A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death Book Review: Twins, Mystery, and Found Family

Read time: 4 minutes

🎧 Listened in audio 📢 Narrated by Jaime Lamchick ⏱ Duration: 7 hours
Genre: Cozy Mystery 🏷️ Publisher: Berkley / Books on Tape

Book Blurb:

Nora Bird has spent her life avoiding risk ever since her parents died when she was six, which makes her job at S.C.Y.T.H.E., the agency behind the nation’s grim reapers, oddly comforting. Then a file crosses her desk with a name she recognizes: her twin brother’s. Charlie is all she has left, so against every cautious instinct, Nora steals his file and races to warn him. The two hit the road together, Charlie’s opinionated parrot Jessica in tow, dodging both S.C.Y.T.H.E. and whoever wants him dead. Every time Nora saves her brother, a new cause of death appears in his file, and she’ll need everything she knows about death to find out who’s behind it.

Let’s talk about the book:

I am back to the S.C.Y.T.H.E. universe and this time, the book is better. It was a coincidence that I read this book during an Indian festival called Raksha Bandhan, which celebrates the bond between siblings. For anyone interested, read more about Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi) here. While I was missing my brother, this book more than made up for the celebration. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, primarily the relationship between Nora and Charlie. Those twins have just the purest relationship. As they navigate their family’s history and all the issues around it, the only thing they relied on was the bond they shared.

Maxie Dara picked up the game with this book. After the slight downer in Book 1, Book 2 sparked much joy and overcame any misgivings I had in the previous book. The writing is beautiful, the mystery is layered and convoluted enough to keep you reading. The concept of a S.C.Y.T.H.E. agent literally among our midst is still so fascinating in Book 2, and I loved the way it ended too. Such beautiful closure to the story.

Jaime Lamchick’s narration was beautiful in this one too. I am starting to adore the way she takes each story and makes it her own. She narrates with passion.

I cannot wait to see where the next story takes us. The best part of this series is that every book is based on a different agent of S.C.Y.T.H.E., so the next story will have a different angle to the narrative, and a different set of people, relationships, and story.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, without question. A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death takes everything that felt shaky in book one and fixes it… twin bond, layered mystery, a parrot with opinions, all of it works. Nora and Charlie’s relationship alone is worth the listen. Jaime Lamchick’s narration seals the deal. Do I need book three immediately? Absolutely. Add this one to your TBR right now.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you loved this, try these:

• A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara Book 1 in the same series, introducing S.C.Y.T.H.E. and reaper Kathy Valence’s own found-family mystery, a perfect starting point if you haven’t met this world yet.

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• Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune Another warm, funny take on afterlife bureaucracy, this one follows a ferryman guiding a reluctant soul to what comes next, with the same heart-over-horror tone Dara brings to S.C.Y.T.H.E.

Indiebookstores.ca | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Pagebound | Fable | Hardcover | Booktrovert | OpenLibrary | Litsy

• Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano If you loved the mix of humor and high-stakes trouble in Nora and Charlie’s road trip, this one follows a broke novelist mistaken for a hitwoman, with just as much chaos and heart.

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• Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto Another found-family road trip where a family covers up a death while trying to survive each other, packed with the same comedic energy and family loyalty that made this book work.

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• A Murder Most Fowl by Carmela Dutra For more twin-powered cozy mystery fun, this one follows twins Beth and Seth solving murder while running their aunt’s food truck, proof that sibling duos make great amateur sleuths.

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What Would You Risk for Your Sibling?

Nora broke every rule she’d built her life around to save Charlie. Would you do the same for your sibling, or whoever is basically family to you? Tell me in the comments, and let me know if you’ve read Book 1 yet!

Book Links

Want to purchase this or any of your favorite books while supporting a local bookstore? Consider purchasing using the sites below. These sites work with independent local bookstore owners to fulfill your book orders. #SupportLocal

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