Immortal Remains by Sean Cummings

Who does God’s detective work? Ever thought about that? Call Tim Reaper.

Title: Immortal Remains
Author: Sean Cummings
Series: Tim Reaper #1
Publish Date: August 1, 2016
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased

Publisher’s Description: He’s not a detective and he doesn’t give a crap if your spouse is cheating on you. Human and supernatural beings avoid him like the plague because if you get too close he’ll gleefully tell you the time and date of your own demise and that’s before he punches you in the face.

For nearly one hundred years, Tim Reaper (yes, that’s what he calls himself) has been living as a fixer, a rum runner, an enforcer and occasionally, a gumshoe. He hasn’t aged a day because of his habit of borrowing the bodies of the recently deceased. (A convenient trick when you’re on the lam.) Banished to the human world for tinkering with the natural order of life and death, he’s kept himself busy with a peculiar hobby: ending the lives of murderers and serial killers alike.

Except now, the bodies are piling up in Mexico City, Boston and the port city of Halifax. In fact, someone just found a corpse at the shipping terminal and it’s not entirely human. Called on by the Holy See to put an end to the madness, Reaper is about to learn that this particular serial killer has a hate-on for heavenly bodies and even the Supreme Being will pay the bounty if it means saving humanity from the abyss.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel (or, in other words, SPOILERS).

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Nervous Nellie says…

First off, this is an urban fantasy, no sex—at least not enough to really comment on, lots of violence – some of it graphic and hopefully, it will be a series. The ending wasn’t a cliffhanger, but it also wasn’t as grandly happy as an HEA.  Don’t let that stop you from reading.  I, in all my nervousness, weathered the ending just fine.  No worries.

This was not a regularly scheduled review. It popped up on my radar when I was nonchalantly surfing on the Internet. I resisted. Really. I did. I have to stay with my schedule. I studied the cover and the cover was so intensely attractive that it caused me to hesitate from clicking away from the book. I have to stay with my schedule. I read the description. I was hooked. Did I mention the cover? Whoa.

This is a spin on urban fantasy that is new to me. Tim Reaper is not human, never was and will never be. He was tossed out on his ass from his order for causing the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic. It’s a lesson that just one choice has an immense ripple effect on more than just one life.

Instead of just drifting off into the wind or whatever death spirits do when they are cast out, he decided to take matters into his own hands and become a vigilante. A supernatural vigilante against murderers, child molesters, and whatever bad thing humans can think of. If that premise doesn’t grab you, I don’t know what will.

The world is well built and the mystery intriguing. The whodunnit isn’t one of those that are easy to decipher and Tim isn’t a super sleuth that can figure the solution like Sherlock Holmes.  He struggles. Tim, in his bid to help humankind, finds out that it doesn’t matter that he is a death spirit. His choices and actions always have residual effects and in the end, he has to make tough decisions. Tim does have one thing going for him.  He has Detective Sergeant Carol Sparks for help. She is tough, smart and kick-ass. Oh, did I mention that the mystery is so dire that the Vatican asked for Tim’s help? Yep, even though they know what he did and what he is, they still need him to solve a serial killing rampage… against angels and demons. What? You heard right. Fantastic, right?

I really loved this book and I am looking forward to the next. The characters were easy to like and Tim’s stab at a human’s life is a lot more complicated than you’d think.  Give it a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

If you like this book…

…you might try  The Inquisitor series by Lincoln Farish.

Nell’s Opinion and Book Hunt

Here I am! Aren’t you excited?  I have been missing from action for a few weeks – learning how to walk again and such.  Yep, you heard right, I’m off my scooter and back on two feet. Now, those authors, you know who you are, who have given me crap – teased me in their signings of books – ya’ll better watch out – I can sneak up on you now! 😉

My subject today is reviews.  If you are a reader, you may not have ever thought about giving a review on Goodreads, Amazon, or LibraryThing. I assume you read the reviews to see if the book is any good, so why wouldn’t you leave one?  I would use your thoughts to make a decision on buying a book, trying a new author or taking a risk on a new series.

Think about leaving a review.  Put it on your blog. Put it on a book website.  It doesn’t matter if you hated it, just remember-just because you hated it doesn’t mean it’s bad.  It just wasn’t for you.  Authors – you know I love you.  Reviewers – thank you for your reviews.

BOOK HUNT

ONE BOOK TWO WILL REVIEW ON 9/9/2016 (the book is good – just a spoiler)

Title:  Immortal Remains
Author:  Sean Cummings
Free on Kindle
Description:  He’s not a detective and he doesn’t give a crap if your spouse is cheating on you. Human and supernatural beings avoid him like the plague because if you get too close he’ll gleefully tell you the time and date of your own demise and that’s before he punches you in the face.

For nearly one hundred years, Tim Reaper (yes, that’s what he calls himself) has been living as a fixer, a rum runner, an enforcer and occasionally, a gumshoe. He hasn’t aged a day because of his habit of borrowing the bodies of the recently deceased. (A convenient trick when you’re on the lam.) Banished to the human world for tinkering with the natural order of life and death, he’s kept himself busy with a peculiar hobby: ending the lives of murderers and serial killers alike.

Except now, the bodies are piling up in Mexico City, Boston and the port city of Halifax. In fact, someone just found a corpse at the shipping terminal and it’s not entirely human. Called on by the Holy See to put an end to the madness, Reaper is about to learn that this particular serial killer has a hate-on for heavenly bodies and even the Supreme Being will pay the bounty if it means saving humanity from the abyss.