Where Is Your Bookmark: My Bookish Mewsings on A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer & Other Friday Fun

Along with this mini review, I am linking to both Book Beginnings, a meme in which readers share the first sentence of a book they are reading, hosted by Gillion of Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Carrie of Reading is My Super Power, as well as Friday 56 hosted by Anne of My Head is Full of Books, in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading.  

I tapped the address on my file with the lid of the pen I'd been chewing on. [opening of A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer]

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My apartment was trashed. Not in its usual untidy way, but in a way that said someone had been here rummaging through my things, making my mess into their own mess. Even the air smelled different; tinted with something light and fruity.  

. [excerpt from 56% of A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer] 

 

A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer (S.C.Y.T.H.E Mystery #1) by Maxie Dara

Berkley, 2024; 352 pgs  

Mystery/Paranormal/Cozy

Source: The publisher via NetGalley

Sometimes it takes working with the dead to start living.

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.

My thoughts: If the cover and title weren't enough to convince me to read this one, a grim reaper protagonist definitely did the trick. I took to Kathy right away. She's rather unassuming and ordinary in some respects. The kind of person that the wrong people might underestimate. Which, of course, they do in this mystery, which I found well plotted with the right amount of action and intrigue. I especially enjoyed seeing the bond between Conner and Kathy grow once Conner realized Kathy wasn't the enemy and that she really was going to help him find out who killed him. I enjoyed the banter between the two characters. Kathy becomes the mother that Conner wishes he'd had when he was alive. 

Kathy isn't the kind of person who normally steps outside the rules, but she has a good heart and a strong sense of what is right. The reader sees Kathy come into her own in this novel, not just in her role as a grim reaper, but also in her personal life. She's been holding her soon to be ex-husband at arm's length their entire relationship, loving him, but keeping a big part of herself, including her career, from him. She's afraid if he knows the truth about her, if he sees the real Kathy, he will be disappointed. Simon was one of my favorite characters in the novel. He isn't perfect, but he only wants Kathy to be happy. As Kathy comes to terms with becoming a mother, trying to find out the mystery behind Conner's death, and save Conner's soul, I was completely taken in by this funny and heartwarming mystery. The paranormal elements only added to my enjoyment of it. I cannot wait to read what the author comes out with next.

Does this sound like something you would enjoy? If you have read it, what did you think? 

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. It is hosted by Linda Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About. Join in by answering this week's question in the comments or on your own blog.

What are your blogging/reading goals for the new year? 

I am refraining from making any specific blogging goals this year. I hope to actually post reviews of most of the books I read and perhaps blog a little more regularly, but I make no promises. I am still considering my reading goal options this year and hope to have something ready to post by Tuesday. I do know I want to give Chapter Break Bookish Bingo a try, and this seems like the perfect time to jump in. It looks like fun and is easy to do. I am not so much aiming to complete the entire board, just see where my reading takes me and hopefully cross out some of the categories along the way. 

Have you ever played Bookish Bingo before?  What are your blogging and reading goals this year? 

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

January is National Hobby Month. Do you have any pastimes or interests other than reading that go well with your love of books and literature? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Does book blogging count? And book clubs? Both go well with reading, especially if I get to talk about the books I read. I like seeing the books I read on the little and big screen--or even on stage--whether to compare or just to see the stories brought to life in other formats.  I also really like listening to music--which is a form of poetry if you think about it--the lyrics and/or the notes telling a story all of their own. I enjoy and take comfort in journaling, whether about books or life or writing a poem. I have a small collection of book related items--gifts that have been given to me mostly. Earrings or a necklace with the quote from a favorite book, or perhaps a sticker with the same. Images of cats holding or sitting on books, maybe in the form of a figurine. I mean, cats and books do go well together, after all! I have book related Christmas ornaments and t-shirts. Even a baseball cap letting everyone know Pemberley is the place to be. I may not be a risk taker, but interest wise, I do like learning new things as well as exploring the past through history. I would love to someday travel to more book-related places around the world. I enjoy traveling. I enjoy seeing art and taking in the world around me. There are stories everywhere. Inside and outside of books. 

What are some of your interests and hobbies outside of reading yet fit in well with your beloved books? 

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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