Exit by Belinda Bauer

☆☆☆☆☆
.ePUB, 249 pages
Expected publication: February 2nd 2021 by Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press

About the Book:
Felix Pink is retired. Widowed for more than a decade, a painfully literal thinker, he has led a life of routine and is, not unhappily, waiting to die a hopefully boring death. He occupies himself volunteering as an Exiteer—someone who sits with terminally ill people as they die by suicide, assisting with logistics and lending moral support, then removing the evidence so that family and friends are not implicated in the death. When Felix lets himself in to Number 3 Black Lane, he’s there to perform an act of kindness and charity: to keep a dying man company as he takes his final breath. But just fifteen minutes later Felix is on the run from the police—after making the biggest mistake of his life. Now his routine world is turned upside down as he tries to discover whether what went wrong was a simple mistake—or deliberate. Murder.

My Review:

Question: What do you get when you mix A Man Called Ove with a Police Procedural? 

    Answer: Belinda Bauer's Exit.

From the very first page of Exit I was hooked. The narrative of the main character is but one example of how the author’s ability to create suspense is simply great. The book’s plot is seemingly simple, at first. "John" is an Exiteer...like Muskateer but to help the ill pass on with company. Upon arrival at the lastest Exit things immediately take a turn for the sinister, and "John" realizes he and his new assistant have "killed" the wrong man! 

I really liked the tight plot, with tidbits given away gradually while the reader almost begs for more. Another plus was the excellent character development. There are also well-timed moments of humor, usually having to do with John’s inner musings. He’s not a saint, but that’s probably why I loved him so much. I can't believe this is my first book by this author...My bad. BUT I will be adding more from her repertoire.

Disclosure:
Thank you NetGalley, Belinda Bauer and Grove Atlantic/Atlantic Monthly Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#Exit #NetGalley