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A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death
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  • Published: 6 January 2026
  • ISBN: 9780593815816
  • Imprint: Berkley
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death

Formats & editions
EBook
2 Dec 2025
Audiobook
2 Dec 2025
Paperback
6 Jan 2026
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When a determined killer targets her brother, a grim reaper risks everything to save him in this delightful cozy mystery.

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.
  • Published: 6 January 2026
  • ISBN: 9780593815816
  • Imprint: Berkley
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 288
  • RRP: $45.00
Categories:

About the author

Maxie Dara

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.
MD

Also by Maxie Dara

A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer
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Praise for A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death

Praise for A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer

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

"Come for the mystery, stay for the punched-up pairing. This new series is one to watch.” -- Kirkus

“Fun and lighthearted. . .relatable and funny, and the paranormal aspects are balanced with the ordinariness of Kathy’s messy life.”
   -- Booklist

“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

"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. . .a delightfully fresh mystery!"
       —Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers

Praise for A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer

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

"Come for the mystery, stay for the punched-up pairing. This new series is one to watch.” -- Kirkus

“Fun and lighthearted. . .relatable and funny, and the paranormal aspects are balanced with the ordinariness of Kathy’s messy life.”
   -- Booklist

“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

"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. . .a delightfully fresh mystery!"
       —Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers