When Death takes a sabbatical to live on Earth and try to change humanity’s image of her, things start to go terribly wrong. Someone is killing people who are not on her list, and are not part of The Plan. She needs to find out who it is and stop them, before it’s too late.

The concept of Death living on Earth, solving a murder, whilst being hindered by the mafia and the Devil, sounds very Terry Pratchett. But Veronika Dapunt’s depiction of Death is fun and original, and there’s a well written story to go with it. It’s a whimsical cross between fantasy and murder mystery, with a well placed romantic subplot.

I loved the sisterly relationship between Life and Death, how they are so different but have so much respect for each other. I also particularly enjoyed the HCD (Human Communications Director, aka Jesus) and his very tense relationship with the Boss.

It wasn’t as amusing as it probably could have been, certainly not as funny as other books on a similar vein such as Good Omens or Ohmigod!, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Death and Other Occupational Hazards by Veronika Dapunt is an exceptionally well-written and engaging debut novel. It was a runner-up for the 2023 Comedy Women in Print Prize, which speaks to its quality and appeal.
The story reimagines Death not as the traditional skeletal figure with a scythe, but as a woman granted a brief holiday on Earth by The Boss (God). During her time off, she assumes the identity of Delara Donn, a paralegal at a struggling law firm. However, her peaceful break is disrupted by a series of unplanned deaths that she must investigate before it’s too late. Unsurprisingly, the VP for Pandemonium and Perdition (Satan), is involved, prompting Death to seek assistance from the Human Communications Director (Jesus), who is reluctant to return from his two-thousand-year holiday due to lingering feelings of betrayal by God.
In this book Death is such a warm loving character. This is quite a different depiction of Death who is generally portrayed as the harbinger of the end. However, our Death is there at people’s final moments to help them cross and hopefully allay any fears. A much more comforting image. Knowing that Death’s sister is Life, and they have a close and loving, if somewhat complicated, relationship adds further depth to Death. Death's love for bright colours and her fashion choices provide moments of humour.
This book really does have it all. So much to laugh at; both dark, and rather daft humour, thought-provoking themes (animal testing, the evil of man, the value of life) action adventure, murder and a little bit of romance. Considering that it has Death as its lead, it has love and life at its heart. It is a joy to read. The book is quite fast paced and with relatively short chapters, it is easy to just ‘read one more’ so I whizzed through it in no time. I did slow down at the end though as it was one of those books I just did not want to end. I wanted to stay with the characters.
The relationships within the book are well written, particularly that between sisters Death and Life. The characters at the law firm I think are mainly for comic effect as they are quite two dimensional, but this did not detract from the story. Marco is an appealing romantic lead, but of course the real love story in the book is between Death and Garm.
While the book contains gentle and affectionate satire that might not appeal to those with strong Christian beliefs, it remains (IMO) inoffensive and enjoyable.
As the book and various plot lines progressed, I did wonder how it would end. As I had enjoyed it so much, I hoped the end would not be a disappointment. I need not have worried, I thought it the perfect ending.
It will be interesting to see what Veronika Dapunt writes next. Her debut novel has set a high bar.

What a delightfully dark, quirky and funny book.
Death is the narrator and she’s a she, who takes her job very seriously but decides she needs a a much-needed sabbatical. The Boss (God) agrees and her sister, Life, arranges a body for her. She puts on bright clothing, no black for Death, gets a job at a law firm but her holiday takes a turn when she discovers unplanned deaths that should not be happening with her knowledge. She starts her investigation while trying to fit in with humans and their strange ways.
The book is entertaining, it’s part mystery, part fantasy with plenty of humour with a very likeable narrator who gives all sorts of insights into the otherworldly life. A great debut novel.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The narrative flowed smoothly with occasional moments of humour. I loved the human touch to Death's personality and the journey she went on as she fully realised what it means to be human and the significance of her job. I thought the ending in particular was excellently done

Death and Other Occupational Hazards is a delightful book about Death, a woman who just wants to do her job without any unwanted surprises. Unfortunately for her, there are a series of unexpected murders in London that she has to solve before more people die prematurely. This is a comedy and a murder mystery rolled up into one.

This may be very niche, but I love stories about Grim Reapers, Angels and Demons. There is something very interesting about reading from the perspective of an immortal being who has a very unique job. Like in The Sandman comics and show, this version of Death is just a woman who is very good at her job. After taking a break on earth, she is reluctant to solve these killings, but if anyone can do it, it would be Death.

Although the murder mystery itself isn’t as complex or developed as it could have been, I loved the unique way that Death (or Delara) went about solving it. There are clear fantasy elements that intrude on the ordinary world and make the story much more interesting and humorous from my perspective. But it’s also true that there is a strong focus on people, character development and romance. Death herself is surprisingly compassionate and shows her love for the world over and over again.

This is a sweet and funny mystery for fans of Good Omens. If you love murder mysteries and fantasy books, you should give this a try!

Just brilliant! A funny, quirky read about Death, Life, sisterhood and what it is to be human. I really enjoyed this quirky story - Death needs a break, what could possibly go wrong……..

I really enjoyed this book. Such a fun and novel idea and I enjoyed it so much. Death and Life being sisters was just brilliant and Death was an especially fun character to get to know over the course of the book.

Will definitely be recommending this.

I really enjoyed this book, was a little different from what expected but in such a good way!

The characters are incredible and the plot is engaging, I love the whole book and especially the Beagle, I may have squealed. I have been recommending this book to anyone who would listen!

This was such a fun read.

Who better to lead a murder mystery than death herself.

This had the perfect balance of mystery, suspense, emotion and humour. I didn’t work out the main culprit either so that’s always a win in my books.

