the heist of a life(time)

Jack McCoy got through his life lying, cheating, and stealing. It started when he was young, one of a group of delinquents they called the You Agains, because when they got sent to detention, the teacher always said, “You again?” But now he’s dead, and even now he’s lying and cheating to keep death at arm’s length. But he did that by possessing the reaper who had come for him.

As Jack’s essence had hovered over his dead body, 83-year-old Margaret Chen had showed up to help usher his essence to its next home. But Jack wasn’t ready to go, and he jumped into Margaret’s body. It was surprising at first, with the bad eyesight and boobs, but Jack got used to it. It had been two months, and he had taken over Margaret’s home and job. She was still in there, and she was holding back information like her bank account, but he was managing to keep the disguise going. He didn’t think anyone at the S.C.Y.T.H.E offices knew. At least, no one had said anything.

So he kept moving forward, until he comes up with a new plan. Each day he goes to the office, finds out who Margaret is supposed to collect that day, and then heads out to rescue their essences. He stayed busy, working in the Murder Department. There was always plenty to do. And then he was assigned to collect Dale Keegan.

Dale was one of the You Agains, and despite it being Margaret’s body that came to his murder scene, Dale recognized Jack immediately. He figured that Jack was up to something. And he wanted in. It occurred to Dale that if Jack could get ahold of that list of people who were about to die, they could sell that information and make some crazy money. Jack’s only been at S.C.Y.T.H.E. for a couple of months and doesn’t know where to come by that information. But when he gets the rest of the You Agains back together, he finds out that Greer, the only woman he ever loved, needs the money. Her child is very sick, and she needs money to get the treatment.

And just like that, Jack is in.

But it’s not quite that easy. First he has to figure out where the list is kept. And then he needs to figure out how to make a copy and get it out of the building. And he has to do all that without getting found out as a rogue essence possessing the body of a little old lady. And just as he thinks he’s got it cracked, he finds out that someone else has stolen the list and sabotaged his chance of helping Greer.

Amidst the lies and deceptions, Jack has to figure out who is working against them and what that means. But will he figure that out in time to help Greer? Or will his second life get cut short before he can finally do the right thing?

A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Living Twice is the third book in the S.C.Y.T.H.E. mystery series, about the employees who are tasked with rescuing the essences of those who have died and helping them to their next place. These stories are unusual and diverse, with each one starring a different reaper and a unique mystery.

I do think that the unusual nature of these S.C.Y.T.H.E. jobs meant that I had to pay extra attention to what was going on, as this is a truly different type of story. But there are also flashbacks to the hijinks of the You Agains when they were kids, so I could see how their relationships had developed back when they were in school together. And learning about what had brought them together and then what had driven them apart added a lot to the present story.

I enjoy these unconventional stories, and having read this one, I am especially excited to read the next one. I don’t know of any other books that are quite like these, so I can’t think of anything to compare them to, but they are clever, well plotted, and imaginative, so readers looking for a mystery series with a dark twist should consider giving these a try.

Egalleys for A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Living Twice were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.