Sometimes it takes working with the dead to start living. Kathy Valence is 42, mid-divorce, and pregnant with her ex-husband’s baby which is not exactly the typical protagonist you’d expect in a paranormal mystery. Oh, and she’s also a reaper, working for S.C.Y.T.H.E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences). Her job? Escort souls to the afterlife. Easy enough, until one soul, that of 17-year-old Conner Ortiz, goes missing. With only 45 days to uncover the truth and help him cross over, Kathy is thrown into the most chaotic case of her afterlife career. With help from her mentor, her almost-ex-husband, and Conner’s own resourcefulness, she’ll have to balance soul retrieval, grief, and her own messy personal life to prevent a ghost from being doomed forever.
I mostly liked this. As a series starter, it shows real potential. Maxie Dara writes with humor and heart, and the found-family themes gave the book a surprisingly touching emotional core. Simon, Kathy’s gentle ex, was another interesting addition. However, I didn’t connect with any of our characters to start with. Kathy herself was a bit of a Debbie Downer. Her constant fixation on her past mistakes annoyed me, and though she became more sympathetic by the end, it took basically the whole book to warm up to her. Like get it together lady! Conner’s on the other hand foul-mouthed teen angst was a bit overdone. I got the point that he’s a teenager, but it just felt a little forced. Still, they both grew on me over time, and I appreciated their emotional arcs.
The other thing was pacing. The book was a bit of a slow burn. For a story involving death, secret organizations, and potential murder, I expected the pace to be snappier. There were too many narrative dead ends, which slowed the mystery’s momentum, and made it hard to stay with it a bit. Then once you got to the ending it felt rushed and underexplained.
Overall it’s a solid 3-star read. It didn’t blow me away, but I’d definitely consider picking up a sequel. It’s quirky, heartfelt, and has a unique premise. It falls more into the Cozy mystery realm in my opinion, and I’m interested to see what a second book looks like. Hopefully with a little more polish in pacing and character development, this series could really shine.
AMAZON | GOODREADS | Bookshop | ★★★
A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer is out now. Huge thank you to Berkley for my copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books or on Tiktok @speakingof.books
