Death Retires

Death Retired Mystery #1

by Cate Lawley

Death’s not taking a holiday. He’s retired.
Geoff hadn’t planned on sunshine, margaritas, and women in skimpy bikinis. After hanging up his (metaphorical) hood, he had hoped to spend his afternoons reading at the local library. Unfortunately, his former position (as one of the deaths, not the death) was seeping into his current retirement and hijacking his restful plans.
Bad enough that he’s stalked by ghosts, but his former bosses have also saddled him with the care and feeding of a possessed bobcat. And then he meets his beautiful neighbor Sylvie, and his world truly is turned upside down.
Click to see how Geoff becomes involved in his first murder investigation and all of the antics that ensue.

Death Retired is a humorous cozy mystery with no explicit sexual content or profanity, though the book does contain adult situations and some violence.

Genres: Paranormal, Mystery, Fantasy, Cozy Mystery, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Ghosts

204 pages, ebook

First published October 12, 2017

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Cate Lawley writes humorous, action-filled mysteries that frequently contain paranormal elements.

When Cate's not tapping away at her keyboard or in deep contemplation of her next fanciful writing project, she's sweeping up hairy dust bunnies and watching British mysteries.

Cate is from Austin, Texas (where many of her stories take place), but has recently migrated north to Boise, Idaho, where soup season (her favorite time of year) lasts more than two weeks.

She's worked as an attorney, a dog trainer, and in various other positions, but writer is the hands-down winner. She's thankful readers keep reading, so she can keep writing!

For bonus materials and updates, visit her website to join her mailing list: www.CateLawley.com.

Reviews

[Lenora Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Cate Lawley book. It will NOT be my last. Full disclosure here, but I found the beginning humorous, but not overly so. After reading the book, I think that was Reader Error, not Writer Error. Once into chapter 4 or 5, I had a hard time putting it down. I was reading in bed, and kept saying, ‘Just one more chapter,’ until I reached the end. Loved it.

Clarence, the bobcat, stole the book. What’s odd is, many years ago, I had a cat who was half ‘wild cat’ of some description (daddy was a cougar is the best guess), and I had NO problem visualizing Clarence. If my cat could have talked, I think it would have been much the same.

No bad language, in fact Geoff (the retired death) forbids it. Poor Clarence. I look forward to reading the rest of the series, especially Clarence. No sex. Adult situations. Yes, I would let my younger kids read the books. If my younger kids were still younger;-)

[Sandee · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun! Death has retired to a mortal life. Setting up in a new neighbourhood with Clarence, his possessed bobcat, Geoff finds himself caught up in a murder mystery. As he meets those involved and his new neighbours, Geoff starts to discover what a mortal life might be like if he accepts it. Combine a retired Death, a witch, a medium, modern technology and a variety of mortals and monsters and you get this book. I can hardly wait to read the next one.

[A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Geoff Todd is a former soul collector. Some people call him Death, but really he’s just one of several deaths not THE Death. But not anymore. He’s retired and trying to live a quiet life in a fairly decent neighborhood. Trying being the operative word here. He’s been assigned a possessed bobcat to keep an eye on and he can hear (and sometimes see) ghosts. When his lovely neighbor’s shed is blown up he gets pulled into an investigation involving his neighbors and he discovers some things that surprise him.

Poor Geoff. He’s human again after collecting souls for about half a century and all he wants is some peace and quiet. Instead he’s saddled with Clarence the possessed bobcat, and ghosts invading his home. Just as he starts to take an interest in Sylvie, his beautiful neighbor, things start to go sideways in the neighborhood. As he digs into a murder investigation and tries to find out who blew up Sylvie’s shed he finds out more than he ever wanted to know about his other neighbors.

I really, really love the Vegan Vamp series, so when Death Retires came up for review I jumped at the chance to read a new series by Cate Lawley. This story has some funny stuff, a touch of possible romance, paranormal intrigue, a mystery, and some danger. I think Clarence is supposed to be comic relief, but I found him to be incredibly annoying. If his bullshit shenanigans were toned down I may like him better. The supporting characters aren’t as well-fleshed out as Geoff and Clarence, but they add to the story and make me look forward to reading more about them in future books. Overall, this is an entertaining first book in a hopefully long running series.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Death Retires” earns 5/5 Paranormal Parties…Great Fun!

