The Nearly Dearly Departed Club

by Anthony Grace

Sometimes simply staying alive is the best that life can offer…

Teenager Benji Hammerton has gone quiet. Worryingly so. Fearing the worst, his parents turn to the one person who might be able to help - Agatha Pleasant, an ageing secret agent who operates largely in the shadows, unburdened by rules and regulations. As luck would have it, Agatha has a batch of new recruits at her disposal. Untapped potential desperately in need of work experience.

Enter her Nearly Dearly Departed Club.

Their search takes them to Stainmouth, a grim Northern town with little to offer except bitter winds and a toxic atmosphere. With a life hanging in the balance, they hunt tirelessly for the missing boy. They make friends along the way, but also enemies. The kind of enemies who think nothing of taking a life if the need arises. As tensions mount, and the risks start to outweigh the rewards, the team question their involvement. Their purpose. Their future. Is any of it really worth dying for?

Especially when you’re dead already…

The Nearly Dearly Departed Club is the first book in the darkly comic, crime thriller series from Anthony Grace. Perfect for fans of Mick Herron, Caimh McDonnell and JD Kirk.

Genres: Crime, Mystery

373 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2023

Reviews

[Mike Finn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

'The Nearly Dearly Departed Club' is a debut novel that shouldn't have worked, .

'I bought it for its quirkey premise: a ragtag team of resurrected individuals working for a murky branch of the British secret service.

I was surprised to find that: no explanation was given of how the resurrection worked or why these people were resurrected; their mission was fairly mundane- find a missing teenager - and was set in a dull provincial town: they had no training, no experience and their resurrected status had no obvious bearing on their mission or their actions.

So why didn't I set the book aside?

The thing was, I was having fun. The sheer bravado of the book kept me reading. I liked that it felt no need to explain itself. The story was carried forward by the explosive energy produced by combining four disparate individuals, who got on each other's nerves and dropping them into a dangerous situation that they were ill-equipped to handle. I found myself wrapped up in the people and the events, both of which made me smile.

At the beginning, the story felt a little mechanical in an assembling-the-quirky-member-of-the-quest way but it was lubricated by humour, good dialogue and sheer audacity. Even though I had no idea where it was going, I was happy to go along for the ride.

By the middle of the book, the pace has picked up and I was engaged with the characters and how they were developing. I still wasn't sure why these guys were really in this small town or what agenda their more-than-a-little-odd boss had but I was enjoying watching them in action.

By the last quarter of the book, I'd settled into being entertained. I didn't care about the unanswered questions any more. I just wanted to see how these four oddballs were going to get themselves out of the situations they'd stumbled into.

'The Nearly Dearly Departed Club' was a fun read. The story was slight but well told. The ideas were bold, the people were engaging and the humour made me smile. I'll be reading the next book, 'Lost Souls Forever' soon.

[Mia Suljic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eeee well this was terrible. Absolutely all over the place with the pace, the characters made no sense.
What a palava.

[Mr M.S.Skitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book feels like a the first book in the series. I did finish it but, did nearly give up a couple of times.
The characters were difficult to get on with, the plot was clunky and there wasn't really anything significant driving the story forward. The characters "being dead" really made no sense and was not really used in any significant way as a part of the story. The characters did of course grow during the story but, in no way did I feel that I wanted to follow them further and learn any more about them.
The continuation of the second book in the tedious town of Stainmore (or whatever it is called) together with these characters in no way makes me want to follow on with this series.

[Sammie Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 * (rounded to 4 on Goodreads)

A quick read for me, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The opening of the books first chapters starts with each of the 4 main characters and takes us through how each one dies on the same day and how they come to be part of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙗 & 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜.

The main characters are Mercy, Rose, Tommy and Lucas and together they’re quite clearly misfits and wouldn’t be friends. Some of the characters at first really annoyed me but further on I did come to like them. They are sent to work for a lady called Agatha under the radar basically spies and they are in search of missing man Benji; the mission is to find him, reunite him with his parents and then they can have new lives under the radar as technically they can’t home as everyone knows each one is dead.

Question is can they put heir differences aside and find Benji in time? & what was the reason for them out of everyone dying being chosen?

Quick page turner and palette cleanser. I might one day try the second book.

[Debra Whisson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was more of a 3.5 star book not a 3 but I couldn’t go up to a 4*.

The concept of being dead but also alive and able to die again was confusing, I never really felt it worked as the characters just seemed to accept it without any guidance . The plot was very ‘cosy murder’ whilst trying to be gritty.

I finished the book but don’t think I’ll read the next one.

[Karen Cotton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dearly Departed Fight Crime

A rag tag group of misfits who seem to have died are called up to find a missing son and grandchild. Nothing seems to go to plan - will the group unite in their common cause?

[Mr Peter Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read

This book has a pace leaves the reader exhausted! Great characters who are very real and interesting. The plot is quirky with plenty of situations that don't go to plan, I am now about to start book 2 and I can't wait.

[Christine Wild · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing

I was expecting something supernatural but there didn't seem to be any purpose to the lead characters being 'nearly, dearly departed'. No superpowers or spooky skills just super irritating.

[Mr Kenneth L Mullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Story

First book that I have read by Anthony Grace but it won't be the last. A great cast of characters and an interesting and unusual storyline.Looking forward to reading more.

[JANE · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring

Found it boring and stupid. Did not finish reading it. . . . . . . . . . .

[Philomena Gruppo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Good Read.

Interesting characters. Intriguing plot. Different type of premise for the unusual characters in the book. Plan to read the second book.

[Fiona Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

An easy book to read with a clever plot and good characters. Can’t wait to read the next in the series.

[Lorreine Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Didn’t have many expectations but the story was great. Easy reading, and engaging characters. Good dialogue too, you’re funny at times. I am still a little unsure as to why these nearly dead people have been chosen and how many more of them there are, but it’s a pacey book and I would recommend it. Have already downloaded the 2nd.

[W McIvor · Rating 5 out of 5]

very easy read.

Great recommendation from ciamh McDonnell whose own books are well worth a read! Interesting concept and characters. Finished it in no time.

[Marianne MacNeil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous caper!😄

Great characters. Great story. Punchy and comical 😂.
Looking forward to reading more capers with The Nearly Dearly Departed Club