I actually enjoyed this much more than I expected.
But I didn't get a typical Cozy Mystery vibe at all even though I can see why it technically fits.

I had one huge issue with the book that sadly threads through the entire book and is part of at least the next one in the series as well.
Everyone treats the MC like shit.
She is being patronized, disrespected and her basic human dignity is trampled underfoot.
The MC is obviously mad about it and gripes and whines about it constantly but she never actually does anything beyond an initial token effort against it and just keeps on taking it.
It completely contradicted the personality she displays otherwise and makes it really hard to take her seriously as a person which in turn makes it almost impossible to take anything else seriously either.
This is supposed to be part of the humor. It's as funny as light-heartedly getting your toenails ripped out by particularly funny pliers to me.
This is something I see a lot in books that try to be humorous but it just ends up compromising any and all integrity of the MC instead.
This is not to say that there isn't a lot of different and enjoyable humor in the book. There is. I just can not enjoy this particular brand of humor at all.

This would've been a 4-star rating otherwise. ( )

Everything I could say about this book has already been said by another reviewer (Michael A...) so I'll just leave it at that. ( )

This fell into the category of books that I wasn't quite sure I was going to bother finishing, but still wanted to see what came next. It is the first in a series, and left me considering whether I want to invest the time reading takes to assuage my curiosity.
I like the premise- exploring an after death world which is much like, and overlaps our own. I figure the barrage of rules that are enforced but neither warned about before they are broken nor explained after, although many other seemingly pointless rules are, lessons that are supposed to teach you how to cope with the world but mostly consist of you working it out for yourself while being harassed by bullies, combined with typical fictional coincidences, and Bridgit's shallow concern for clothes and make-up indicate that this is aimed at high school students. Frankly, if I woke up dead in that afterlife, I'd want to have a second death to get out of it as soon as possible. I certainly hope it's better organized! It does address the way there seem to be many and contradictory versions of how ghosts, haunting, mediums, etc. are "supposed" to work- only without actually doing it helping at all.
I can assume that she's going to get romantically involved with Oz, her parole officer. Her trouble seeking friend Sabrina hasn't been locked up, nor have they caught the "outlaw" ghost, so there's a potential for ongoing characters. There are apparently four books in the series, and I started with a free electronic version, it's not available from the library, and I don't know that it's worth spending money on the next book(s). ( )

I do genre-based ratings. Meaning for a chicklit fun beach read this gets a five. Does it compare to the classics? No. But for a fun beach read - it's tops in its class. If that's what you're looking for, you'll find this indie is better than the output of most of the big publishing houses. ( )

Amazon Description: You thought living was hard? You should try being dead!

Dead less than twenty-four hours, with a job that doesn’t pay, a fashion disaster for a uniform and more afterlife rules than she can shake a stick at, Bridget Sway thinks it’s as bad as it can get. And then she finds a dead ghost stuffed in her locker.

Since the police are desperate to arrest her for murder, Bridget’s new best friend convinces her the only way to save herself from an eternity in prison is to solve the murder themselves.

With a handsome parole officer watching her every move, an outlaw ghost befriending her and two persistent mediums demanding her attention, solving the murder is not quite as easy as it sounds. And when “murder” turns into “murders” Bridget needs to solve the case … before she becomes the next dead body stuffed in her locker.

A different take on a ghost story and the afterlife. Filled with unusual characters and unusual motives for murder. Kept the pages turning as the story unfolded. ( )