The Seaboard Review of Books: Monday Edition
May 18, 2026
In this issue:
Tethered Spirits by Corinne Hoebers (Fiction)
Behind the Door by M.S. Berry (Fiction)
A Brother's Shadow by Ida Linehan Young (Fiction)
Life After Ambition: A “Good Enough” Memoir by Amil Niazi (Non-Fiction, Memoir)
Bluenose Bluebirds by Brian Douglas Tennyson (Non-Fiction)
How Cormac Works: In Dialogue with Bill Hardwig (Interview)
Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review of Books!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Interview
A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death
In A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death, Maxie Dara revisits the story world introduced in A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer. The “Grim Reaper” reference alludes to an organization known as S.C.Y.T.H.E. (Secure Collection, Yielding, and Transportation of Human Essences). While the first book in the series features a woman named Kathy Valence who works as a soul collector, the second book focuses on Nora Bird, an administrator within the organization. As Nora sifts through a pile of files on her desk, she discovers that her twin brother, Charlie, has been scheduled for collection later that day.
Having already lost her parents to death, Nora has no intention of losing Charlie without a fight. She goes on the run with her brother and his parrot Jessica. After a series of narrow escapes, the twins end up in the small town of Virgo Bay, Nova Scotia where their dad grew up. Nora must continue to outwit those who wish harm to Charlie while at the same time delving into the Virgo Bay’s mysteries.
The twins are very different, and haven’t seen much of each other over the past few years, so the process of Nora and Charlie getting to know one another while constantly butting up against their differences is an interesting part of the plot. But at a deeper level, the story is also about life, death, and the acceptance of our mortality. Dara keeps the plot humming, introducing complication after complication to keep things interesting. Engagingly written, with a generous dash of humour, A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Cheating Death should appeal to readers who enjoyed the first book in the S.C.Y.T.H.E. series. (Reviewed by Lisa Timpf)
Subscribe to Canada's oldest continuously published literary magazine and help sustain us into the future! A subscription to The Fiddlehead brings you issues packed with new work from the best of emerging and established writers in Canada and the world. Previous work that has appeared in The Fiddlehead has won National Magazine Awards, has been shortlisted for the Journey Prize, and has appeared in Biblioasis' Best Canadian anthologies.
The Seaboard Review of Books is proud to be a sponsor of The New Brunswick Book Awards!