When I first started reading this story, I thought it was a little silly and was just going to be a fun read but I was very surprised on where Rob Rosen took this story, filled with many questions for Nord and Max!

Nord is “sort of dead”, as is Max who finds him. They and many others seem to be in a state of waiting, because it’s not: heaven, hell, purgatory, limbo, no St. Peter and no pearly gates or walking into the light. Both Nord and Max have an idea about getting to that final “poof” destination and it may have to do with finding some type of closure.

Everyone waiting to go “poof” has different reasons for why they ended up in the “sort of” state. But Nord’s is very different and he may not be able to find closure since he was murdered and the guilty party or parties have not been found.

In their exploration of their strange predicament Nord and Max find in the “world of the living” Max’s apartment that’s occupied by Clark. After they work together to get Clark’s undivided attention, they get him to call in a medium. The cape and turban wearing Voltan shows up. With the help of Clark and Voltan, Max and Nord find out there are many things they can accomplish by working together.

This is a fist time read for me from Rob Rosen. “Sort of Dead” is excellently done with creative world building, characters on the paranormal side and a twisted mystery to be solved. The storyline melds around a very famous movie of 1990 and several celebrities are mentioned at random.

Along this fun, humorous and dangerous adventure Nord has made many friends, living and “sort of dead”. It has Nord looking back on his “alive” life and how he would have liked to be friends with those he meets. He and Max have gradually become more than friends and the question remains, if Nord’s murderer is caught and he finds closure to go “poof”, what will happen to Max? Rosen comes up with some interesting conclusions that all connect to closure for his characters.

There’s sadness and some emotional moments for Nord and his mother Sylvia. Sylvia was a wonderful addition to this novel. Besides the interesting characters of Clark and Voltan there’s: Bruce and Eve O’Destruction that are surprising. Arby’s also plays a very big part in the way of a recharging station, providing rest and comfort to many of the “sort of dead”. There’s also the suspicious characters on the alive side: Chaz, Glenn, Didi and Paula.

Rob Rosen made “Sort of Dead” a page-turner for me and I can say I was not disappointed in this fascinating look into the paranormal and what may be the afterlife for Nord and Max.