The Literate Kitty

One mischievous hobgoblin... on the brink of falling in love. One warrior queen... set on founding her own cult. One (former) goddess of death—now trying out life as a human—who thinks online dating is the way to go. One (seemingly) ordinary secretary who... well, is actually known as “Gladys Who Has Seen Some Shite” (although the “shite” in question remains unmentioned, so... who knows?).   And, one Glaswegian septuagenarian skilled in ink-and-sigil work (basically, magic spells made by using special inks and symbols)... whose job it is to keep the gods above, and all manner of fae creatures hiding in plain sight here in the human world down below, in line.    Together, they’re about to face what may be their greatest challenge, yet: finally figuring out who placed the twin curses on Al MacBharrais’ (the aforementioned septuagenarian) balding head... curses which killed off numerous apprentices, over the years, and caused his entire family to shun him, for no reason. ...

You can find a Grim Reaper costume in any costume shop, because everyone agrees on what it is—long cape, hood, no face, and a big ole scythe, right?   But... what if everyone is wrong?   What if sometime between the reaper’s first appearance—in the Middle Ages, when the Black Death was the COVID of its day—and now, the whole concept of the grim reaper was... updated?   The black-hood-of-death-and-harvesting-tool getup would have to go.   Maybe the Grim Reaper 2.0 would look like a regular Joe (or Jane!). Like your neighbor. Your aunt. The muscle-y dude pumping iron at the gym.   Debuting author Maxie Dara makes hay* with this idea in her delightfully-creative new mystery,  A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer .      You probably wouldn’t look twice at Kathy Valence, if you passed her on the street. Just another frumpy, middle-aged, nearly-divorced—and very pregnant—woman... nothing to see here, just move along.   But the badge she ...