I very much enjoyed the inner monologue following along Death’s sabbatical and watching her learn to understand humans more and her learning to love was such a well done addition.

Thoroughly enjoyable and engaging book based upon the grim reaper. Who'd have thought they'd turn out to be a woman just getting the job done in the best way she can.
What happens though when she decides to have a well-earned break and take a little holiday......on Earth of all places.

This is a holiday with consequences no-one could possibly imagine.

I was slightly disappointed by this book. The story is clever, but I found the writing style off-putting, and I couldn't really become engrossed in it.

Even Death needs a break sometimes!
Death takes a sabbatical and notices a death that wasn’t in the plan.

A Neil Gaiman-esque comedy/ crime thriller that kept me glued and guessing to the very end.

A fun and quirky read!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book was like nothing I’ve ever read before but in a good way. Explored the humanity of life and death in a really humorous and touching way

I absolutely loved this quirky original debut novel from Veronika Dapunt. 'Death' needs a break after millions of years of welcoming souls to the Other Side. Her sister 'Life' doesn't think its a good idea - anything could happen whilst Death is off duty.
But once a substitute Death has been recruited, the original Death is given a human body and set up with a job in a London lawyers' office. The team are amazed at their new recruit's knowledge and skills - she can read ancient languages, recall obscure facts about how people have died, and so much more. When the company is asked to work on a seemingly random death, 'Death' instantly knows that this is an unplanned death, and not in the universe's Master Plan. She also knows that if unplanned deaths are taking place, it can only be a handful of 'people' causing the deaths.

Its funny, its utterly original, its very well written - I adored it.

DNF. I'm not sure what it was, but I just could not get into this - and I gave it a while to try and grab me. I picked it up and put it down again, never quite enticed enough to return to the pages to figure out what was going on. In theory, I love the concept, it's a fascinating thing. But I just felt like there were so many plot strings, so much being thrown at me without being explained or justified as part of the plot that it just began to fall apart. It was like trying to build a sandcastle with dry sand - disappointing and leaving you searching for something wet (where on earth is this metaphor going...?). I might return to it in the future, but it just didn't sit properly with my reading tastes right now.

This is an unusual story written from the viewpoint of Death, AKA the Grim reaper, who decides to take a sabbatical from her intense work to experience life as a human.

Aided by her sister Life she takes the form of a young woman who lives in a tiny flat in London and has a promising career in criminal law.

However being a human is more complex than she realises and Life has also given her feelings, which is very confusing, especially when she becomes close to Marco, who just happens to be very good looking!

Unfortunately her holiday is disrupted somewhat by some unexplained deaths, which are not of the Plan and she is compelled to find out what is happening. Is the Temp not doing his job correctly while she is away or are there more evil things underway?

This story is an interesting take on the concepts of life and death but I must admit it was a little too fantastical for me towards the end. A fun read though!

I was sent a copy of Death and Other Occupational Hazards by Veronika Dapunt to read and review by NetGalley. I loved this book! It is very entertaining and has a good amount of laugh out loud moments. The characters, some of them quite unexpectedly, are very believable and the premise of the story is quite unique – although having Death as a physical character isn’t new in itself. The whole gamut of emotions is included in the story and I’m hoping that some of the characters will be taken into future books. I will certainly be looking out for more titles by this author regardless.

A very enjoyable read. Death, a female, wants a holiday so comes to London to live with humans. She wears outlandish bright colours to counteract the human image black cloak and scythe. Unplanned deaths happen so Death investigates. He meets the Vice President for Pandemonium & Perdition (Satan) and the Human Communication Director (Jesus). Death sees life on Earth from a different perspective to humans.

Although I took a little while to get into the book, it was funny, inciteful and absoluely crazy. I can't wait to see where Dapunt takes the reader next.

This book was so much fun! It gave me lucifer (the tv show) vibes which I love. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book so quickly, I struggled to put this down! I love the plot and the mystery - it wasn’t too heavy. It made me feel every emotion! Such a great read!

Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for a review.
I really don’t like to cry at books – in fact, I avoid books where I think I might cry – but there’s one thing about a book that makes you cry: it clearly had a massive impact on you.
This is the story of Death, only she is not a dude with a scythe and a black cloak – or only sometimes. I love the idea of Death being personified, and it works really well here. A few years ago, I read a book called Mrs Death Misses Death, and I loved the concept, although I don’t think it was as well executed as it could have been. This book takes a similar concept – Death, personified in an unexpected way – but this one is brilliant. The whole thing works.
So, Death – being the creature that everyone in existence fears – fancies a break and is given some time off by the Boss (God), and a human body by her sister, Life. She comes to London, gets a job, a flatmate, and an eccentric fashion sense. Only, there’s something suspicious going on, and she feels honour-bound to investigate. We follow her and the people she meets as they figure out what’s going on.
The character of Death is endearing, and the fact that everyone hates or fears her makes you feel sorry for her! But all the characters are pretty great. My favourite, other than Death, was definitely Garm, her beagle. I’d rescue her too.
If you have knowledge of Christianity, this book will make the most sense to you, as there are cameos from both Satan and Jesus – although possibly not in a way that those with a strong belief will approve of. But it is very gentle and inoffensive. I think both those with no belief, and those with some, will enjoy this book.
It is a strongly plotted novel with a brilliant sense of humour, and even though it is a debut, it really doesn’t feel like one. This is accomplished and unputdownable.
My only slight criticisms are: the use of Americanisms – this is clearly a British book, set mainly in London, and we just don’t have parking lots – and occasionally it’s hard to tell who is speaking, and you have to re-read to work out who said what. But other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to everyone!