Kathy Valence isn't all that special. She is a recently divorced woman in her 40's who is dealing with some personal struggles, one of which is that, after a night with her ex-husband, she is pregnant. As Kathy works through her feelings about her ex and her situation, she could really use some easy work at her job.
Thankfully, her position at S. C. Y. T. H. E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences) isn't all that complicated. Since she works in the Natural Causes division of S. C. Y. T. H. E., she doesn't really have to deal with some of the trauma that many of her co-workers go through. When Kathy gets a work order, she just has to arrive at the location, track down the recently deceased spirit and get it back to the office for processing. If it wasn't for the fact that working for S. C. Y. T. H. E. grants her the ability to interact with spirits, S. C. Y. T. H. E. is like any other bureaucratic quasi-government company, complete with paperwork and annual reviews.
Unfortunately for Kathy, her latest case isn't exactly by the books. When Kathy gets handed Conner Ortiz's case, she is surprised to find his spirit is not actually near the body. When she reports the missing spirit to her boss, Stu, he expresses how imperative it is that she find Conner and get him processed. Of course, Kathy knows that a spirit that hasn't been processed in 45 days becomes a ghost and will never be able to move on, but how is she supposed to find the missing teenage spirit?
Thankfully, it doesn't actually take long for Kathy to find Conner, but he not only insists that he was murdered, but when he sees the S. C. Y. T. H. E. logo, he insists that it is somehow tied to his death. Now Kathy finds herself having to dig deeper into the events around Conner's possible murder than she has ever had to do before. Could S. C. Y. T. H. E. have just misfiled Conner's case and it should have gone to the Murder department? Even if that was the case, why would he recognize the S. C. Y. T. H. E. logo? None of the facts around Conner's case are adding up, and it's just one more complication that Kathy has to work through.
Now, Kathy has 45 days to track down exactly what happened to Conner in the hopes of convincing him to go to processing, but in the meantime, she will find herself doing many things that are very un-Kathy-like. Kathy and Conner will join forces with Jo, Kathy's retired mentor and even Simon, Kathy's ex-husband, in order to investigate the workers at S. C. Y. T. H. E., and what they find might forever change exactly how the dead are treated in the short time they are still around before moving on.
A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer: A S.C.Y.T.H.E. Mystery - Book 1 was such a fun and fast read. I immediately liked Kathy and while Conner could occasionally be a bit of a pain, given that he is a recently deceased rich teenager, his character's rough edges are easily understood and never really felt inappropriate.
I also really enjoyed the world-building that allowed for an organization like S.C.Y.T.H.E. to exist in the first place. The fact that spirits need the help of the living in order to move on means that there must be people to help facilitate this transition. On top of that, S.C.Y.T.H.E. has become a solid and reputable company in this field because it has needed to step up its game. Apparently about a century ago, the work to help the recently deceased transition was really sloppy and led to a lot of ghosts. Now, S.C.Y.T.H.E. is seen having a solid reputation of staying on top of the workload, which is why there are a lot fewer new ghosts being made in modern times, but it seems even a model company like S.C.Y.T.H.E. can make mistakes.
Anyone looking for a cozy mystery with a bit of a fantastical flair will want to look into A Grim Reaper's Guide to Catching a Killer. Personally, I can't wait to see what the second installment has to offer.
