Waking Up Dead

British author Williams (The Wimbledon Poisoner) takes a simple idea%E2%80%94what happens if you are still somehow present after you die?%E2%80%94and makes a meal of it in this droll tale. One morning, 65-year-old retired banker George Pearmain wakes up dead in his house in Putney. It happens to be the 99th birthday of his mother, Jessica, and a host of relatives and friends have already gathered at the house to celebrate. George's wife, Esmeralda, chides him for not getting out of bed, then stomps out of his room. A short time later, he hears Esmeralda screaming Jessica's name. Jessica is dead. Only later does Esmeralda realize that George is also dead. In his disembodied state, George is able to take in the conversations among his relatives, Jessica's caregiver, and assorted hangers-on. Most are concerned with Jessica's fortune; all George wants to know is who murdered him. Fans of understated British humor ("Maybe he was dead. If he was, sex was liable to be out of the question for the foreseeable future") will be pleased. (Aug.)