Heather’s Bookshelf: Killing the Reapers
Author: Jeff Debing
Released: 03/02/21
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Novella
“Dodd and Ross walk into a large area crowded with old office furniture, dusty filing cabinets and outdated technology. Other reapers sit at their desks, talking into landline phones and squinting at archaic computer monitors. Ross smirks as he realizes how much the setting resembles a gritty police station from a seventies cop show.”
“Killing the Reapers” introduces Ross, a young man in love. Ross comes up with an elaborate plan to propose to his girlfriend, Theda, by preparing a surprise picnic at the park. Unfortunately for him, he is in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up dying way before his time.
His predicament is further complicated by being reanimated and informed he’s stuck in a place where reapers exist. He’s not a reaper and not supposed to be there, so his time is limited if he’s going to be able to make it back to his life in one piece.
To complicate matters further, reapers are having accidents resulting in their deaths. Ross must work with his newfound reaper friend, Dodd, if they are going to set everything right and save those around them.
Trigger Warning: murder, death, suicide
Overall, I found the concept of this story to be very unique and interesting. I found the reaper organization operating as a business or agency to be interesting as well. However, I wish there would have been more attention paid to the actual reaping process or the reapers themselves. I found Ross to be a likable lead and Theda’s emotions shined through the pages. However, I felt very little connection to any of the rest of the characters or their relationships with each other. I liked the main twist in the story, but the lack of ancillary character development resulted in a less powerful moment than there could have been. The ending wrapped everything up, but I was personally not a fan of the result as it seemed to deviate from the emotional build-up of the rest of the tale. I could absolutely see this as an origin story, with future stories to come.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A unique concept and likeable protagonist setup an interesting twist that yearns for further ancillary characterization.
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Check out my interview with Jeff Debing
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