The Dead Friend Project

Joanna Wallace studied Law at Birmingham University before working as a commercial litigation solicitor in London. She now runs a family business and lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, four children and dog. Her debut novel, You'd Look Better as a Ghost, was published by Viper in 2023.

Had me rolling around with laughter on one page, and filled with empathy the next. The Dead Friend Project is hilariously brilliant, and Joanna Wallace is a rare talent
Supremely well plotted and often hilariously funny
A tragic accident, a dead friend and a fresh new voice in crime fiction... This vivid, witty story is expertly told in mesmerising detail and with boundless energy, but there's a proper murder mystery at its heart. Joanna Wallace draws you into a deceptively ordinary world before she revels in the delicious horror beneath. Pure class
Motherland with murder! I haven't laughed so much in ages, then been struck speechless with horror... Funny, sad, wicked and very engaging
Darkly funny and deftly plotted
A twisty-turny mystery with a brilliantly-relatable protagonist, characters that leap of the page and a narrative voice that drew me in from the opening lines. This is a brilliantly-entertaining and engaging read
Riotously funny, dark as anything, heartfelt and searingly observed
Wallace may have invented a new genre. Not cosy crime or comic crime, but clever crime
Darkly funny and touchingly observant, The Dead Friend Project is a page turner of an emotional thriller
A wonderful antidote for anyone who's suffered the Groundhog Day torture of the school run! Perfectly observed and brilliantly funny
A perfectly paced and brilliantly executed murder mystery with a twist and a main character you can't help rooting for even at her most awful
A wickedly funny thriller that kept me guessing to the last page
I loved The Dead Friend Project for its brilliantly dark humour! School gate conflicts degenerate into murder in this hilarious and fast-moving thriller