Series Review: Deadtown

From Publishers Weekly

In Holzner's fast-paced urban fantasy debut, shape-shifter Victory Vaughn fights demons in an alternate present-day Boston, where a few thousand people have been mysteriously zombified and are now confined to the neighborhood of Deadtown along with vampires, werewolves, and other Paranormal Americans. Vicky's sometime boyfriend, Kane, a werewolf, lawyer, and PA rights advocate, gets some competition from human detective Daniel; teen zombie sidekick Tina occasionally wreaks unintentional havoc; and Vicky's sister, Gwen, an inactive shape-shifter and suburban wife and mother, argues with Vicky over their life choices and attitudes toward shape-shifting in the most fully realized and emotionally compelling parts of the book. By comparison, the reveal of the big villain comes off as both predictable and a little cardboardy. This fun and facile tale would be a great beach read if it weren't coming out in the middle of the winter. (Jan.)
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Review
What a breath of fresh air!  I’m always on the lookout for new authors and a new spin on Urban Fantasy and this book did not  disappoint at all! We have Vicky, Gwen, her sister, Kane, Daniel, Aunt Mab and Tina, the teenage zombie (excuse me, Previously Deceased Human—PDH). All are fantastic characters  and  they only get better as the series progresses (up to 3 now, I’ll insert links to all for your purchasing ease—from Amazon, not me).
Vicky is a tough heroine with a strong sense of justice and family.  She can shapeshift three times a month into whichever form she chooses and boy does she come up with some doozies in just the first three books! 
I love Aunt Mab!  If you think Vicky is tough as nails, just wait until books 2 and 3 give us a lot of Aunt Mab page time.
Tina, the PDH, is alternatively entertaining and infuriating (much like most teenagers, no matter how much you love them).
Deadtown I would only rate 4 stars because Nancy Holzner is setting the stage, building Vicky’s world, setting up political dramas—yes, the books have some political undertones to them, but they are well-done and thought-provoking, not a beat-you-over-the-head kind of politics.  There’s not much worse than being preached at about various political/social topics when reading for pleasure (even if I agree with the author).  Books 2 and 3 I give 5 stars each.  I can’t wait until the next one comes out.
If you like Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series, you should try this one out.
Sensuality: a few kisses and references to sex, safe for teens.
Rating: 4 stars, 5 stars