Ed's Dead by Russel D McLean

Ed's Dead by Russel D. McLean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 2 days

Pages - 264

Publisher - Contraband

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

"A high-octane read." - Maxim Jakubowski Meet Jen. She works in a bookshop and likes the odd glass of Prosecco... oh, and she’s about to be branded The Most Dangerous Woman in Scotland. 
Jen Carter is a failed writer with a rubbish boyfriend, Ed. That is, until she accidentally kills him one night. Now that Ed’s dead, she has to decide what to do with his body, his drugs and a big pile of cash. And, more pressingly, how to escape the hitman who’s been sent to recover Ed’s stash. Soon Jen’s on the run from criminals, corrupt police officers and the prying eyes of the media. Who can she trust? And how can she convince them that the trail of corpses left in her wake are just accidental deaths? 
A modern noir that proves, once and for all, the female of the species really is more deadly than the male.


My Review

Jen works in a bookshop, her boyfriend Ed is a bit of a muppet. As well as thinking he is God's gift to women he is mixed up in things that Jen wasn't aware of. This all comes home when Jen accidentally kills Ed. Finding herself with a body isn't enough to shake up her life, when Ed disappears people he works for comes a looking. Jen finds herself in danger, trying to keep out of the way of the bad guys and of the cops. Things just go from bad to worse for Jen, how do you keep ahead of cops and tough guys when you are just a wee book seller?

This is my first book by McLean, it won't be my last. Initially I wasn't loving Jen, he boyfriend annoyed me and I just wanted her to kick his butt! Soon she finds herself in a predicament and she has to sink or swim, she turns into a bit of a badass and I love that. We need more strong women in books and whilst she started with me saying ugh just dump him already, wake up Jen, she really progresses in toughness and durability.

There is a lot of action, we have an ordinary girl brought into a dark world and follow how she copes in the dangerous unknown. Cops, bad guys and regular humans and what happens when their worlds cross over. Action, humour of the darker variety, relationships, boundaries, violence and murder is just some of the themes that feature in the book. I could have easily read this in one sitting had time permitted. I personally love when a book is set somewhere you have been or lived, you can identify with the places and for me see it playing out much more vivid because you have once walked in the places the characters are going along. 4/5 for me this time, this may have been my first dance with McLean but it won't be my last. I do hope this is a book that turns into a series as I would love to read more about the characters I met in this one!

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