DEATH AND COFFEE

In Acerbo’s fantasy novel, an agent of Death juggles newfound romance with her mission to save the world from powerful witches.

In the mid-17th century, Prudence Barlow can do nothing about her mother’s death sentence for practicing witchcraft. She’s so heartbroken that she contemplates suicide—until a mysterious figure named Titus offers her a bargain. Centuries later, Prudence is a “reaper” working for Death in New York City. Collecting souls has become routine, but one day, she opts to save a dying woman, which the Reaper Employee Handbook basically allows. She’s enamored by the woman—a doctor named Daxone—who falls for Prudence as well. When Prudence does break one of those rules in the handbook, both she and Daxone wind up in purgatory together. That’s when Death assigns Prudence a mission in Salem, with her former mentor Titus as a welcome assistant. Their mission is to stop a coven of witches from making a series of sacrifices to achieve world domination that will upset the “balance of nature.” While Acerbo deftly blends genres (including comedy, horror, and romance), this novel feels like two distinct stories in one: In the first half, the reaper’s new love revitalizes her mundane existence; in the darker, latter half, Prudence and Titus face off against formidable witches and some genuinely terrifying creatures. There’s a consistently lighthearted tone; Prudence and Titus’ interactions are often playful (“What happened to your hair?” he asks her one morning. “It’s bigger than normal”). Intermittent flashbacks prove crucial for both parts of the narrative, detailing centuries of reaper duties throughout Europe and America and young Prudence’s life before her mother’s death (which ultimately connects to her Salem mission). It’s the smaller touches that truly give this book a big personality, such as Prudence collecting souls in whatever bottles she can find and her unwavering devotion to caffeinated beverages.

A zany, clever, and thrilling supernatural tale.