Graveyard Shift (Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. Book 1)

Publisher's Summary

The inferno has evolved.

Lana Harvey is a reaper, and a lousy one at that. She resides in Limbo City, the modern capital of the collective afterlives, where she likes to stick it to the man (the legendary Grim Reaper himself) by harvesting the bare minimum of souls required of her. She'd much rather be hanging out with Gabriel, her favorite archangel, at Purgatory Lounge. But when a shocking promotion falls in her lap, Lana learns something that could unravel the very fabric of eternity. If the job isn't completed, there could be some real hell to pay.

©2009 Angela Roquet (P)2015 Angela Roquet

Very Creative and Fun take on the Afterlife

I was thrilled when I saw this at audible, I have read all 4 kindle books that have been released thus far in this series. I really enjoyed the intricate details, plotting and research that went into these books. There's also great characters, tongue in cheek humor and action. It doesn't have any graphic sex scenes. I'm a huge urban fantasy fan and this series is now on my auto buy list. The ending of this book isn't actually a cliff-hanger but the way it ends sets up the next book in such a way it really leaves you wanting more. I thought Hollie Jackson's narration was very good. I hope the rest of the series comes out on audio soon and that she reads them.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Mashup

Pleasant, well paced, engaging. This is another story where all religions are real and share an afterlife. Not quite as good as some similar books (Iron Druid, Divine Misfortune) but enjoyable.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Quirky, light, and fun take on the afterlife

I'm always looking for a good reaper book. From the time I first read On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony and watched Dead Like me and Defending Your Life - this has been a favorite theme to read and there are FAR too few good books with this theme! I am always pleasantly surprised when I find one. Graveyard Shift was definitely one of the better "reaper" books that I've read. Light and humorous with plenty of snark, Graveyard Shift takes place in an afterlife that encompasses all beliefs and religions, gods and goddesses working together and against one another in chaotic order. The main character Lana is an 8th? generation reaper, a low paid resident of Limbo created solely to handle the work that her boss Grim doesn't have time for since he's so involved in the day to day running and politics of Limbo. This was a quick fun and enjoyable read.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Don't rush

It started off good but faded off in the middle The politics became confusing and I lost interest. Some of the information is based on mythology and some of that is obscure. The nuances presented by the mythology drives the politics.

There is a cast system which put reapers without citizens rights. That is never fully explained. There is a big mystery about the reapers which will probably explained in the next installment. If there is not a book 2, that is another reason not to buy this.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly Enjoyed!

The story has interesting characters and relationships, humor, mystery and intrigue. The author has created a wonderful afterlife by including so many deities and spiritual beings from a variety of cultures/beliefs/mythologies in her story. Then to watch them display "human" traits such as being petty, self-centered, jealous, and more made this story even better. Unfortunately, even though the second book in the series was published over a year ago, the audio book is still not available - hope this will be quickly fixed.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Grim reaper under Grim

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, excellent story of very different hell or heaven and how the author could see how John Q public be sent after death to the different hell or heaven depending on your beliefs.

What other book might you compare Graveyard Shift (Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. Book 1) to and why?

There was a sci-fi fantasy book I read and probably still have about where the dead are all along a river. I cannot remember the name of the book or the author but can remember the story.

Which character – as performed by Hollie Jackson – was your favorite?

Lana is my favorite character as preformed by Hollis Jackson.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Lana is saving the boy and does all she can to protect him even though it might mean her death for killing the person who comes to kill the boy.

Any additional comments?

Very, well thought out afterlife, with friends, enemies, and dogs. Angels, sleeping on your sofa and watching John Wayne, fighting demons, dating angels, friends with demons, and picking up Gabriel from a bar to make sure he has slept it off before reporting to St. Peter.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting

Not a bad little book, but it just didn't hold my interest. There seemed to be an awful lot of unnecessary repetition centered around the equality of all religions on earth regardless of time frame. The actual plot seemed rather thin to me. But, it's all good as I got the whole Whispersync deal for about two bucks.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Nice world building story was a little flat

I'm not sure I'd be willing to read or listen to the second book, while I understand some of Lana's emotions or lack there of, what I don't understand is how someone unwilling to be the hero all of a sudden is the hero without asking or demanding answers, it was almost to easy for her. No real character building as Great as the world building was for the most part.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fun listen!

What did you like about this audiobook?

This is a fun listen - there is a mystery to be solved, but the story plays out more like Dresden lite, with not quite the coolness, but all the one-liners. Narration is pretty good, writing is so-so, ending is not so great, but it was a fun listen.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Interesting concept

The story was very different. The world building was very creative. However our main character Lana really never captured my interest. She was never committed to any true course of action. With the exception of locating one particular soul for replacement, she could have been just any other character in the story.

Brilliant

Would you consider the audio edition of Graveyard Shift (Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. Book 1) to be better than the print version?

I enjoy the audio version at work and the written when things are quiet. They are both great

What did you like best about this story?

I love the whole idea of someone like lana being around on the other side,and people carrying on in an afterlife.

What about Hollie Jackson’s performance did you like?

She sound how I imagine lana to sound,she's very talanted.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I'm not sure

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Slow

Very slow & complex story. Lana is a reaper in Limbo sounds simple but there is a lot of back story that the writer crams in. In fairness I think this book is 'setting the scene' but that doesn't mean it isn't hard going at times. Light romance but NO hot bits or even snogging. Well written, flows easily but lots of information. Light listening .....heck NO.
Saying that it is interesting as a subject & I have brought the next book because I do want to know what happens.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful