Atlanta, Georgia - Present Day

Nicki Styx died. She didn't see it coming, and it was certainly a surprise when she looked down to see her body laid out on the hospital table right before she was whisked into the Light. Lovely music was playing. It was beautiful. Nicki could see everything and understand God's plan. Unfortunately, it wasn't her time and the doors slammed shut as she was sent back to her body. Her cold, aching, already pronounced dead but breathing again body. Dying does funny things to a person, and Nicki didn't come back exactly as she left. Like the kid in the movie, she can see dead people.

At first, the woman in the flowered shirt just looks like a strange hospital employee. But when no one else can see or hear her, Nicki knows the woman is a ghost. Nicki has gone from young heart attack victim to headed for a straightjacket in less than a day. Still, her hot young doctor seems to have no qualms about her abilities in other areas.

Helping ghosts might not have been on her list of life goals, but Nicki's not averse to doing a good deed now and then. But what happens when an evil ghost wants Nicki to do something she can't? Will her friends come to her rescue, or commit her to the loony bin?

DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY is a rollicking good time with a cheeky heroine who died, came back, and, in her own words, landed in some deep voodoo. Nicki Styx, former goth girl (how could she avoid it with that name) and vintage clothing store owner, is a free spirit. She never expected a faulty heart to truly spring her spirit free, though, nor a hunky doctor to bring it back (and maybe claim it for himself!). Finding out she can see and talk to dead people is disconcerting, but something she quickly takes in stride. Nicki's irrepressible spirit and warmth immediately endear her to you, and her quirky humor then makes you laugh out loud. The modern girl's reaction to seeing dead people is a little bit different from that little boy in the movie.

Throw Dr. Joe Bascombe, yummy surgeon extraordinaire, into the mix of Nicki's after-death life, and you have a wonderful romance to accompany the intriguing mystery. Joe has his own baggage that threatens to spill all over Nicki, but he's a good guy at heart and is willing to accept her new quirks. Also rounding out the cast are Nicki's best friend Evan, his boyfriend Butch, voodoo priestesses, and let's not forget the ghosts who keep knocking at Nicki's door. Ahh, the life of a single girl just got a tiny bit busier -- you know, run errands, shop, go on dates, have sex, and usher the occasional ghost into the Light.

On the market today, there are some fabulous authors putting out great books with strong female characters who are immediate charmers. It's great for readers that we have so many wonderful options, although it always feels like we're waiting (im)patiently for that next book in our favorite series. With her debut novel, Nicki Styx in DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY, Terri Garey has made a very strong bid to become one of that exceptional crowd of authors and has clearly marked herself as someone to watch.

Kathy Samuels