I had never heard of Phillip DePoy or the Fever Develin series. I saw A Corpse's Nightmare on a shelf in my local library and borrowed it on a whim. An almost murder mystery with the dreams/nightmares of the recently comatose? Sure, why not?

Now, I just finished this book approximately five minutes ago, so these are my first thoughts...

If I could give half-stars, I'd probably give this three and a half. I enjoyed the story well enough, but felt that the first 60% dragged on for far too long. Perhaps it was the way DePoy's protagonist, Fever Develin, took a long time to put together what was going on. (Granted, as the reader, it's easier to be aware of motives and back-stories than the characters in the book. Still, it's sometimes nicer to be just as stumped as the characters you're reading about; it helps bring you into their world, in my opinion.) Thankfully, the pace picked up and I devoured the last 40% in short order.

One thing I really did enjoy (and greatly helped move the story along for me) were the dynamics between Fever and some of the other characters. Lucinda was appropriately concerned and curt over her recovering but stubborn fiancée. Dr. Andrews, a good friend of Fever's, felt almost perfect as his sidekick; their banter and exchanges were some of my favorites in the book.

A Corpse's Nightmare is the sixth book in this series. While I believe the books go in chronological order and share characters and locations, I don't think they are necessarily sequels; it didn't feel like I missed too much by not reading the other books first and that this story stood on its own legs. However, I am now curious about the other books, so perhaps my views will change after reading them.

This book was ok. I picked it up at the library because I thought it sounded interesting. And it was. Kinda. I figured out while reading it that it is part of a series, so I might enjoy it more if I had started with the first book. I may try this one another time.