A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara @MaxieDara @jaimebee @BerkleyPub @PRHAudio @sophiarose1816 #LoveAudiobooks

Posted October 2, 2024 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 22 Comments

Sophia’s Review

Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara @MaxieDara @jaimebee @BerkleyPub @PRHAudio @sophiarose1816 #LoveAudiobooksA Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara
Series: SCYTHE Mystery #1
Published by Berkley on October 1, 2024
Genres: Paranormal, Cozy Mystery
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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Kathy Valence is forty-two, mid-divorce, and pregnant with her ex's baby. She's also a modern-day grim reaper employed by S.C.Y.T.H.E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences), but frankly that's the easiest part of her life right now. Or at least it was, until her latest client's soul goes missing.

When she finally tracks down seventeen-year-old Conner Ortiz, he angrily denies he died of natural causes, despite what his file says. He insists that someone at S.C.Y.T.H.E. murdered him, and he demands Kathy find out who and why.

Kathy has only forty-five days to figure out what happened to Conner and help him move on before the boy's soul is doomed to roam the Earth as a ghost forever. She’s forced to rely on the help of her retired mentor, her almost ex-husband—and some sneaky moves by Conner himself. This is the wildest case of her career. . .and one wrong move could cost Kathy her job, not to mention her life.

Her carefully cultivated average, low-risk life has just been toppled when a routine collection case is anything but routine.  Kathy can go back to hiding away from the world behind her safe walls or she can help save a soul- literally.  Who could pass up a middle-aged mid-divorce grim reaper with a poor self-esteem who must step way outside her comfort zone to investigate a murder?  Not me.

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer introduces a new series and the world of SCYTHE, a semi-clandestine business that employs ‘collectors’ (grim reaper is so old-style and dramatic) to bring the souls to the processing center who will take it from there.  Kathy is one of its ‘natural death’ collectors until a mistake happens and she finds herself facing a murder right in the middle of her own personal crisis (she’s getting divorced from the love of her life for…reasons, but slipped up and now is having a baby).  Her foul-mouthed prickly teenage client insists he’s been murdered no matter what her file says and by someone wearing a company badge just like hers.

Kathy is no one’s idea of a heroine.  She’s the quintessential underdog and anxiety pours off her at the thought of having to do anything outside her carefully constructed, protected life that she believes will prevent her from making mistakes and disappointing people.  In fact, that’s why she’s divorcing.  She has to hide her job, but that secret is really an excuse.  She’s really gun-shy of committing her heart out of fear her husband will see her as she sees herself and walk away because she’s a disappointment.  Kudos to Maxie Dara for writing her and her soon to be ex as real people with physical flaws and Kathy will all her internal anxiety and drama.  It took an angry teenager and her feisty, eccentric old work mentor to rouse her out of her lethargy and get back into the world and trying risk-taking.  And, I was cheering her on all the way.

I enjoyed the mystery, the paranormal world-building, Kathy’s personal growth and life, her found family and support that helps her.  I was a tad confused still about a few things when it all ended, but maybe more will come out as the series progresses.  I will definitely be looking for that next installment.

I would recommend this one to both paranormal cozy mystery fans, but also those who enjoy that new niche genre of paranormal women’s fiction.


Anne’s Review

Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara @MaxieDara @jaimebee @BerkleyPub @PRHAudio @sophiarose1816 #LoveAudiobooksA Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara
Narrator: Jaime Lamchick
Published by Penguin Audio Length: 9 hours, 11 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

 

 

 

Kathy has been stuck in her usual way and view of herself. It’s caused her to divorce her husband, even though she loves him. But things are changing.  She’s pregnant.  Then things go awry at her work.  It’s the last place she felt she might be reasonably good at something.

She hasn’t shared herself with anyone because she is afraid they will see her as not good enough.  But if she is going to solve the current work problem, she is going to have to go out of her comfort zone regularly and she does.  While things started sort of slow and haphazard, she finally started making progress. She allowed herself to work with Simon, Jo and Conner to figure things out.

While it nearly gets her killed, the journey also brings her to appreciate and know what a great life she has.  Since this is the start of a series, I’ll be fascinated to see if she does make changes to her work and learn more about the souls they process. I’d really like to see Conner again too.

Narration:

I had not listened to this narrator previously.  Since nearly everything is Kathy’s point of view and thoughts, I got very comfortable with her character voice.  There were some distinct voices for others like Connor, Simon and Jo.  I enjoyed the performance, comfortable with the emotional tones.  I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip: HERE

 

About Sophia

Reviewer at Books of My Heart

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

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Posted October 2, 2024 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 22 Comments


22 responses to “A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara