Dead Is the New Black (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

The grimly hilarious first installment in a creepy, campy new series

Publishers Weekly

Fans who mourn the loss of TV's Veronica Mars are in for a treat as Perez (Unexpected Development) delivers a wise-cracking, boy-lusting, determined sleuth of a high school protagonist named Daisy Giordano. Daisy comes from a crime-solving family of female psychics-Mom gets premonitions, sister Rose can listen in on people's thoughts and sister Poppy has the gift of telekinesis. To Daisy's chagrin, she's the only "normal" in the family-a nonpsychic. She doesn't let this unfortunate genetic deficiency stop her from investigating the mysterious deaths of high school girls around Nightshade, Daisy's wacky hometown, especially when sleuthing gets her face time with Ryan Mendez, Daisy's hottie crush and son of the town police chief. With a suspect cheerleading coach and an even more suspect cheerleading captain-beautiful Samantha "the Divine" Devereaux, who shows up for school pale and dragging a coffin everywhere-this quick, lighter-than-air spoof of the undead, cheerleaders and popularity is pure pleasure. Teens will be glad to know two sequels are already in the pipeline. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Marlene Perez is the author of Dead is the New Black, Love in the Corner Pocket, and Unexpected Development, an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. Her work has been featured in Cosmo and Seventeen magazines and reviewed widely. She lives in Orange County, California, with her husband and four children. Visit www.marleneperez.com for more info.