Embrace the Grim Reaper (A Grim Reaper Mystery, Book 1)(Library Edition) [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Judy Clemens (Author), Tavia Gilbert (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

In the wake of a tragic accident, Casey Maldonado's life is over. So she packs up, puts her house on the market, and leaves town, her only companion Death, who won't take her but won't leave her alone.

Casey stops in Clymer, a small town in upheaval. The town's appliance factory and main employer, a company called HomeMaker, is planning to move to Mexico. Not only that, but the town has been rocked by the suicide of a beloved single mother. However, many citizens don't believe the verdict of suicide at all.

Death encourages Casey to investigate, and she uncovers information that points to the factory. Did the victim truly have the means, as she claimed, to keep the factory from leaving town? Is it possible that her death was a cover-up?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The intriguing first in a new series from Clemens (Different Paths and four other Stella Crown mysteries) introduces a classic tragic heroine, Casey Maldonado, and her companion, the Grim Reaper. Casey, who's trying to come to terms with personal losses suffered in a fatal car accident, regularly wishes that Death will take her so she can spend eternity with her departed loved ones. Unfortunately for Casey, it's not her time, and Death decides only to tag along on her sad journey. Hitching rides to anywhere, Casey ends up in Clymer, Ohio, a town as deeply troubled as she is. Casey is soon drawn into investigating the death of a young mother, who supposedly committed suicide after losing her job. Clemens is adept at creating an appealing cast of characters while keeping the plot moving at a fast clip. Casey and Death make an oddly entertaining pair, and readers will hope to see their relationship fleshed out in future titles. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Devastated by the deaths of her husband and infant son in a car crash that she alone survived, Casey Maldonado has taken to traveling, accompanied by Death, whom only she can see. She ends up in Clymer, Ohio, a small town devastated by the defection of a manufacturing company. She quickly becomes involved with Home Sweet Home, an organization that feeds struggling families, and she also takes a part in a local theater production. When she learns of the apparent suicide of a local woman, Ellen Schnieder, she begins an investigation, along with Ellen’s boyfriend, to prove that the death was actually murder. Complicating matters, the theater’s director seems to be in some kind of trouble with some unsavory men, and Casey is being pursued by executives from the car company who paid her settlement. An interesting premise (shades, almost, of The Fugitive) and a vulnerable but strong protagonist are the highlights here, though the character of Death adds an unexpected dimension. Clemens, author of the Stella Crown series, could have another winner. --Sue O'Brien --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged LIBRARY edition (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433265540
• ISBN-13: 978-1433265549
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,508,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judy Clemens has lived in seven states and decided to settle in the beautiful farmland of Ohio. She has been nominated for the Anthony and Agatha awards, and is the immediate past president of Sisters in Crime. She loves chocolate, watching movies, reading fantasy (especially YA and middle-grade) and is an active member of Grace Mennonite Church. She has two children, is married to a soccer coach, and lives in a farmhouse that is constantly being renovated. Learn more about her at www.judyclemens.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating paranormal amateur sleuth, May 8, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Embrace the Grim Reaper (Hardcover)

The accident left her husband and their son dead; no one can figure out how Casey Maldonado survived with many believing it was divine intervention. Casey knows how because after Pegasus Car Company settled, she fled her family, friends, lawyers, strangers and media whose constant refrain was to demand more. Her traveling companion knows why she lives; Death using human forms when he deems to appear explains to her that "life" should prove much more interesting riding around with someone suffering from survivor guilt.

Casey stops in Clymer, Ohio though is unsure why except Death pushes her there as this town is no different than the others she has recently seen. It is on the verge of collapse as its only industry HomeMaker is leaving for Mexico. Casey follows her nose to the Home Sweet Home soup kitchen where she offers to serve. Usually optimistic Eric Jones nee VanDienbos accepts her offer even as he and most of the townsfolk are depressed, grieving the alleged suicide of his girlfriend Ellen Schneider. No one who knew the single mom believes she killed herself. Casey, encouraged by B&B owners Lillian and Rosemary and guided in an enigmatic way by Death, investigates with clues leading her to HomeMaker where Ellen worked.

EMBRACE THE GRIM REAPER is a fascinating paranormal amateur sleuth tale starring an intriguing lead female struggling with grief and guilt and her more interesting traveling companion Death who surfaces at odd moments in differing persona. The story line is fast-paced from the opening when Death explains why Casey lives and never slows down as she investigates Ellen's death. Although the violent climax comes as a shocker, urban fantasy mystery fans will enjoy Judy Clemens' departure from her Pennsylvania dairy farmer Stella Crown "normal" amateur sleuth series.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On the Road With the Grim Reaper, August 7, 2009

By 

Fred's not here (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Embrace the Grim Reaper (Hardcover)

Thoughts of "Tires screeching, the world spinning, metal rending" reverberate through Casey's mind, the lone survivor of a horrific automobile accident that has left her husband and young son dead. Wrestling with anguish and more than a little guilt for having survived and settled a claim with the automaker, Casey hits the road, verbally sparing with her alternatingly annoying and endearing sidekick Death who insinuates himself into her reality at inopportune moments.

Their travels quickly lead them to Clymer, Ohio -- a down-on-its-luck yet quaint rural town -- where the HomeMaker appliance plant in shutting down, leaving most of the residents with nothing but unemployment along with the apparent suicide of Ellen, a single mother of two children. With characters left over from the set of Lake Wobegon, and the plot moving along at a leisurely pace, there's nothing, aside from two sinister strangers and innuendo, to keep the reader from settling into a comfortable yarn with, perhaps, a moral lurking just around the corner.

Don't relax.

Just as I did, the story hit me like a hapkido kick in the chest. In attempting to find the real mystery behind Ellen's apparent suicide, Casey eventually finds herself face-to-face with two guns and two crazy people. With only a few pages left, the odds don't look good for Casey.

Okay, it could be argued that the story takes a few far-fetched turns, but that's what makes fiction fun. If Janet Evanovich can get away with it, why not Judy Clemens? This enjoyable read pulled me in with its leisurely descriptions, zany characters, and clever dialogue. The short chapters enticed me to read just one more. Long before the last page, I was ready to "Embrace the Grim Reaper" and hitch a ride with both Casey and Death to wherever their travels might lead.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Takes a lickin' and keeps on kickin', September 26, 2010

By 

Silver Mom (Seattle WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Embrace the Grim Reaper (Paperback)

I really wanted to like this first book in a (so far) two book series. The "Death [a woman!] as sidekick" device is intriguing, with lots of future potential. However, I'm afraid I'm not going to be reading any further in this series, and it's because of what I've come to call the "Anna Pigeon Syndrome". Casey Maldanado, the heroine of the Grim Reaper series, and Anna Pigeon, the heroine of Nevada Barr's mysteries (as wonderfully written as they are, I've given up on them, too) share the complete improbability of being able to (at least once per book) get beaten to a pulp and not only live through it, but have enough charge left in their batteries to some how do in the bad guys. In fact, even after Casey gets smashed in the head, kicked in the kidneys, arm almost broken, and slashed in the shoulder with a knife (all in the same episode), she overcomes TWO heavy-duty bad guys, runs all over a small towm, jumps over fences, hides, climbs, and then engages in a little (almost) whoopee-making. Excuse me, but the woman would be in shock - from the blood loss, at least, if not the pounding she's just taken. I like fantasy just fine, but the premise of this book (other than the real live Grim Reaper, of course) is that it is real life. Superhero Casey is not real life. (Also, I thought that naming the flawed vehicle that killed her husband and son a "Pegasus" and making it a hybrid was a bit too close to taking a cheap shot at the Toyota Prius.)