We chat with author Maxie Dara about A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death, which follows a grim reaper who’s brother is targeted by a determined killer and must risk everything to save him in this delightful cosy mystery.
Hi, Maxie! Welcome back! How has the past year been since we last spoke?
Hey, thanks so much for talking the time to chat with me again! It’s been quite the year. I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many wonderful people through the first book, which has been the most unexpectedly lovely part of this whole ‘being an author’ thing. I’ve also moved from Canada to Scotland because I needed a little plot twist in my own life.
A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death is the second installment in your S.C.Y.T.H.E Mystery series and it’s out December 2nd! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Oh gosh, okay, if I had to narrow it down to five, they’d be: quirky, suspenseful, supernatural, family, parrot.
What can readers expect from the sequel?
We’re saying goodbye to the gang from book one for a sec and hanging out with S.C.Y.T.H.E. administrative coordinator and anxiety queen Nora Bird. Nora lost her parents at a young age and has been afraid of death ever since, so she took a job with modern-day grim reapers in a ‘keep your enemies close’ kind of way. When she comes across the name of her twin brother, Charlie, in her to-die files, she decides to risk it all in order to save his life. It’s kind of a dysfunctional family road trip meets Final Destination, but (hopefully) funny.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
Though I usually end up having the most fun with side characters, I really enjoyed getting to know the twins at the heart of Cheating Death. They’re polar opposites in every way, but are motivated by the same core things, and learning what makes them both tick and how they turned out the way they did was such a fun process!
Did you face any challenges whilst writing the sequel? How did you overcome them?
Oh, always. If I ever manage to get through a project without at least one challenge I think I’ll be incredibly confused. In this book, I reached a point where I had two very different plot options to choose from, and either decision would drastically change the outcome of the story. I know I’m being vague here, but I’m trying not to spoil anything. Suffice it to say this was nearly a very different book. Thankfully I borrowed my friends’ ears to talk endlessly about the dilemma and eventually realized that this was meant to be a book about family, anxiety, and what it means to live. I think, in the end, that was the right call.
Were there any key lessons you learned between working on the two books?
More than anything, I think the idea of writing for myself was reaffirmed. When I wrote Catching a Killer I had no idea whether anyone would ever pick it up, so I really just wrote the kind of book I’d want to read. For Cheating Death, I knew I was writing it for publication, and for a while that was paralysing. I kept getting stuck on whether my editor would like it, whether readers would like it, whether reviewers would like it. I forgot to ask myself whether I would like it, and instead put a ton of pressure on myself to make it perfect. It wasn’t until I went back to writing the kind of book I’d want to read that the writing began to flow again.
What’s next for you?
Book three, baby! We’re heading back to S.C.Y.T.H.E. again, and I’ve been having a blast getting to introduce yet another shiny new reaper to the collection. I’ve taken a big risk with this one, and I cannot wait for everyone to get to meet them next year!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up in 2026?
I’ve read some absolute gems this year! I had the honour of blurbing two incredibly unique reads: Dead and Breakfast by Kat Hillis and Rosiee Thor and Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World by Mark Waddell. Kelley Armstrong’s A Rip Through Time series has continued its chokehold on me, and I adored Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas. I’ve been absolutely itching to read Wyndclyffe by Joe Hart but haven’t been able to find it in the UK, so I’ll definitely be picking that up next time I visit Canada and reading it in the new year!