“Death’s not taking a vacation. He’s retired.” What a great introduction to a new series by Cate Lawley! We meet Geoff Todd, hiding from the advances of a neighbor, has bought a house and hopes to enjoy a relaxing retirement. Although he prefers “soul collector,” he is death (not ‘the’ death, just one of the deaths) and life in the suburbs is not exactly what he expected. He is joined by and often in humorous conflict with Clarence, whose human ghost either accidentally or by choice inhabits the body of a bobcat—a nice twist on the ‘feline familiar’ idea. Then there are the ghosts who are of great annoyance. Geoff only sees and hears the disembodied when they wish it, but Clarence, a ghost himself, freely sees, hears, and interacts with them. But Geoff has got to find a way to get one ghost to move on and get out of his hair. It just may be necessary to solve the mystery behind how he, Bobby, became a ghost, and protecting the widow may be part of the deal. How marvelous! Similar to her twist on vampires with her Vegan Vamp series, Cate Lawley has penned a delightfully unique variation to her new series Death Retired Mystery. Book one, “Death Retires,” introduces us to one of the deaths—now human, his sidekick/bobcat Clarence, ghosts, mediums, witches, demons, and humans all adding to this paranormal delight with humor and laugh-out-loud entertainment. Ok, it is not as weird as it sounds. It is engaging fun as ‘death’ tries to fit in once again among humans, navigate neighborhood relationships, and deal with ghostly and paranormal characters. I really had fun with this one.

“Disclosure: A review copy of this book was sent to me by the author. However, all of the above opinions are my own.”

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

2020 bk 25. I'll admit, I was annoyed through most of the first and second chapters. I felt like I had been dropped from outer space into this suburb without the back story. I was, but I kept on going because I wasn't sure if the bobcat (Clarence) was going to eat or injure Geoff (former soul snatcher) who is very dense, at first. Things became clearer as the story proceeded and I enjoyed the characters, the mysteries presented by the author. What she really got right was the bewilderment that comes after retirement, not the early exhilaration of being free, but the 'what in the heck am I going to the rest of my life.' I went for reading and recording what I read and volunteering. Geoff, well, he is thrust into the world of his supernatural neighborhood and solving mysteries. I'm looking foward to book #2, which according to Amazon, should arrive tomorrow morning about the time we will get snow.

[Boneist · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short book and, ordinarily, I would have finished it very quickly. However, my reading mojo is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, and I found myself struggling to read this.

Mostly that was because the book doesn’t get going until 2/3rds of the way through. A *LOT* of setup for not much gain. Also, the characters didn’t grab me at all, which is unusual as the gist of the book seems right down my alleyway, plus I enjoyed Lawley’s Vegan Vamp books. It could just be my current low reading mojo spoiling things, or it could be the book just isn’t as good as it could have been.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawley has produced another unusual paranormal adventure in Death Retires. Geoff is a retired soul collector—a rather old man in a new young body—who has attempted to retire to a quiet town with his 25-pound possessed bobcat, Clarence. Unfortunately for Geoff there are a number of ghosts in the vicinity that both Clarence and he can talk to and one of them wants his help in protecting his ex-wife from the men who killed him. Unfortunately, his memory of how he died is badly damaged and he doesn’t remember who his murderers were. Geoff isn’t very excited to get involved in this, but finally agrees in the hope that resolving the problem will give him the peaceful retirement he craves. (I suspect that since this is the first book in the series, he will never find that peaceful existence.)

The cast of characters (a medium, a witch, the ghost’s ex-wife, and a demon—not to mention Geoff and Clarence) made for an interesting group to tackle the problem. More importantly, the mystery took a left turn away from my expectations, making the eventual resolution a credible surprise. If you like mysteries with a paranormal flair, this is a series you should find interesting.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[shannon Stubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny

I enjoyed reading this story. It had an interesting group of characters starting with Geoff and Clarence. They had me laughing. I also liked the supernatural theme for this story. It even fit in with the saying the Austin, Tx is strange.

