Book Review: As Dead As it Gets by Katie Alender

It's been three months since Alexis helplessly witnessed Lydia Small's violent death, and all she wants is for her life to return to normal.

But normal people don’t see decaying bodies haunting photographs. Normal people don’t have to deal with regular intrusions from Lydia’s angry ghost, sometimes escalating to terrifying attacks.

At first, it seems that Lydia wants revenge on Alexis alone. But a girl from school disappears one night, and Alexis spots one of Lydia’s signature yellow roses lying on the girl’s dresser the next day. Soon, it becomes clear that several of Alexis’s friends are in danger, and that she's the only person who can save them. But as she tries to intervene, Alexis realizes that her enemy is a much more powerful ghost than she's ever faced before... and that its fate is tied to hers in ways she couldn't possibly imagine.

Not even in her worst nightmares. (From Goodreads)

Best Bits: This one is as creepy as the cover! Seriously, all the books in the series kept me up at night (reading until 3, and then being unable to sleep because I'm freaking out). Alender does a great job of building up the suspense. I was reading what was happening to the characters, but I felt as helpless as Alexis. I came up with a ton of theories, and they were all wrong.  This is the third, and final,  book in the series. The great thing about this series is that we get to see the same characters, but each story is unique. It deals with a variety of paranormal entities, and while the overall theme may be the same, the way that the character's grow is different. I've never felt like I'm rereading the same book with the only difference being in the name of the baddie. I can't wait for more from Alender. Uh, hopefully it's not as scary, though. 

Nit Picks: This one was a little long, at over 400 pages. Obviously I'm not one to shy away from long books, but I do think that it would have had the same impact if some scenes had been cut. 

As Dead As it Gets
By Katie Alender
442 PagesPublished by HyperionPurchased
Rating: B