If you like a family driven mystery with a fantasy bend, check out A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death. I’m always drawn to stories about families and I love the idea of grim reapers so this was up my alley. Keep reading this book review of A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death for my full thoughts.
Summary
Nora Bird works for S.C.Y.T.H.E., which might seem odd for someone as terrified of death as she is. But ever since her parents died in an accident when she was six, she’s been obsessed with avoiding risk, and what better place to learn how to cheat death than the company that employs the nation’s grim reapers?
The work enables Nora to learn all about the myriad ways you can kick the bucket, which is comforting…until one day, a file crosses her desk with a name she recognizes. Her twin brother’s.
The twins haven’t spoken in six months, but Charlie is all Nora has left. Completely against her cautious nature, Nora steals the file and flees, racing to her brother’s house. She begs him to trust her that his death is imminent, and they hit the road (with his parrot, Jessica, who has plenty to say) in an attempt to evade both death and S.C.Y.T.H.E., whose sole mission of collecting souls has been disrupted by Charlie’s continued existence.
Alas, every time Nora saves him, a new cause of death appears in his file. Someone is determined to take Charlie out, and Nora will have to use everything she’s ever learned about death to discover the culprit.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death shines in its family elements. I didn’t read the first and you definitely don’t have to in order to understand the world. It’s slightly fantastical – the whole concept of grim reapers – but this sequel revolves around family secrets. It begins with the concept of sacrifice for our loved ones, even if we haven’t spoken in a while. And A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating continues by poking into our family ghosts. What would we do to protect a secret? To uncover a mystery? Nora realizes that something more is going on than meets the eye and to discover how to save her brother, she might have to unearth it all.
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I think that’s where this book shines – the character dynamics. There’s a whole host of quirky characters who all have their own motivations. Nora and Charlie descend into a viper pit where they aren’t sure if they can trust anything. If you love older sister and younger vibes, then you have to check out A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death. A theme which quickly develops is the exploration of what is life without death. If we know when our end is coming, what do we do with the time that’s left? When do we begin really living? And should we really ever let our fear of dying stop us from living? Find A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.