A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer - (A Scythe Mystery) by Maxie Dara (Paperback)

About the Book

"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 one of her clients' souls went 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's certain that someone at S.C.Y.T.H.E. took his life instead of his soul, and he pressures Kathy to find out who and why. With only forty-five days to figure out what happened to Conner and help him move on, Kathy is forced to rely on the help of her retired mentor, her almost ex-husband, and even Conner himself before the boy's soul becomes stuck on Earth as a ghost forever. But one wrong move could cost Kathy her job, not to mention her life"--

Book Synopsis

Murder is not her department.

It's not like it used to be. Modern-day grim reapers wear business casual, not black cloaks, and they don't carry scythes, they work for S. C. Y. T. H. E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences), where the Department of Natural Causes is the least exciting gig. And that's how Kathy Valence likes it: boring and predictable. She has enough stress in her personal life; she's mid-divorce, pregnant, and terrified she doesn't have what it takes to be a good mom.

Then, she goes to pick up a new client and finds his soul is missing. When she finally tracks down Conner Ortiz, he angrily insists he was murdered, and he refuses to move on until Kathy finds out why and by whom.

Kathy has only forty-five days to solve the mystery before the boy's soul is doomed to roam the earth as a ghost forever. To do that she'll have to call on the help of her retired mentor, her almost ex-husband--and, inconveniently, Conner himself. This is the wildest case of her career . . . and one wrong move could cost Kathy her job, not to mention her life.

Review Quotes

"I'd follow this grim reaper anywhere. Wildly creative and impossible to put down, sure to induce both belly laughs and tears, A Grim Reaper's Guide To Catching A Killer is full of heart and soul(s)." --Laura Hankin, author of One-Star Romance

"Witty, moving, and with a mystery that'll keep you turning pages late into the night, Dara's debut is a creative, laugh-out-loud novel about the business of death, and what it can teach us about family, love, and the best parts of being alive." --Claudia Lux, author of Sign Here

"I was hooked right away by the inventive premise of Maxie Dara's A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer, but it was the relationships that really did me in. I loved watching Kathy bond with Conner, a dead teenager, and work through her relationship with recent-almost-ex-husband Simon, all set against the backdrop of a surprisingly corporate job in human soul logistics. Funny and warm and full of little moments that kept me guessing, A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer is a delightfully fresh mystery!" --Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers

"Fun and lighthearted despite the presence of death, the characters are relatable and funny, and the paranormal aspects are balanced with the ordinariness of Kathy's messy life. The ending fleshes out this creative premise and sets the book up for the next in a heartwarming series." -- Booklist

"This debut paranormal mystery offers humor, love, and a strong cast of characters who form a found family." -- Library Journal (starred review)

About the Author

Maxie Dara is a writer and actor from Ontario, Canada. She has been a freelance journalist focusing on the local arts and culture scene for more than five years, with bylines in publications such as Hamilton Magazine and Beyond James, among others. She is also a two-time award-winning playwright, taking home the Best of Fringe award at the 2017 Hamilton Fringe Festival for the musical comedy This Is Not a Musical: The Musical! and the 2020 Torpedo Prize for her play Alone Together, a pandemic drama. Maxie knew she wanted to be a writer at the age of seven, when she first fell in love with the written word. She also wanted to be a mermaid but has mostly focused on the writing side of things.