My Life As a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland
Narrator: Allison McLemore
Series: White Trash Zombie #1
Published by Audible
Published on: July 3, 2012
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 8hrs & 44 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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Angel Crawford is a loser.
Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.
That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.
Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!
Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.
Literally.
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As much as I enjoy watching zombies on TV, they’ve never managed to work their way into my reading rotation until now. Previously, the very idea of a protagonist eating brains freaked me out but the way that Diana Rowland developed Angel’s character has me singing a different tune. I enjoyed the author’s snarky sense of humor and her unique spin on the standard murder mystery story line. Allison McLemore’s narration also helped make this audiobook an especially enjoyable listen thanks to her authentic southern drawl and the ease with which she donned the heroine’s shoes.
I liked the way the author gradually introduced both her readers and Angel to life as a zombie. Crawford has no idea that her world has been forever changed when she wakes-up in the ER after an apparent drug overdose until she receives the first of several notes from her anonymous savior. Slowly uncovering the mysteries surrounding her new condition made the reality much easier to swallow and I always enjoy reading about the growing pains that new supes experience regardless of whether they turn furry once a month or, in this case, eat brains.
Angel is far from being your typical go-getter Urban Fantasy protagonist; she’s a convicted, drug addicted, high school drop-out who lives with her alcoholic father, in short, she’s trailer trash. And, oddly enough, one of the best things that’s ever happened to her is her new walking dead status. Becoming a zombie forces her to grow up and take control of her life because now she has to make sure she eats right, keeps her job and avoids detection otherwise the consequences could be fatal.
The unconventional murder mystery angle was an unexpected surprise; rather than experiencing this book’s plot line from a cop or P.I.’s perspective, Angel has a unique view of the crime scenes because of her job and heightened senses. I enjoyed watching her interactions with the various law enforcement types and how they slowly welcome her into their club even with her checkered background. The twist at the end caught me off guard but I’m happy that it led to a little showdown which had Angel downing brains like Popeye eats spinach.
One of my favorite accents to listen to is the southern twang and Allison McLemore does a fab job of it thanks to her roots. I don’t mean this as an insult but she makes excellent trailer trash! MY LIFE AS A WHITE TRASH ZOMBIE is a fun listen that’ll make you feel differently about eating brains.
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Owner, designer and main blogger behind Rabid Reads. Avid book reader, snowboard bunny, video gamer and Supernatural fan. I love all things paranormal, werewolves especially. Oh, and I’m Canadian, eh!
I remember loving this when I read it a while back. I also can’t drink any prepackaged starbucks beverages due to reading this one;) Great review! I need to get to the rest of this series, maybe I will try the audio version.
I think Allison McLemore’s narration definitely brings something extra to this series; you should give the audiobooks a try!
I love this series, it gets better with every book. I hope you like the other books.
I also laughing at @BendingTheSpine comment, because something like that happened to me. When I read the 1st book (when it was released) I made the mistake of eating a chicken sandwich from Subway. Let me just tell you that since then I haven’t be able to eat it, it just gross me out lol Now I make sure to never eat anything while reading these books.
I try to avoid watching shows like The Walking Dead during dinner for this exact reason. I learned the hard way and missed out on a few great meals. LOL
I’ve loved this series since I first started reading it when this book first came out. I actually read the first book, and while I loved it, it was the audiobook that made this series one of my top 10 audiobook series. I think the narration is perfect and you are right, McLemore makes great trailer trash. I don’t think anyone could do it better.
It’s amazing what a difference a narrator can make to a story. I’m listening to the 5th Mercy Thompson book after having read the first 4 and I’m finding it way different. This is the first time I’ve started listening to the audios mid-series; it’s kinda weird actually. I’m feeling a little disoriented. LOL
Glad you all enjoy this series, I still don’t want to look at the cover or touch it, so it won’t be on my TBR.
Haha yeah, I know what you mean. I was on the fence about this one and it’s my first zombie book but I actually really enjoyed it. I guess you just never know!
Sounds like a great story. I have this one on my shelf and I have to say I want to read it but I also avoid it because I’m not a huge fan of zombies. I do hope she impresses me though the way she did with you.
Thanks for the great review!
I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this one; I know I sure was!
I have this book, not in audiobook but in paperback and I know I really need to try it. thanks for reminding me!
In that case, I hope you’ll make time for it sooner rather than later. 🙂
I love this series on audio. I think Rowland’s personal pass jobs as a cop and working in a morgue really helps her bring those details into her writing.
I didn’t know about the author’s previous jobs but that totally makes sense now that you mention it.
I have seen this series everywhere, but still hadn’t picked it up yet. Perhaps I need to give it a go soon.
It’s one of those “hidden gems”, I hope you’ll give it a go!
I’ve been eyeing this series for the last couple of months now but had regulated it to the TBR pile. Now hearing how great the audio version is, I’ll be adding it to my audio wishlist…I’ll get to it a lot sooner that way 🙂 Great review Carmel!
Yay! Some series just deserve to be listened to and this is definitely one of them! I won’t steer you wrong. :p
Great job Carmel! This was an awesome listening experienced. I loved it too 🙂 The narrator was perfect.
I didn’t like the second book quite as much but I’m hoping things will pick-up in the 3rd.
I really loved this book, when I read it I wasn’t into zombies (pre-Walking Dead) but it was a great read. I love Angel and how relatable she was, even as a zombie! If I ever fancy a re-read I’ll definitely check the audio out!
The Walking Dead really changed how people look at zombies! I’m not sure I would have picked-up this audiobook if I the TV show hadn’t made zombies popular.