A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer (SCYTHE Mystery #1)

Kathy Valence is 42, nearly divorced, pregnant by her soon to be ex-husband Simon, and utterly convinced she’s cursed with a “Sadim” (an anadrome of the word Midas) touch. She only sees her failures and has built her walls so people can’t get too close, but one thing she is good at? 

 

Collecting a newly deceased person’s soul or “essence” for processing to the afterlife on behalf of her employer, S.C.Y.T.H.E (Secure Collection, Yielding and Transportation of Human Essences).

Unfortunately, her work success is about to hit a snag when her latest client’s soul, case number 507032, better known in life as 17-year-old Conner Ortiz, is missing from the scene! To make matters worse, when she does track his essence down, he claims he was murdered! His file says he died of natural causes. What’s going on?

That’s the premise, but what follows is Kathy and Conner, along with her mentor Jo and almost ex, Simon, racing against time to figure out who ACTUALLY murdered him and get him to processing within the 45-day window before he becomes a permanent ghost or loses his soul forever! 

First let me say that I MOSTLY liked this, and as a series starter it shows a lot of potential for what’s to come. It’s well-written, has a nice sense of humor, a decent mystery and though I didn’t immediately connect with Kathy or Conner, I grew to really like both of them by the end. The ad hoc mother-son relationship between the two was funny and touching! I also loved Simon’s gentle heart. Themes of found family, finding one’s inherent worth, being vulnerable in relationships, grief, and what constitutes being a “parent” are all explored, among others.

There were some aspects of the story that didn’t work as well for me, though. 

Among the characters, Kathy can be a “Debbie Downer”, so fixated on her failures that she comes across as pathetic and irritating at times. Conner starts off as hostile and brash, and he’s unceasingly foul-mouthed, which could get repetitive, though I did grow to sympathize with him and see his very sweet qualities over time too. He’s a teenager, so he gets extra grace from me! Ancillary characters would’ve benefited from being developed more as well.

The pacing needed a boost. There were a lot of dead ends (no pun intended) in the mystery, so when I began to get excited that the story’s action was about to pick up, it was disappointing when it didn’t keep the momentum. For a story involving a pregnant woman, it was like Braxton-Hicks contractions:  something’s happening! Ah … nope … sorry … false alarm.

My only other complaint was that the ending felt rushed and not adequately explained. I’m still not sure what the motivation for those involved was, which made the story lose some of its punch at the end.

All of that said, the winning aspects of the story made up for its deficits, and while I can’t say I loved it, I did like it well enough to move onto the next book in the series!

★★★ ½ 

Thanks to Berkley Publishing, NetGalley and author Maxie Dara for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s due to be published October 1, 2024.