Death Takes a Holiday (Book 1 of the Mortimer & Mrs Morris Trilogy)

Death is bored. Immortality will do that to you.

After an eternity of escorting souls to the afterlife, Death — who really prefers you call him Mortimer — is bored. There's been departmental divisions, technical developments, and fitness crazes that mean people just aren't dying like they used to.

What's worse… He's running low on romance novels to keep himself occupied.

His solution: a working holiday to Top World, where he expects room service, infinity-high thread counts, and an easy solution to get business booming again.

What he doesn't expect is Mrs Morris, a seventy-three-year-old detective with a tightly packed schedule that leaves no room for an immortal assistant.

But Mortimer refuses to go away. After all, detectives find murderers, and having his very own killer would be the perfect way to nudge up those mortality rates.

Luckily, someone's just been murdered — and Mrs Morris has been hired to find the culprit. The only trouble? The victim reeks of demons, turning Mortimer's perfect opportunity into a great deal of trouble that could end his career. Oh, and the human race.

Death Takes a Holiday is a humorous fantasy novel about the most inconvenient partnership in the history of the afterlife, where a pair of unlikely allies are thrown together by broken bones, murder mysteries, persnickety demons, and the deadliest cup of coffee in Portland.

Like Terry Pratchett joining the Thursday Murder Club, Death Takes a Holiday is perfect for fans of wry humor, paranormal mystery, and unforgettable characters forming reluctant bonds.

Read a sample from the book. (Note: This sample is from a draft copy of the novel. There will likely be changes and corrections made before the book's release)

PRE-ORDER Note: This book comes out 14 August 2026 when you order through this shop (18 August on the big retailers). For now, you will only receive a PDF receipt. But it's a really nice receipt with "on-brand" colors, so...

Anyway... on the 14th, you'll receive an email from BookFunnel with a link to download your book in whichever format is best for the e-reader or ebook app you prefer.