Dead is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez

This is yet another novel that plays off of the vampire/werewolf craze without going too terribly overboard. It combines paranormal with mystery and a little bit of teen angst for a relatively enjoyable, not fantastic but enjoyable, read.

Daisy, a junior in Nightshade, has some telekinetic/mind reading abilities and lives in a town with shape shifters, werewolves and other paranormal people. Two new people suddenly arrive in town, a gorgeous boy named Duke Sherrad who claims to be a fortune teller and an exotic girl named Elise Wilder who seems to be spending an awful amount of time with Daisy's boyfriend Ryan who seems to be hiding something from Daisy. As she worries about her relationship with Ryan, especially since prom is around the corner and he hasn't invited her, her teacher, Mr. Davis, ends up dead under some mysterious circumstances. In a family of wannabe detectives, Daisy tries to find the killer while still leading a teen life and getting ready for prom.

First, this novel is the second in a series and the novel did a decent job setting up the characters if you hadn't read the first novel. That is always a good thing. One bad thing about the novel, though, is that it's just a little predictable. Ryan's big secret is a little obvious, as is the killer of Mr. Davis, especially after one character has a slip of the tongue. Also, the whole Ryan secret thing and his "relationship" with Elise was maybe just a little too teen angsty for my taste. Why didn't she ever respond with something about him trusting her if he loved her or how does he expect her to trust him if he doesn't trust her with his secrets? But, then again, what do you expect from a teen novel? In the meantime, the novel is very limited in terms of mystery. Not much detective work actually goes on and when clues do appear, they're not investigated. One good thing is that this novel isn't too obnoxious with the whole paranormal aspect. It's not shoved down your throat because it's just accepted in this world rather than being some new discovery in a reality based world.

Overall, this novel is decent. It could have done a better job with suspense and twists, but it's not terrible. You won't drag your feet to get to the end which is always a good thing when reading.
MMK