Death's Legacy

by Dennis K. Crosby

5 out of 5

Synopsis

Twenty years ago, Reaper of Souls Kassidy Simmons battled Azra-El, the Angel of Death and won—or so she thought.

Now, a number of strange and unexplained deaths are afflicting Kassidy’s quiet New York town. She wishes she didn’t care. But she does.

Her empathic abilities are expanding beyond her control, and the intense emotions are tearing apart her relationships. They’re also degrading the magical wards put in place to protect her from other Reapers and the even deadlier Wraiths—onyx-eyed henchmen of Azra-El.

​Allied with her longtime mentor and a college professor with ties to her past, Kassidy learns that the untimely deaths are regenerating Azra-El, and that the only way to stop him is with the Scythe of Cronus, the legendary weapon of the God of Death.

​To save her loved ones and reset the natural order, Kassidy must journey home and confront a past she’s been running from for two decades. She’ll face-off with enemies, old and new, and through a haze of fear and addiction, Kassidy will learn the secrets of her heritage, and challenge head on the one being she fears most—herself.

Review

Reviewed by K S Marsden for Readers' Favorite

Kassidy Simmons’ life, death, and after-life have had their toll. After she beat her boss in a fight, she gained her freedom. But living the last twenty years, drowning her sorrows in a bottle, she can no longer keep her head stuck in the sand. Her empathy powers are getting stronger, the Reapers and Wraiths are getting closer to finding her, and those she loves are in danger. Death’s Legacy by Dennis K. Crosby is the first in a new Urban Fantasy series, where Kassidy has to discover the truth about her heritage and destiny. What seems a small story focussed on a quiet town soon expands to include gods, mythology, and the mystery of death.

The narrative is split between two timelines. The modern-day follows Kassidy as an adult, living a very imperfect life. She loves her girlfriend, but they are in a rut, and Kassidy is slowly ruining her own life with her dark secrets stewing within. We also follow twenty years ago - how Kassidy struggled with her abilities as a child, feeling ostracized by those around her. When she becomes a Reaper, she gains a new family. And we see how she eventually leaves Azra-El. The narrative is shared with several other characters throughout the book; some important, others throwaway. In the first half of the book, I felt that some of these were filler and some were used to push the story along whilst Kassidy still stewed. In the second half of the book Kassidy’s agency kicked up a gear, and the side characters really added to the story. I really enjoyed the historical element to it, and how everyone’s stories were woven together. Some really surprised me in the end! Death’s Legacy is a strong debut from author Dennis K. Crosby, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

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