Customer Reviews

The Grim Reaper's Dance

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Casey "Jones" Maldonado is on the run from the CEO of Pegasus. One of his defective cars caused an accident that killed her husband and son. She is also wanted for the murder of a Louisville criminal and for questioning in the death of a Clymer, Ohio citizen. Her only companion is Death and she wishes he would really take her so she can join her family.

She hitches a ride with Wayne a trucker. They get into an accident caused by men who want the papers he has hidden on his truck. Before he dies, he tells Casey where they are and she stays in the small town where Wayne lived to obtain the papers and see that Wayne in death receives justice. Plenty of truckers from Class P Trucking wants the documents and will do whatever it takes to retrieve them. Casey takes refuge in a shed in the middle of nowhere. There she meets teens who were at the hospital. They kind of adopt her and help her when the truckers catch up to Casey who in spite of the danger remains resolute in determining who killed Wayne.

Death is an actual essence that only Casey can see though one can wonder whether she suffers delusions. He is with her trying to convince her that she needs to swing the bat by rejoining the living as it is not time for her to Embrace the Grim Reaper. Casey has a deep rooted social conscience so though she prefers death rather than life as her companion, she still insists social justice occurs and is willing to risk her existence to see it happen even for a dead person. The Grim Reaper Dance is an excellent mystery starring a strange perhaps deranged heroine and her "BFF" Death.

Harriet Klausner

Loved It! A wonderful book with an interesting twist on the supernatural. Casey must battle with herself and the bad guys to atone for her past mistakes while maintaining her freedom. The Grim Reaper follows her like her shadow and the reader is never sure if he is there to help or to bring death to those around Casey. Humorous, exciting, and well written, Casey's story is well worth the read. I cannot wait to read more from Judy Clemens.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book two in at least a series of three books so far, following Casey Maldonado, a young mother whose family was killed in a defectively designed vehicle crash. We have yet to learn a great deal about that accident or why she needs to be on the run. We don't learn anymore in this book, but what we do know is while on the run she is trying to put together more evidence, to bring justice for her family and stop the car manufacturer from producing more death traps and misery like hers. That company has a lot of resources, and is prepared to kill to stop her, so she has had to result to hitchhiking from small town to small town to stay off their radar. What makes this series unique from many similar novels with that sort of scenario, is that the Grim Reaper has for reasons which again have never been explained, decided to tag along. Most others she comes across can't see him or hear his voice. Death doesn't act like stereotypical Grim Reaper either. He's more like the Cat in the Hat character from Dr Seuss books. For the most part he's an annoyance to Casey, who just wants to be alone, but he does have his uses. He can't just take anyone (kill them). He can't untie ropes, grab weapons off villains, or move physical objects (or if he can at least is forbidden from doing so) to get Casey out of a jam. Although he can eat food and get up to other annoying practices. What he can do is float through walls and report back on if someone is inside, blow out match and lighter flames, make people feel an uncomfortable chill by touching them, transport himself to other locations and things like this. Death isn't usually forthcoming with information though, and usually has to be persuaded to do these sorts of things, unless of course he is having his own mischievous fun by doing them. Although he does seem to be on the side of good, he isn't driven by the same motivation to help others as Casey is and quite often in this story asks Casey why they are bothering to expose this crime and not just safely moving on.

In The Grim Reapers Dance, Casey has hitched a ride with yet another trucker. The latest is named Evan, and he seems like a real nice guy. After a long pleasant journey, where Casey has caught up on a lot of much needed sleep, he tells her this is his final haul for a while and she'll have to get another lift shortly when he gets near his home town. Unfortunately for Evan a group of men have laid an ambush for him seconds up the road. After an horrific crash, Evan in his final moments, stutters to an injured Casey who he mistakes for his wife, not to let them take it, back... upholstery. Casey is pushed out of the way by a group of men who she quickly realises are not there to help Evan. She injures one whose hands start searching her body before other motorists and emergency personnel arrive. She is reluctantly taken away to hospital and can't seem to convince the police to take an interest in those men. After fleeing the hospital she should just move on, but Evan was a nice guy who deserves whatever he was hiding to be protected from those men. Casey decides to visit the wrecked truck and find that item before the men who killed him do. This decision is the start of another terrifying adventure for Casey, who is undoubtedly motivated by the similarities of what Evan was doing to that of which she is herself in relation to the car company. She is determined to understand the documents Evan had hidden, and use Evan's evidence to finish the job he started.

The Grim Reaper's Dance, does wrap up the independent side plot, meaning it could be read as a standalone. You don't need to have read Embrace the Grim Reaper first but a lot of events in that novel are given away in this one. Pus you won't understand how Casey has the great hand to hand combat skills and some other qualities if you read this book first as they aren't explained in this one. This is a great series, Casey is one of the best female lead characters I've come across in a while, I'll certainly be checking out the third novel Flowers for Her Grave.

I have read all the Stella Crown mysteries and wish there were more of them. This Grim Reaper series is also addicting, and I grew impatient waiting for it to come out for my kindle. This series has a bit of the supernatural and a bit of mystery resulting in a thoroughly enjoyable read. I like that the main character in both series is a woman, strong yet vulnerable.

The second novel in this series finds Casey Maldonado (a/k/a Jones) hitching a ride after her last misadventure in Ohio right into another one. Apparently, death doesn't take a holiday when Casey is around, but just tags along so she has company. The road in front of the semi in which they are riding is blocked by construction vehicles; the road is wet from rain and the vehicle skids and crashes, killing the driver. But before he dies he tells Casey about something hidden in the truck and tells her to prevent it from being found by "them."

Casey escapes and hides in surrounding fields in Kansas and later finds papers secreted in the truck. Assisted by an assortment of teenagers and others, Casey eventually comes to understand the meaning of the hidden papers and undertakes to bring down those responsible for the crash, who will stop at nothing to obtain them and head her off before she can expose them.

The story moves apace, with a good look at small town America. While a conventional thriller-mystery, what is unusual here is the use of the Grim Reaper as a foil. After all, how often can "death" be a force for "good," much less a sounding board and an advance scout?

Recommended.

I have bought all of Judy Clemen's books, so when I didn't get to her book signing locally, I ordered the book from Amazon.com. I finally got to read it and couldn't stop until I had finished it early this morning! I know of the Kansas area where the plot takes place, which makes it more interesting. With subtle humor, the relationship of Casey and Death, the Grim Reaper, is interesting, and helps carry on the plot. How one person can get into so many tight spots and overcome, with help from friends along the way, is spell binding until the last page. I can't wait for the sequel! Elizabeth B. Shelly, Bluffton, Ohio.