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Mortimer & Mrs Morris #1 #1
Death Takes a Holiday
Death is bored. Immortality will do that to you.
** A hilarious new series from the author of The Cassie Black Trilogy! And an international Best of the Month selection! **
After an eternity of escorting souls to the afterlife, Death — who really prefers you call him Mortimer — is bored. There's been departmental divisions, technical developments, and fitness crazes that mean people just aren't dying like they used to.
What's worse… He's running low on romance novels to keep himself occupied.
His solution: a working holiday to Top World, where he expects room service, infinity-high thread counts, and an easy solution to get business booming again.
What he doesn't expect is Mrs Morris, a seventy-three-year-old detective with a tightly packed schedule and no time for an immortal assistant.
But when Mrs Morris is hired to look into a local murder, Mortimer sees the perfect opportunity to nudge up his mortality rates and refuses to go away.
The only trouble? Mortimer soon discovers the victim reeks of demons, turning his perfect opportunity into a heap of trouble that could end his career. Oh, and the human race.
Death Takes a Holiday is a humorous fantasy adventure about the most inconvenient partnership in the history of the afterlife, where a pair of unlikely allies are thrown together by broken bones, murder mysteries, pesky demons, and the deadliest cup of coffee in Portland.
** A hilarious new series from the author of The Cassie Black Trilogy! And an international Best of the Month selection! **
After an eternity of escorting souls to the afterlife, Death — who really prefers you call him Mortimer — is bored. There's been departmental divisions, technical developments, and fitness crazes that mean people just aren't dying like they used to.
What's worse… He's running low on romance novels to keep himself occupied.
His solution: a working holiday to Top World, where he expects room service, infinity-high thread counts, and an easy solution to get business booming again.
What he doesn't expect is Mrs Morris, a seventy-three-year-old detective with a tightly packed schedule and no time for an immortal assistant.
But when Mrs Morris is hired to look into a local murder, Mortimer sees the perfect opportunity to nudge up his mortality rates and refuses to go away.
The only trouble? Mortimer soon discovers the victim reeks of demons, turning his perfect opportunity into a heap of trouble that could end his career. Oh, and the human race.
Death Takes a Holiday is a humorous fantasy adventure about the most inconvenient partnership in the history of the afterlife, where a pair of unlikely allies are thrown together by broken bones, murder mysteries, pesky demons, and the deadliest cup of coffee in Portland.
- GenresMystery
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 18, 2026
About the author
Tammie Painter
55 books169 followersTHE RAMBLING BIO AND OFFER OF FREE STUFF
Many moons ago I was a scientist in a neuroscience lab where I got to play with brains and illegal drugs. Now, I take wickedly strong tea and turn it into comic fantasy whodunits full of mythical misfits and magical mishaps that I hope give you a giggle.
My tales run the gamut from the ever-expanding Cassie Black Trilogy with its wryly humorous paranormal mysteries to the comical fantasy whodunits in The Circus of Unusual Creatures , and from light-hearted novellas celebrating my love of books to short fiction in which I really flex my myth-loving and humor-craving muscles!
When I’m not creating worlds or killing off characters, I can be found gardening, planning my next travel adventure, concocting some sort of mess in the kitchen, or working as an unpaid servant to three cats and a guinea pig.
Want to learn more and get free stuff? Then be sure to pop by TammiePainter.com to see everything I'm up to and to grab your free copy of "Mrs. Morris Meets Death," a humorous tale of mortality, time management, cruise ships, and romance novels.
THE QUICK AS YOU CAN STORY BEHIND MY BOOKS...
My fascination for myths, history, and how they interweave inspired my two historical fantasy series, The Osteria Chronicles and my second series, Domna (you can grab your free series starters for those HERE and HERE).
But all those ancient myths and angst-ridden heroes got a bit too serious for someone with a strange sense of humor and odd way of looking at the world.
So, while sitting at my grandmother’s funeral, my brain came up with an idea for a contemporary fantasy trilogy that’s filled with magic, mystery, snarky humor, and the dead who just won’t stay dead. That idea turned into The Cassie Black Trilogy, which has turned into a fan favorite.
Then, because writer brains are weird, a simple elephant story I had in mind somehow morphed into a "hilarious" cozy fantasy series featuring a detecting dragon. So, if you like comic fantasy whodunits that mix in laughs with murderous mayhem, mythical beasts, and a staggering variety of omelets, you’ll want to check out my Circus of Unusual Creatures mysteries!
IF ALL THAT WASN"T ENOUGH, YOU CAN...
* Sign up for my monthly newsletter to get free stuff, exclusive bargains, and insights into my writing world,
* Head over to my Payhip Bookstore to shop directly through me and truly support an indie author.
* Browse this BookFunnel page to check out all my currently available books.
* Follow me on Bookbub to see my top book recommendations and get notified about most of my new releases.
Many moons ago I was a scientist in a neuroscience lab where I got to play with brains and illegal drugs. Now, I take wickedly strong tea and turn it into comic fantasy whodunits full of mythical misfits and magical mishaps that I hope give you a giggle.
