'll be in Limbo for 50 years. Nuh-uh. So what can be done about this? Nobody can see or hear Miriam... apart from the elderly neighbour she's engaged in a feud with over her dead cat for years... who might not have long to go herself.

And here the book really takes off, with the loathed Winnie press-ganged into assisting the vile Miriam. As we hear what these two warring females did to each other through their battling back-and-forths.

My goodness was this funny. It seemed effortless and was just perfectly constructed: the terrible protagonist, sympathetic and needed sidekick, and both the murder mystery set-up and a possible redemption arc as Miriam can now see the people around her as they really were, and not through the God-Complex lens of a talented, belittling solipsist. The author brings Dickens' eponymous miser's own arc in, with Miriam's family, patients, post-death acquaintances, all of whom can now start to show Miriam just what she hasn't seen, and what she should have.

I really didn't want this to end, I could have watched Miriam and Winnie bicker for weeks. The way Evans' throws in their clearly bitter but cackly acts of vengeance had me shaking my head. Winnie manages an insult too: "Yes you were (lonely). You hardly had any friends. The most visitors you ever got was when I put an advert for free puppies at your address in the supermarket." Brilliant.

I equally loved Evans' afterlife creation, loved the colours, the rules, the justice meted out.

And yes okay. A couple of tears here and there too. Cos Evans' also knows how to pull a string on the heart at all.

I've just realised I've not included a single actual Miriamism in this review. Hmm, better try and show I read the thing. Well, something that encapsulates her really might be a half-compliment, half-humblebrag: "You are, without a doubt, the barmiest b*tch I have ever met... And I once did karaoke with Timmy Mallet..." That's all you're getting. Trust me and read the book for more.

One of my favourite books this year, and yet more proof that I need to keep Maz Evans on my small 'ohh a new title by him/her, I'll have that' list.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Love, love, loved this book! Not my usual genre at all but felt like a change and was intrigued by all the great reviews.

The writing is quick, witty, in fact laugh out loud funny in parts. The author is so clever that although Miriam is not a nice person at all, you really root for her and want the best end for her.

My only disappointment is that I have now discovered this was the first adult novel by the author so I can’t binge read all her others!

Please bring out a book 2 - I need to know what all these characters are doing now!

If you're a fan of Maz's children's books (and let's face it - why wouldn't you be?) Then you're in for a treat! Same humour, same twisty plotting, same bonkersly brilliant characterisation but this one's for the grown ups!

Dr Miriam Price's body is found in her flat with a lethal cocktail of sleeping pills and alcohol in her system.
She knows this was no accident and it certainly wasn't her own doing but unless the inquest delivers a murder verdict, she's going to be stuck in limbo for half a century - and that does not sit well with Miriam.

When she realises that her old neighbour, the cantankerous and possibly cat-killing Winnie, is the only still living person who can see her, Miriam has to persuade her to investigate her murder and overturn the official line of death by misadventure.

The story that unravels is jaw-achingly funny, heart-achingly poignant and stuffed with one liners that deserve to be on T-shirts.

Where to start in reviewing this wonderful book?! This book absorbs you immediately and with the humour plus the style of writing, it is an immersive spectacle of a page-turner! Essentially the story is a murder mystery - Dr Miriam Price is dead and is in the afterlife, but needs to prove that she was murdered (as opposed to have taken her own life) in order to pass to ‘Eternity’. There are clever twists along the way but the book itself works so well - the idea behind it is just fantastic. Maz Evans creates a world within the world we know akin to JK Rowling, with genuine ‘laugh out loud’ humour on top - mainly dry life observations and dark humour.

I will be recommending this book to all, and already have ordered one of Maz Evans’ children’s books for my KS2 child. As someone working in the medical profession, it was also a huge relief that a book that was about medical professionals was precise, I know the author had attended the coroners court as part of her research and this is reflected in the book.

I can’t wait to read more by this author - could this even be the start of a series around Dr Price?