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute

[Darlena D Doak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute

This is a nice little paranormal with some snark and a few strange characters. Unusual but a nice little read.

[Maureen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Death is retired. Well, one of the former mortals made into Death’s soul collectors. Geoff is mortal again and looking forward to the quiet life in a charming neighborhood in Austin, TX. But with quirky neighbors, a bobcat companion (who is inhabited by a human soul, Clarence) and local ghosts haunting him, this is not the peaceful retirement he pictured. Throw in a murder and a damsel in distress and voila! A cozy mystery. Along the way he picks up a motley crew of metaphysical miscreants, each with their own supernatural contributions to solving the mystery.

This is a cozy mystery with overboard emphasis on the “cozy” part. The synopsis purposely informs readers “Death Retired is a humorous cozy mystery with no explicit sexual content or profanity.” Geoff is constantly interrupting, in an over the top forced way, the sexual musings of a bobcat. It could have been funny if it was done once or twice, but was annoying in how repetitive it was. Geoff’s prudish interruptions only emphasized the sexual innuendo. It’s like the old psychological trick “don’t think about pink elephants” and now I’ll bet you can’t stop thinking about them.

I wanted more set up to his back story. How and why was he chosen to be a soul collector? Why does he get to retire, become mortal again, and keep all his memories? Maybe that comes in later books (this is book 1 of 4 in the series) but that would have helped with character development and motivation. Instead we jump right into a murder mystery. Why would the retiree formerly known as Death care about finding a murderer? Clarence seems to be here to reawaken Geoff’s humanity and conscience (a rip off of the angel Clarence in “It’s a Wonderful Life” perhaps?) as he is the one pushing Geoff to get involved.

This was a promising premise. I’m sure the original story pitch sounded great, unfortunately it was poorly executed. I find female critics/reviewers (myself included) often remark on the inability of male writers to write believable female characters; in dialogue, motivation or inner monologue. This writer did not write a believable male character who was formerly Death, and had trouble with the other characters as well, especially with one enigmatic witch in his posse who would only mysteriously tell people “we’ll talk later” whenever a new paranormal talent surfaced. And a hanging ending on several side stories to get you to buy book #2. No thanks. 3 stars for a grand idea, -2 for execution.



Rating:
1 = didn’t like it
2 = it was ok
3 = liked it, would recommend it
4 = really liked it, would read again or others by the author
5 = loved it, a classic

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that has a lot of wise crack humour in it, which I like. Especially as most of it is coming from a cat!The dialogue, especially between main characters, Geoff Todd, and his friend, the haunted wildcat, Clarence, was brilliant. They had me laughing out loud more than once. If you think that a book about the dead would be dull, and, excuse the pun, lifeless, you couldn't be more wrong. It was filled out with well crafted characters with really fun personalities. Each with their own rough edges, which in my opinion, added depth and quality to the plotline.

Geoff and Clarence are pulled, or were they pushed into this adventure, by an annoying ghost called Bobby. Bobby wants to help his ex wife but he's dead...what help can he be? Well add a talking cat who can hear and see ghost and the story begins to unfold. I find Clarence really amusing as the one who moves things along in the plot most of the time. As a person he must have been insufferable. As a ghost, he's a nightmare. Poor Geoff gets caught up in the whole idea of trying to do the right thing but he gets more than he thought he would in the form of his lovely and friendly nieghbour.
All Geoff wanted was to ease into his retirement slowly, but Clarence has other ideas. Sadly, Clarence suffers from poor judgement in most things. Geoff has no idea how rough a transition from Death to retired Death things are going to be.


Great story. Funny dialogue. Good clean fun without too many weird bits....ok, some slightly weird bits, but still a great story with a good steady plot. It looks like a great foundation has been built up for the next book in the series. I am really looking forward to seeing how the next book follows this one. All the cards are in play. Let's see what the author does with these rather interesting characters, in the next plot. The only thing that I do hope is that there is more action in it than this book had.

