Unfortunately my copy of this book was missing chapters and I wasn’t able to read it. The book started at Chapter 1 (which I read and enjoyed) and the jumped to Chapter 4. I’m not clear on if it was an editing issue or if important content was missing.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

I unfortunately was not able to read this book before the archive date. Someday I hope to read and review it for my blog. I will give a 5 star review on here so that I don't mess with it's rating.

A bit too weird for me. I feel like we're meant to take it seriously but I struggled with that, given elements like the rebellion in the AfterMart. There were a few things I did like, such as the complexity of the relationships portrayed for one. I'd like the whole thing better if it had picked a single direction and stuck with it: an exploration of the nature of the brother's death or a surreal exploration of grief and regret.

Was not a fan of this book, There was a lot of language and phrases that were thrown around that I could not deal with. Ended up not finishing this book because I could not get past the writing style.

A Breezy, Amusing, Ghost/Murder Mystery with Sibling Bonding.........

First happy development - when Curtis gets a phone call from his recently deceased brother Wilt he puts his Mom on the phone, and she buys into the premise. Everyone accepts the fact that Wilt is calling and chatting from the "Aftermart" afterlife. So, we get exactly zero of that boring nobody-believes-me- stuff that usually makes up the first part of books like this.

Second happy development - Laster is the author of "Welfy Q. Deederhoth: Meat Purveyor, World Savior", which is one of the funniest and cleverest books you've probably never heard of. Look it up, because if you like this you'll like that, and vice versa.

Third happy development - Curtis and Wilt have an authentic brotherly bond. And I mean that in the funny, light, semi-serious, YA quirky/lark book kind of way, not in a Russian novel or kitchen sink drama sort of way. Wilt teases and needles younger bro Curtis and Curtis puts up with it. The two share some affectionate moments and forge in death a closer bond than they had in life. Maybe that was actually the real point of the book, but in any event it's an upbeat and satisfying part of the story.

Fourth happy development - Laster establishes and maintains an appealing and consistent voice for Curtis. He's a smart character, but with passive and slacker, ("...whatever..."), overtones. You know that he's going to rise to the challenge and be the hero he needs to be, but he's going to do it his way, and on teenage boy terms. He has a dry deadpan view of things, and his narration is restrained in an offhand but good natured way. Let's say he is "bemused" by this whole story. ("I wondered if maybe Wilt had been calling from his coffin..., but I couldn't remember if we'd buried him with his phone.") This is not a guy who gets agitated easily, which helps sell the whole book.

The mystery is fine, but that's not the point. There are lots of bits of side business and lots of supporting characters, but none of them take over the tale, and most of them contribute something. We do wander off into the storytelling underbrush every now and then, but mostly the story stays on track.

My upshot was that this was entertaining, had a very generous and upbeat vibe, and seemed nicely aimed at its likely audience. The author wisely focused on Wilt and Curtis and the mystery at hand, rather than going in for some complex world-building or explainifying. This is supposed to be a quirky lark with a sweet-natured center, and to me that's exactly what it is.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)