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC in exchange for my honest review, I absolutely loved it.
#OverMyDeadBody #NetGalley

I love a good murder mystery, so throw in ghosts and I'm straight in there. Unfortunately, this book just missed the mark for me. The main character was tiresome and that left me not all that bothered about resolving the crime. Not the book for me!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

"The breathtaking ability of the English to convey displeasure in near silence is extraordinary. If there is ever a Passive-aggressive World Cup, England might actually win it."

Meet Dr. Miriam Price. She's dead, yet she continues to 'live' in "limbo" until she can prove that she was murdered instead of everyone believing that she killed herself. It is only then that she can gain entry into Eternity.

Miriam can only communicate with those who are about to die - cue her old neighbour Winnie, whom Miriam was always at war with. What ensues is a mixture of comedy and solving a crime.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It was witty with plenty of laugh out loud moments. Having only read Who Let the Gods Out?, I'm so glad Maz Evans has written adult fiction. Every character was connected to another. The plot was clever and with the many characters, twists and turns; the writing worked.

A light hearted tale about Dr Miriam Price, the Police think she commited suicide but she knows she was murder, after all she was there but she has no idea who by. Unfortunately for her the only person who has any "contact" with her is her neighbour Winnie who she hadn't spoken to for years. They team up to find out what happens, resulting in some laugh out loud moments. Entertaining and unusual concept

Brilliantly dark humour, and such a fun plot. This was sheer indulgence, I ignored the housework and spent the entire afternoon in my happy place.
Maz Evans has previously written a series of children’s books that are fabulous, and I was so excited when I saw she’d written an adult novel. And, oh my, this does not disappoint. The characters are layered and interesting, the afterlife is pretty much exactly how I’d imagined (justice wrapped in bureaucracy) and the twists were nicely done. And there’s so much warmth and hope. Miriam is one of my favourite characters so far this year
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys “cosy crime” with a difference.

Being a big fan of Evans' children's books I was hugely excited to discover she had written an adult novel. And I was not disappointed!
The story follows the efforts of newly deceased Dr Miriam Price as she tries to prove she was murdered and did not commit suicide as her inquest is assuming. She engages the help of her neighbour and erstwhile nemesis as one of the few people that can see her ghost, and they need to put aside their differences as time for them both begins to run out.

Evans' writing has you chuckling from the start as her observational wit and sharp prose leap from the page. The dynamic between the two main protagonists is a masterclass in characterisation and you are completely engaged in the journey that they make together. And tho there are a few weak, convenient moments in the crime thread they are quickly forgiven among the ingenious plot twists, the wonderfully funny comments on modern life and the brilliance of the wider supporting cast. Through all of this Evans also manages to include comment on some serious societal issues and Miriam acts as a catalyst for many wrongs being corrected.
I cannot recommend this book enough. Her adult lists looks to be as strong as her children's. Role on the next one please.

This is brilliant. Maz Evans gets humour so much. I fell in love with her writing from her kids books and was looking forward to seeing how it played out in this… and I was not disappointed. Amazing characters, absolutely hysterical situations and page after page of lols: a proper page turner indeed!

This is so fun and unique and quirky and I loved it!!

Let me get one thing straight, I absolutely adored Winnie, the troublesome neighbour. She's a fabulous character. She's old, and we all know old people don't generally get to be main characters in books or films. They're usually relegated to the sidelines, only there when it's useful to the main story. But whilst she might not be our main protagonist - that's Miriam - she is right up there with her. She's ballsy and bold and confident and grump and just fantastic.

But Miriam herself is the perfect protagonist. Yes she's got her issues, but so does everyone. But she's oh so very human. She's hilarious in her stubbornness and I loved it. Some may find her unlikable, but I think it's for all the reasons she may be unlikeable is what makes her likeable for me.

I've said it before that I prefer character development over plot in the books I read. But this had me on the fence. I think this has the most character development I've read in a long time, but the plot is mastered so brilliantly. I can't tell you which I preferred and I think that's because each makes the other shine. Without the plot the characters wouldn't be at their best, but without them the plot may not have found its spark.

