Casey Maldonado is an exciting new character is this first book of a new series, but The Grim Reaper....Death...is an equally compelling character, and he is her companion throughout the book.  She wants him to take her too, but he's not ready to do that. Most other people can't see him, but intriguingly, some can.

Casey's husband and son were taken from her in a fiery auto accident, and she is at loose ends, fleeing from reality and drifting across the country.  She stops at a soup kitchen in the small town of Clymer, Ohio, and helps to serve up the daily meal.  She finds that the townspeople are nearly overcome by the tragedy of mass unemployment.  HomeMaker, an appliance manufacturer, is moving to Mexico.  A popular single mother has died, and the verdict is suicide, but no one believes that she killed herself.  Death prods her to investigate, though he is no help at all.

Casey becomes immersed in the town's problems, joining a theater company, and trying to find out what really happened to the young mother.  She thinks that it’s the factory, or someone connected with it, that may have caused her death...that the victim found out something that caused someone to want her dead.  Casey and Eric, a young man who befriends her, find out more than they should for their own good, and now the real killer can't let them go.

You can always count on Poisoned Pen Press for an exciting mystery with great characters and a multi-level plot with non-stop action.  Embrace the Grim Reaper is no exception to that premise...it kept me up most of the night.  Maybe it's me that is the weird one, but I really hope The Grim Reaper joins Casey in the sequel.