[Barbara Hackel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoff Todd is newly retired and has searched for the perfect neighborhood to buy a house. A house for him and his bobcat who isn't a bobcat at all. The cat's name is Clarence, and he is the ghost of a man living in the body of a bobcat---or something like that. He is assigned to live with Geoff after Geoff retires as one several deaths that have been serving for some half-century or so. Clarence does nothing to endure himself to Geoff, however he does have redeemable qualities. Among those include his ability to navigate the internet and help Geoff research things. Manners are lacking, but even so. Geoff tolerates him. One reason is because Clarence can see the ghosts that Geoff can only hear in his head.

This books centers around the ghost of the ex-husband of a neighbor who Geoff has become attracted to, a psychic Geoff goes to for help, and a witch who lives down the block. Eventually he meets another neighbor, Hector, who is a demon. They work together to solve the neighbor's ex-husband's murder as well as a cryptic message regarding a puzzle that same neighbor must solve.
In true Cate Lawley style the various paranormal beings work together to solve the mysteries.

Characters have well developed senses of humor that show up throughout the book. I also like the way everyone is accepting of whatever magic comes their way. It is a great beginning to the series and I look forward to reading more!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was already a fan of the Vegan Vamp series (and Spirelli Paranormal Investigations by Kate Baray), so I was looking forward to this new series. Geoff Todd has recently settled down into a "normal" human neighborhood, after retiring from being one of the Soul Collectors (he prefers this title to Death). His companion is Clarence, a ghost who can see and hear other ghosts and is possessing the body of a bobcat. As Geoff settles into his home and tries to adapt to living in this century, he seeks a solution to a pesky ghost problem which leads to meeting the neighbors. Sounds simple, doesn't it?! This was a great read and has presented great characters for this new series - Clarence, neighbor Sylvie, medium Lilac, witch Tamara, and finally Hector. I love how despite Geoff's background as Death, he is a real newbie when it comes to all things paranormal...this makes him charming and quaint. I can't wait for the next book in this series. Disclosure: I am voluntarily reviewing this ARC received from the author.

[Leslie Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the funniest books you could read. Geoff is a soul collector recently retired and returned to his human state. He lives with a bobcat, Clarence, containing a human soul. He also has ghosts haunting him. One of which, Bobby, kinda didn't come with all of his faculties intact and wants Geoff's help. Geoff is so funny trying to fit into a new age and technology and not doing very well. Clarence on the other hand is a riot. I laughed my butt off throughout the whole book. He's made friends with some pretty wacky people with some very helpful powers and a neighborhood that's a paranormal hotspot. I can't wait for their new murder adventure. I highly recommend this book to lovers of paranormal suspense and major laughs. It will make your day so much brighter. After I finished reading the book last night, I laughed for hours afterwards. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoff Todd is a retired death collector with his mischievous possessed bobcat, Clarence. In what at first seems to be a way to get an annoying spirit to pass over to the other side, turns into a big WhoDunnit mystery and the woes of beer, brats, and porn.

Here's what I didn't like: Lawley would have these banging chapter openers and closers, but then she'd back track a few paragraphs with exposition of what happened just before that. It's a pet peeve of mine to read non-linearly, so this really annoyed me after the third time it happened... and continued to happen.

I do wish there could have been some... talk with Geoff and Clarence at the end, but I think that might be left for book 2, which is fine, I suppose.

Here's what I liked: Geoff, Clarence, Hector's armory, the idea behind the book. ect ect ect
It's lighthearted and easy to read. Enjoyed the sense of humor it was written with. Definitely recommend.

