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Reed Lavender #1

Graves Robbed, Heirlooms Returned

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At least when you're Death's nephew the bad guys literally have no-where to hide, right?

Meet Reed Lavender, a mostly-human detective with the uncanny ability to hear the final words of the dead. But on this case he’ll need more than his usual tricks to solve the murder of a teen runaway – he'll need something that just might be more trouble than it's worth – the help of his ragtag Reaper-cousins.

But the deeper Reed digs the more he realises there's something far bigger and darker beneath his city, something vast, something that is ripening to rot...

150 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 16, 2019

118 people are currently reading
199 people want to read

About the author

Ashley Capes

76 books576 followers
Ashley is a poet, novelist and ex-teacher living in Australia.

He taught English, Media and Music Production, played in a metal band, worked in an art gallery and slaved away at music retail. Aside from reading and writing, Ashley loves volleyball and Studio Ghibli – and Magnum PI, easily one of the greatest television shows ever made.

See poetry and fiction at http://ashleycapes.com/

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5 stars
33 (33%)
4 stars
33 (33%)
3 stars
21 (21%)
2 stars
7 (7%)
1 star
5 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
4,392 reviews57 followers
September 25, 2021
2 1/2 stars. An urban fantasy set down-under where Reed, a mostly human, partly reaper, uses his unusual talents in the P.I. and retrieval business. When Reed investigates a runaway's death, he realizes there is much more going on, particularly when one of his cousins disappears. Now, because of some arcane rule that prevents his powerful aunt from interfering he has to be the one to face the dangers, rescue his cousin and get rid of the mystical rot about to spread through his town and then the world.

Fairly standard for a urban fantasy. A little unusual to have Death as a female, particularly associated with Greek mythology but it works. I'd read another in the series. Some good action.
Profile Image for Jae.
889 reviews1 follower
August 29, 2025
As a private investigator, Reed can use his ability to hear the last words of victims to help him solve cases. He’s currently trying to find out who murdered a teen runaway, but the case seems tied to something much larger and darker. Reed’s aunt, Death herself, tabs him to look into it, and some of his Reaper cousins drop in to “help”. Now Reed is on the trail of a cult that is trying to summon a goddess into flesh. If they succeed, the human race may be wiped out of existence.

The story was interesting, but the narrative was somewhat choppy. It lacked smooth transitions, seeming to ping-pong back and forth. I enjoyed the story, but a lot of things were never explained, and there was no real resolution at the end.

In summation, intriguing premise, middling execution. Giving it three stars.
791 reviews6 followers
January 1, 2025
Enter Reed Lavender, half human half Reaper.He ,as a private detective,takes on a dead case from the police at the request of the grandmother of the deceased daughter. Only thing start to go wrong as he becomes involved in a cult which took a cousin from Reed. But things are not what they appear and only time will tell if Reed can help anyone including himself. I found the book to be very interesting and would higher recommend it for reading.
Profile Image for Riana Elizabeth.
900 reviews74 followers
November 16, 2025
Unique premise

Unique premise. Good world building and interesting characters. A fairly large cast of primary and secondary characters were thrown in - The characters could've used some more back story and depth to anchor them to memory before they fitted out of scene again; that ephemeral nature made it hard to get emotionally invested or even care what happened to them in a scene.
2,445 reviews13 followers
November 27, 2021
Interesting lead character - Reed is half-human and half-reaper. As a human, he is a private investigator trying to solve murders that the police have written off. As a reaper, he can extract days, weeks, months of life from people to extend his life and punish the people.

I enjoyed that the book is situated around Melbourne and so all the places are familiar.
41 reviews
February 2, 2020
A good read

I enjoyed this book. It has a bit of a different take on the person Death. Reed's supernatural world is unique as well. Looking forward to more books about Reed and his "family.'
Profile Image for Ulla.
429 reviews18 followers
September 17, 2024
I felt uncomfortable with this one, reapers, ghosts and undead aren't my thing. The character or Reed is okay, but I don't like his relatives.

Crossings and A Whisper of Leaves of the same author were great though. It's another kind of supernatural which I can believe.
Profile Image for Cherish Kasner.
148 reviews5 followers
January 7, 2025
This book was a quick read that left me wanting more! It is a mystery that has a lot going on. Some of the stuff gets answered, some doesn't. I'm definitely going to have to read the next one to see where the story goes!
Profile Image for Rebecca Stock.
305 reviews3 followers
January 13, 2026
2.5⭐️ - liked it enough to want to read the next book.

I honestly kept forgetting that it was set in Melbourne (until a location I recognised was mentioned) because the audio narration was American, no Aussie accents
Profile Image for Joscelyn Smith.
2,305 reviews17 followers
February 28, 2020
Very Enjoyable

This had a very entertaining storyline, it's a very enjoyable series starter. I'm looking forward to reading more of Reed's adventures.
649 reviews
February 18, 2022
Great read

Compelling story and unique read.Makes me want to read more! Very different type of story mixing in Mythology with an amazing story line. A new must read series!
921 reviews1 follower
March 3, 2022
Couldn’t finish this book. Two different story lines which were confusing.
Profile Image for Scott Wray.
50 reviews
August 25, 2023
Interesting

An interesting use of mythology in a modern urban setting. Finally something new from the old. Thank you for a new universe to play in.
352 reviews
September 17, 2025
Graves Robbed…

Good read , characters and storyline. This is an urban fantasy with quite a bit of twists and turns. Half human, does make a good reading. Recommend
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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