It's actually really moving. And not just because of the actual death. It's got so many layers. I was expecting a fun and enjoyable light-hearted morbid comedy. But it's go so much more depth, it's really quite lovely. There's death obviously, of those that are old and those we deem too young. There's financial issues, parental problems, schooling troubles, job issues, friend problems...and yet it's all handled so tenderly and sensitiely.

This is Maz's first adult book and if it's anything to go by, I will devour everything she writes. She has this way with words that is very rare. It's...it's hard to explain so bear with me. She's not just telling the story, she's not just entertaining us. She's speaking to us. She's speaking to you. And it's hard to get that balance right, but it just works.

For a book about death, I found myself reading it with a permanent smile on my face and laughing loudly several times. It is so heart-warming and life affirming that it's impossible to feel anything other than joy.

I must say I do hope the afterlife is how it's described in this book as it sounds delightful - but only if you've been good!

Rarely do I read a book that doesn't have at least something tiny that I didn't like. It's rare that I read a perfect book - although there has been some this year already - but this definitely is. It'll be on my list of the best and brightest books of 2023 that's for sure. And it'll definitely be one I recommend to friends, relatives and strangers. There isn't anyone I can think of that wouldn't fall in love with Miriam, Winnie, and Maz Evans.

I have always loved Maz Evans children’s books and so was very excited to see that she had written an adult title. This book didn’t disappoint at all and I loved it from the very first page.
This is a murder mystery with a difference. Dr Miriam Price is a brilliant surgeon who has just been found dead in her apartment. She finds herself in limbo as it is likely that her death will be ascribed to suicide. However, Miriam knows that she was murdered and she sets herself the task of finding out who the murderer was. The only person who can see and help her is her next-door neighbour Winnie which is a pity as due to a dead cat incident, they hate each other.
I loved Miriam and it was great to follow her on her journey to find her murderer but also to see her learn more about herself and the people in her life. Winnie was hilarious and the interchanges between her and Miriam were consistently entertaining.
The mystery was intriguing with lots of people possibly having a motive but nobody seemingly able to have carried out the crime. The resolution was surprising but the clues were all there in the book if I had been alert enough to spot them.
The concept of limbo as a kind of waiting room for heaven had some echoes of T J Klune’s Under a Whispering Door but although having a similar theme, was a very different place. For me, the ending was possibly a bit too sugary to match the witty sarcasm that was present throughout the book but that was a very minor issue. I would definitely recommend this if you want a light-hearted mystery that’s just a bit different.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, Headline, for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It was LAUGH OUT LOUD funny but still managed to make me teary at the end. A whodunnit with edge and love and fun! A huge recommend from me.

This was a wonderful murder mystery that had real laugh out loud moments. I couldnt help but love the character of Miriam who could be a truly awful human being when alive, she had to die in order to find her humanity. 'Over my dead body' is a really unusual premise for a murder mysery but it was really enjoyable. I was surprised how moved I was by the end of the book finding myself in tears. I have thoroughly enjoyed Maz Evans children's books and this did not disappoint, though its strictly for adult readers. The characters are really well written and I enjoyed seeing how interactions with Miriam had affected all of their lives. Miriam's crime fighting partner the septugenerian nightmare neighbour she had waged a terror campaign on for months is wickedly delightful. Their interactions were my favourite part of the book. A must read for those that love dark humour, murder mystery and complex characters.

I know they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I did with this book and it paid off. Such a fantastic read, will be recommending

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

When your murder is staged as a suicide, you’re in limbo & the only person you can communicate with to try solve your murder is your elderly neighbour … who you dislike as much as she dislikes you.. you’re in for a wild start to the afterlife! I loved this so much I honestly thought it was absolutely brilliant ! Such a fun read & a great concept! I love discovering books that aren’t the same format as others it really makes reading that bit more enjoyable than it already is! Highly recommend!