[Renee Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Geoff retires from being one of the deaths, he moves into a nice, quiet neighborhood. However, he's stuck with Clarence, a possessed talking bobcat. As if that isn't bad enough, there's also Bobby, an irritating ghost that rarely stops talking and wants Geoff to meet his ex-wife, Sylvie. He visits Lilac, a medium, to see if she can banish the ghost, but when Clarence starts talking she thinks Geoff is using ventriloquism and he's downright crazy. Soon enough, he finds out that his nice quiet neighborhood isn't entirely full of humans either. There is a mystery involved that must be solved and several people, human and otherwise, end up together to help. This is a great cozy mystery with lots of laughs out loud moments. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to read more by Cate Lawley.

[Diana Blick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This definitely a great beginning to a series. Five stars for me requires a bit of uniqueness, and Ms. Lawley delivers this with her world building. There are lots of old type characters--ghosts, witches, demons, the reaper, etc, but all are just a bit different from your expectations. Her characters are attractive and the mystery is interesting, and there's a hint of budding romance. I read it in one sitting. And the bobcat is a hoot!

I did receive an ARC from the author with no promises exchanged and no other link with the author exists. I am reviewing the book as a courtesy, as I do every book I finish.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brand new series with a great cast of characters. I didn't really care for the "cat". Can they solve the mystery? Will death find love now that he is human again? I am looking forward to book 2. I received an advanced copy and all opinions expressed are my own.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story ...light mystery with interesting characters. Retired "Death" Geoff and his ghost possessed bobcat Clarence are just a hoot. I love the dialogue between them, they made me smile a lot. Enjoy!

[Jaye Latts · Rating 4 out of 5]

So weirdly funny! I can see this becoming a great series! One of my favourite sentences:"If I'm going into battle with a scholarly curator from hell, I want all the details first!" That made me smile so much! There are a few grammar mistakes, so I can't give it more stars.

[PJ Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet.

What an incredibly sweet story! It combines all the magical ingredients to make it a perfect holiday read. Spot on.

[K.B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I need to apologise to this book, or else make it apologise to me. I love its cover, its premise, and the first 40% or so of its pages, but me and the latter half of the book didn't mesh so well. I don't know exactly what it was, but I'll do my best to describe it.

The book opens with two fantastic characters: an ex-Death just looking for peaceful suburban retirement, and a ghost inhabiting a bobcat's body who enjoys food, X-rated TV, and being a general pain in the ass. The banter between them was fantastically written, and we're treated to the beginnings of a mystery: who blew up their neighbour's shed, who killed said neighbour's ex-husband, and how did a ghost survive a reaping from decades ago?

Sounds pretty awesome, right? And it is. Until we start to bring in heaps of side characters whose personalities merge until you can barely tell them apart, the mystery is solved not by clues but random bouts of intuition and luck, death guy is completely useless and his nature doesn't feature as anything important at all, and the climax has less action than Breaking Dawn (the book version - the movie knew what was what). It felt like the type of book that was leading up to a twist or a surprise reveal, but instead it ended with a dull fizzle. Which was devastating, because the author is clearly talented.

From the reviews I've seen, most people who enjoyed it seem to be of the opposite opinion to me: that the book started slow and really got into its stride later on. So I guess it's all a matter of perception. I also think I need to write a sarcastic cat-like companion in my next book, because they seem to make stories a hundred times more fun.

"Ah. The medium thought I was nuts. When the woman with the fluorescent, green hair, bright blue nail polish, and five competing spiritual philosophies plastered on her walls thought I was delusional, I might need to consider how I was presenting myself to the public. Or stop taking Clarence’s advice. I turned a critical eye on my four-legged companion."

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Settling into a new neighbourhood is stressful, even more so if your property comes equipped with a couple of ghosts. Worse still, is when one of the ghosts insists his ex-wife is in danger and his addled brain has pegged you as her sole saviour. Retirement is supposed to be a time to wind down but now Geoff and his bobcat have been launched into an intrigue that involves murder and so much more.

I wanted to love this book, but alas there was a disconnect somewhere along the line. As a mad cat lover, I fully expected to embrace Clarence, the bobcat and, no. Clarence was the ruination of the fun for me. He was just too over the top. Geoff, on the other hand, was underwhelming. I respect the fact that he was looking forward to the quiet life of retirement, but he had no oomph about him. Where this book shined for me was in the side characters: the multi-philosophied green-haired psychic, the kindly but not sweet witch, and the sexy next-door neighbour with secrets of her own. These were the characters I wanted to read about rather than the bickerings between a man and his over-sexed cat.

