Clare Hooley reviewed Death and Relaxation by Devon Monk
Death is on holiday, but implausibility everywhere else
3 stars
A light quick read set in the small American coastal town of Ordinary, a town that acts as the residence of vacationing gods. Because they are on vacation, the gods we meet cannot use their powers and they, although not their powers, can die. Among the few human mortals that are in on the town’s secrets, are the three sisters of the Reed family who form the real-life police department, with the chief, Delany Reed, being our main character. Delany’s duties include transferring the power of any gods who die while on vacation to a new person. Thus, when one of gods does die, we have a murder mystery (a little too mundane as we really don’t have much stake in the outcome) and a search for a new host for the god power (which irks because it’s supposedly urgent but is not treated as so by Delany until it’s …
A light quick read set in the small American coastal town of Ordinary, a town that acts as the residence of vacationing gods. Because they are on vacation, the gods we meet cannot use their powers and they, although not their powers, can die. Among the few human mortals that are in on the town’s secrets, are the three sisters of the Reed family who form the real-life police department, with the chief, Delany Reed, being our main character. Delany’s duties include transferring the power of any gods who die while on vacation to a new person. Thus, when one of gods does die, we have a murder mystery (a little too mundane as we really don’t have much stake in the outcome) and a search for a new host for the god power (which irks because it’s supposedly urgent but is not treated as so by Delany until it’s critical urgent) taking place against the backdrop of the annual rhubarb festival (too stereotypically cutesy, especially with the time devoted to explaining again and again that Delany dislikes rhubarb). The rest of the story involves a romance with a childhood sweetheart who is obviously not quite who he seems (not resolved here), and that’s actually handled nicely (there’s only one intimate scene) if with naive mooning that doesn’t quite fit the character; this has just the right amount of mystery to get invested. Then there are fun interludes with Death, newly on vacation, providing humour; it’s actually perfectly credible that Death would wear tourist t-shirts, always get served an over-the-top drink etc. etc. There are faults aplenty - not just those mentioned above, but also a serious injury that is flippantly resolved by just getting up out the hospital and saying ouch a few times - however, as the first in nine-book series, I’d still give the benefit of doubt to see where it goes, but not if paying a lot for the sequel.