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A review by marilynw
Exit by Belinda Bauer
5.0
Exit by Belinda Bauer
Seventy five year old Felix Pink is an Exiteer, being present for the last breath of those who are ready to let go of the suffering and pain in this life. Felix supported his wife through all the heartache, tears, and bewilderment of dementia and that experience prompted him to help others avoid such a fate. Felix's "friends" had been through his wife and now he's alone except for his much loved, much doted upon little dog, Mabel. Felix is here for Mabel, to her last day, but once she is gone, he's already bought his own canister and mask, so he can exit this life, too.
On Felix's latest charity mission, he's accompanied by a new Exiteer. Things go wrong, protocol is not followed by the newcomer, and Felix realizes that they have murdered a man who was not the client that was ready to die. Willing to take full responsibility for what has happened, Felix first needs to tie up some loose ends, such as make sure his neighbor will take care of Mabel. So Felix ends up being on the run from the police, as he also tries to figure out just how things went so wrong.
Enter the local law enforcement, featuring Calvin, a young uniformed policeman, who failed his one try at being a plainclothes officer. Calvin never wants to work another murder but here he is, having to deal with this latest death. At first I wasn't sure about Calvin but by the end of the story he and Felix were favorites of mine. And I loved the silly comradery of the police headquarters, with their constant battle against the thieving snack machine, jokes about ever present fruitcake, and Calvin's daily contest with his partner for who has had the "worst day ever".
And the dogs, Bauer knows and loves dogs, without a doubt, and she knows dog talk, dog think, the love of a dog by the dog's person. I laughed at her dog bark translations and could have read an entire book about Mabel going through her day, doing doggie things, as presented by Bauer. The characterizations of the "good" people (not perfect but well meaning, without a doubt) left me with such a good feeling, once I finished the book. I had some questions, in my mind, about little details mostly to do with the gambling part of the story, which I could have done without, but this story was a solid 5 stars from me.
Publication: February 2, 2021
Thank you to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Seventy five year old Felix Pink is an Exiteer, being present for the last breath of those who are ready to let go of the suffering and pain in this life. Felix supported his wife through all the heartache, tears, and bewilderment of dementia and that experience prompted him to help others avoid such a fate. Felix's "friends" had been through his wife and now he's alone except for his much loved, much doted upon little dog, Mabel. Felix is here for Mabel, to her last day, but once she is gone, he's already bought his own canister and mask, so he can exit this life, too.
On Felix's latest charity mission, he's accompanied by a new Exiteer. Things go wrong, protocol is not followed by the newcomer, and Felix realizes that they have murdered a man who was not the client that was ready to die. Willing to take full responsibility for what has happened, Felix first needs to tie up some loose ends, such as make sure his neighbor will take care of Mabel. So Felix ends up being on the run from the police, as he also tries to figure out just how things went so wrong.
Enter the local law enforcement, featuring Calvin, a young uniformed policeman, who failed his one try at being a plainclothes officer. Calvin never wants to work another murder but here he is, having to deal with this latest death. At first I wasn't sure about Calvin but by the end of the story he and Felix were favorites of mine. And I loved the silly comradery of the police headquarters, with their constant battle against the thieving snack machine, jokes about ever present fruitcake, and Calvin's daily contest with his partner for who has had the "worst day ever".
And the dogs, Bauer knows and loves dogs, without a doubt, and she knows dog talk, dog think, the love of a dog by the dog's person. I laughed at her dog bark translations and could have read an entire book about Mabel going through her day, doing doggie things, as presented by Bauer. The characterizations of the "good" people (not perfect but well meaning, without a doubt) left me with such a good feeling, once I finished the book. I had some questions, in my mind, about little details mostly to do with the gambling part of the story, which I could have done without, but this story was a solid 5 stars from me.
Publication: February 2, 2021
Thank you to Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press and NetGalley for this ARC.