Death and Other Occupational Hazards - Veronika Dapunt - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Veronika Dapunt

GENRE: Dark Comedy-Mystery.

PUBLICATION DATE: January 6, 2026

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A speculative, darkly comic mystery with Death as the narrator. Funny at the start, mysterious in between, somewhat deeper and philosophical towards the end. Creative throughout. Enjoyed the characters, the humour and the flow. Unexpected religious angle, but it was highly interesting. Didn’t like one particular aspect of the plotting, but otherwise, this offered an entertaining ride, as long as you read it in the right spirit of going with the flow without asking too many questions. An excellent debut that overly conservative Christians better avoid.

Plot Preview:

Death is tired of humans picturing her as a skeleton with a black ‘potato sack’ and a scythe. No matter how well she does her job, she still doesn’t get welcomed with joy or treated with respect. So when she learns from a newly departed soul that there’s something called a work sabbatical, Death immediately puts in an application with the Boss, who approves her request. Now Death is living in human form in central London, determined to enjoy her break by working in a lawyer's office. However, the very first day of the job brings with it a shocking revelation; there has been an Unplanned death. Who is out to tarnish her blemish-free record of 3.5 million years?

With the Temp who is handling her job not aware of this killing and the Boss also claiming ignorance, it is up to Death to work even during her ‘vacation’ to figure out who’s knocking humans dead before their time. The only support she can rely on is from her sister Life and from an Italian parasitologist named Marco. Or can she?

The story comes to us in Death’s first-person perspective.

I don’t know what is it about books with Death as the main character, but I can't resist being fascinated by the concept. It’s not like that the novels I have read with this trope have always worked for me. I adored Marcus Zusak’s ‘The Book Thief’ and also the Sandman comic series by You-Broke-My-Heart-Gaiman. But even in books that ended up as relative duds (Case in point: Maria Vale’s ‘Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death’ and Terry Pratchett’s ‘Mort’) I loved the character of Death. So this novel was begun with certain unjustified high expectations. And to my utter surprise (and relief), the expectations were met.

Bookish Yays:

☠ The concept. I always admire any spark of creativity in today’s copy-paste world, even more when it comes from the pen of a debut writer.

☠ The excellent combination of dark comedy with murder mystery and fantasy. This bizarre juxtaposition necessitates the ‘go with the flow’ approach, but if you can do that, the plot is bonkers in a great way! 😅 Amazing how it combines entertainment with some philosophical vibes. (Who would have thought I would end up enjoying philosophy to any extent?!)

☠ Death as a character. Whimsical, flamboyant, thoughtful, sensitive – none of these adjectives I would ever think of in connection to Death. I loved her layered depiction.

☠ A further special Yay for portraying Death as a vulnerable young woman instead of an omniscient being with tremendous power. (Well, she is that too, but not just that.)

☠ Death’s first-person POV. Excellently written, with no rambling or needless flashbacks but with a chockload of wit and perseverance. Her naivete about the human world adds a slightly comic effect even during serious scenes.

☠ The other characters, whether human (Marco and Death’s officemates) or non-human (Life, Boss, HCD, VP for P&P. Trust me, you know the latter three characters but through their more popular identities. 😁) I especially loved HCD. Then again, I love him in real life as well. 😉

☠ The sibling bond between Death and Life – so beautifully portrayed with all the ups and downs usually seen in human siblings.

☠ The humour. It’s clever and tongue-in-cheek, taking some common mythological tropes, combining them with the human world, and then turning everything on its head. Some of the lines and scenes were so witty that I laughed out loud several times – a rarity for me.

☠ The London setting. Used surprisingly well considering how much of the story is fantastical. This wasn’t a story set in London just because it had to be set somewhere in the human world. It actually makes good use of the location in the plot. I really admire this.

☠ The religious angle, which, to be honest, caught me totally by surprise. A small part of this track reminded me of the exceptional ‘Good Omens’ by Terry Pratchett and Dammit-Gaiman, but the storylines are unalike. I think it would help if you know a little bit of Christian mythology to better understand what’s happening, though the novel does explain everything quite well.

(Note: Given that this is a dark comedy, the storyline is obviously a tad irreverent about the religious figures who are a part of the plot, so you need to read it in the right spirit. As a practising Christian, I always keep faith and fiction in separate compartments. I found nothing offensive about the portrayal.)

☠ The ending. Some things got a bit confusing during the finale and I worried that it would bring the overall experience down. But my oh my, what a climax! The final chapter was so beautifully written that I forgave almost every other issue.

Bookish Yays-For-Me-Might-Be-Nays-For-Others:

⚱ The storyline straddles multiply genres: urban fantasy, dark comedy, murder mystery, romance, philosophy, Christian mythology, absurdist fiction, and satire. I found it fairly well-balanced across each genre without cluttering the plot. This is mainly because the narrative used every aspect well; nothing was included just for the sake of ticking a checkbox. However, those who aren’t comfortable exploring multiple genres in a single narrative might be befuddled at the genre cocktail.

⚱ Animal lovers: there is one heartbreaking scene concerning a pet. But if it helps, the author (who has the same animal as a pet) handles it sensitively. While I wish the scene hadn’t been there at all, I also accept that it added to the emotional intensity of that scene. And the ending makes up for the pain, trust me.

Bookish Okays:

⚰ The murder mystery. No way could I predict the direction it went in, nor could I guess the perpetrator. So as a mystery, this was highly satisfying. However, the investigation was a bit too focussed on a certain ‘m’ word, which seemed irrelevant later. Perhaps this subplot could have been finetuned a bit more. The ‘Do not overthink’ instruction is mainly for this subplot.

⚰ The love story. This book has romance and comedy but it is in no way a romcom. The love track is mostly understated and slowburn, and the relationship never dominates the central mystery. I didn’t expect a Death-as-narrator story to have a romantic track, but I must admit, it didn’t bug me as much as it usually does. This would have been a Yay if I were an enthusiastic romance reader.

⚰ The pacing is a bit uneven. In fairness, it never drags. But I wish the tempo had been more consistent.

Overall, I was prepared for this book to be a wild ride, but it went even beyond that. The author managed to combine humour, murder, and philosophy into one cohesive package. The plotline is very whimsical, so it certainly won't suit everyone. But if you can toss out that pragmatic side and open your minds to Death being a young woman facing a serious problem, the book is as entertaining as it promises to be.

For a debut novel to get so many things correct from characters to plot to writing is rare. I am impressed, and definitely interested in reading more books by this creative author.

Definitely recommended to those who enjoy multi-genre fantastical narratives and can read fantasy without wanting too many explanations (and preferably aren’t too conservative about their Christian faith.)

4.25 stars. (I was confused between 4 stars and 4.25 stars for the most part, but the ending sealed the deal.)

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for granting my wish for the DRC of “Death and Other Occupational Hazards” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.