Death and Other Occupational Hazards
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  • Published: 24 June 2025
  • ISBN: 9780857507716
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $34.99
Categories:

Death and Other Occupational Hazards

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
24 Jun 2025
EBook
10 Apr 2025
Audiobook
10 Apr 2025
Hardback
10 May 2025
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She's got the killer job of the century! Discover 2025's most entertaining debut - a darkly comedic murder mystery with a speculative edge.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT PRIZE 2023

An original and darkly comedic murder mystery about a female personified Death whose sabbatical in modern-day London gets rudely interrupted by a string of unplanned murders. Perfect for fans of Good Omens, The Good Place and Sophie Kinsella.

'Funny and smart. . . a top-class, deep-dish murder mystery and one of my favourite books of any year.' IAN MOORE

'Such an unusual and unique concept. . . By far one of my favourite books.' 5-STAR Reader Review

'Darkly funny, uniquely absurd and madly entertaining. . . I could practically hear Louis Armstrong crooning What a Wonderful World in the background.' 5-STAR Reader Review

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Her job is to die for. Literally.

Most people think that when they meet Death, it’ll be a skeleton in a black potato sack. Maybe with a scythe. Truth is, she’s just a woman doing a job, and she’s very good at it.

But when Death takes a much-needed break to live on earth, things start to go terribly wrong.

Someone’s killing people not on her list (well, not yet anyway) and it's down to her to find the culprit before it’s too late.

To make matters worse, her sanctimonious sister, Life – whom Death hasn’t got on with in millennia – won’t stop blaming her . . . And then there’s the slight problem of the charming (sexy) parasitologist she’s suspicious of.

But she’ll be fine, right?

After all, who better to investigate a murder than Death herself?

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Quirky, fun and witty, this is Death like you've never seen her before. A lover of bright colours, a fierce protector of nature and a human falling in love for the first time. Death's sharp voice will linger in your mind long after you've read.

'Wonderfully observed and brilliantly imagined. . . I never knew what was coming next, but at every point, it made me fall more in love with life.' LUAN GOLDIE
  • Published: 24 June 2025
  • ISBN: 9780857507716
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 384
  • RRP: $34.99
Categories:

Praise for Death and Other Occupational Hazards

Life, death, love and murder collide in the most delicious way. This wonderfully observed and brilliantly imagined book put me through all the emotions. I never knew what was coming next, but at every point, it made me fall more in love with life.

LUAN GOLDIE, author of the Women’s Prize long-listed Nightingale Point

Funny and smart with something new to think about and laugh at on every page. A top-class, deep-dish murder mystery and one of my favourite books of any year.

IAN MOORE, comedian and author of Death and Croissants

I found myself wanting to rush back to the book whenever I could – genuine wit and warmth run all the way through the narrative… Inventive, fresh, cheering, genuinely moving and truly funny.

SILVIA SAUNDERS

Gloriously absurdist, darkly comic, and utterly readable – twisty fantasy meets Jane Austen with a scythe - love it

HELEN LEDERER, comedian and founder of the Comedy Women in Print Prize

Veronika Dapunt masterfully blends dark humour with a compelling mystery, offering a fresh and often hilarious perspective on life and death.

JOANNA WALLACE, author of You’d Look Better as a Ghost

A wildly entertaining blend of mystery, humour, and heart. Death as we’ve never known her — witty, sharp, and unexpectedly relatable. A must-read.

OVA CEREN, author of The Book of Heartbreak

An entertaining page-turner with plenty of metaphysical fun and games as well as earthly intrigue.

The Guardian

A quirky, comic debut

MyWeekly Magazine

A murder mystery full of wit, originality and astute observations on humanity. Get ready to fall in love with this likeable and flawed version of the not-so-grim reaper’

CultureFly

This original story gripped me from the start and kept me hooked to the end . . . Different and compelling.

Daily Mail

Every now and then, a book arrives completely from leftfield that manages to turn the murder/mystery genre on its head. Death and Other Occupational Hazards is a very clever and hugely funny example of such disruption . . . Wickedly irreverent and clever.

Irish Independent
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