[Lisa Timpf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous, snappy, and fast-moving, this was an enjoyable read. Right from the start, the premise intrigued me. Geoff, who had served for some time as one of the "deaths," has retired in what he hopes will be a quiet neighbourhood, but proves to be anything but. Having been operating outside of normal society for some time, Geoff needs to adjust to modern times, and he's assisted in that task by his housemate, a possessed bobcat named Clarence. When he stumbles upon a mystery, Geoff needs to call on some of his neighbours, who include individuals with magical powers, for help.

Chapters are, for the most part, short, with hooks skillfully designed to draw readers into the next chapter. I enjoyed the witty exchanges between characters and humorous situations, which included Clarence engaging in a variety of annoying feline behaviours which will be all too familiar for cat owners.

[Sandra Holladay · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did enjoy the storyline, I felt that Geoff was not fleshed out well enough for a main character. How did he become a soul collector? Why did he get to retire? Based on his mannerisms it didn't seem he had been a soul collector for very long. Geoff kind of was lead around by the other characters in the story and didn't really contribute a lot himself. As another reviewer said, Geoff "is clueless, gutless and boring"

Clarence could have been an interesting character, but the constant referrals to his sexual proclivities got boring. I find that less is more interesting and dislike having anything constantly 'shoved in my face.'

The witch could have been interesting, but mostly was just. "we'll talk later."

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I really liked the Vegan Vamp series by the same author. Death Retires doesn't have quite as much appeal. MC has returned to mortal life after serving a term as Death. For some reason, he's encumbered with an uncongenial talking cat as a permanent companion. He's also disturbed by inarticulate moaning from the ghost of his neighbour's murdered ex-husband. It's not the quiet retirement he was hoping for.
I found the MC to be a strangely subdued kind of personality and the conflict between him and his cat gets a bit repetitive.
Several other characters are introduced, most of them with some level of paranormal ability.
I can't see why they were all needed. The story would have worked better with a smaller set of characters and a better chance to get to know them.

[Pat M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoff is a retired soul collector who has been brought back to life by his bosses. He has a sidekick bobcat who likes watching porn and is not exactly following Geoff’s rules. Ghosts want him to mitigate their travel to the other side. His attractive neighbour Sylvia is coming on to him although she has a dead ex Bobby who is stuck on this side and wants Geoff to help him cross over. Geoff moved to this place on a nice quiet street to spend his retired years reading. When Bobby can’t cross over and Sylvia needs him gone, Geoff gets involved. It seems that the neighborhood is rife with spooky people that want to help Geoff solve Bobby’s murder. An unusual read but funny.

[lifewithmaddi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not going to lie, at first I thought this was going to just be a goofy read (which is fine. sometimes we all need a good goofy read on a dreary afternoon). it was not. Geoff and Clarence stole my heart immediately and meeting Slyvie, Lilac, Tamara and the Hector just made it better.

Geoff is a retired soul collector (one of the deaths, it is a big job after all) who has finally retired and been charged with Clarence a possessed bobcat who has a penchant for beer, brats and "adult movies." In comes the attractive neighbor Sylvie who shed was blown up, a peeping jane ghost named Ginny, and Sylvie's well meaning, but volatile ex-husband Bobby who is now a ghost himself.

While not my favorite of the books so far because they just get better and better, it is a great starter for the series and introduces these wonderful and colorful characters to everyone.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Different Kind of Paranormal Read

What a different concept for paranormal cozies ! Here the protagonist is a retired soul collecter, now human again. Sounds a bit gothic but actually takes place in Austin, Tx. I was intrigued with the idea of death (one of them) being retired. There is the requisite witch but the focus is Geoff, retiree, and his talking bobcat whose not quite a bobcat. Don't want to spoil anything but you will find this a most interesting story. I'm putting it on my list of series I will look for and buy. May need a second job.😁