My tales run the gamut from the ever-expanding Cassie Black Trilogy with its wryly humorous paranormal mysteries to the comical fantasy whodunits in The Circus of Unusual Creatures , and from light-hearted novellas celebrating my love of books to short fiction in which I really flex my myth-loving and humor-craving muscles!
When I’m not creating worlds or killing off characters, I can be found gardening, planning my next travel adventure, concocting some sort of mess in the kitchen, or working as an unpaid servant to three cats and a guinea pig.
Want to learn more and get free stuff? Then be sure to pop by TammiePainter.com to see everything I'm up to and to grab your free copy of "Mrs. Morris Meets Death," a humorous tale of mortality, time management, cruise ships, and romance novels.
THE QUICK AS YOU CAN STORY BEHIND MY BOOKS...
My fascination for myths, history, and how they interweave inspired my two historical fantasy series, The Osteria Chronicles and my second series, Domna (you can grab your free series starters for those HERE and HERE).
But all those ancient myths and angst-ridden heroes got a bit too serious for someone with a strange sense of humor and odd way of looking at the world.
So, while sitting at my grandmother’s funeral, my brain came up with an idea for a contemporary fantasy trilogy that’s filled with magic, mystery, snarky humor, and the dead who just won’t stay dead. That idea turned into The Cassie Black Trilogy, which has turned into a fan favorite.
Then, because writer brains are weird, a simple elephant story I had in mind somehow morphed into a "hilarious" cozy fantasy series featuring a detecting dragon. So, if you like comic fantasy whodunits that mix in laughs with murderous mayhem, mythical beasts, and a staggering variety of omelets, you’ll want to check out my Circus of Unusual Creatures mysteries!
IF ALL THAT WASN"T ENOUGH, YOU CAN...
* Sign up for my monthly newsletter to get free stuff, exclusive bargains, and insights into my writing world,
* Head over to my Payhip Bookstore to shop directly through me and truly support an indie author.
* Browse this BookFunnel page to check out all my currently available books.
* Follow me on Bookbub to see my top book recommendations and get notified about most of my new releases.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Apparently Death on earth is broken up into different types. Mortimer Lett is Death to typical people. He's glad he isn't involved with Politicians, Performers, or Pets. Lately however, due to advances in medicine and healthcare, his business has gotten too slow. After reading almost every romance novel written, he is bored. His assistant Azreal helps arrange a vacation for him starting with the Grand Canyon. From there Mortimer randomly picks Portland to visit. Shortly after arriving there he hears a barista talking to an elderly woman who turns out to be a private detective. The words "hunting down murderers" gives him an idea to increase business, if he can convince some murderers to increase production "viola" more business for Death.
He decides to befriend the detective, Mrs. Morris. And so begins Tammie Painter's new trilogy ((?) her last trilogy is at 6 books so far) "Mortimer and Mrs. Morris". I am not sure which is sillier, Mortimer s affectation of British speaking with "pipping" and "dashed" pronounced as two syllables, or in his general incompetence in trying to help Mrs. Morris in solving cases, or in her complete and total reliance on scheduling her time. This is a very funny story with a couple of good mysteries within it. I think it took me reading several extra pages after Mrs Morris solves a murder before I figured out she had really solved it. I don't remember ever having done that before.
He decides to befriend the detective, Mrs. Morris. And so begins Tammie Painter's new trilogy ((?) her last trilogy is at 6 books so far) "Mortimer and Mrs. Morris". I am not sure which is sillier, Mortimer s affectation of British speaking with "pipping" and "dashed" pronounced as two syllables, or in his general incompetence in trying to help Mrs. Morris in solving cases, or in her complete and total reliance on scheduling her time. This is a very funny story with a couple of good mysteries within it. I think it took me reading several extra pages after Mrs Morris solves a murder before I figured out she had really solved it. I don't remember ever having done that before.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Coffee, pastries, and death, oh my! I truly loved this gem of a book.
You wouldn't think Death (aka Mortimer) would ever get bored with everything that goes on around Earth, but you'd be wrong. Longer lifespans, predictable romance novels, and general restlessness have Death going on a vacation. As he looks for adventure, he stumbles upon a sleuthing senior citizen Mrs. Morris. Hoping she can lead him to a murderer that will reinvigorate his tedious existence, he gets far more than he bargained for.
This book is a perfect example of what you can expect from the illustrious Tammie Painter: puns a plenty, mystery with lots of twists and turns, and mouthwatering food descriptions!
Mortimer was enigmatic and interesting to figure out. I loved his odd view of our world and learning about the Under World. He's definitely got a lot to learn, and it was a ton of fun getting to watch his adventures. I love a snarky character, and Mrs. Morris ticks all of the boxes. She's got a guarded heart and a schedule with little time for anyone, which made the duo unlikely and refreshing.
The plot of this book moves fast and shifts between Mortimer and Mrs. Morris's point of view, the majority belonging to Mortimer. There were a lot of great clues along the way, some of them red herrings, some of them legit, and it was a struggle for me to figure out who was responsible for all the mayhem. Zero complaints with this book. It's to die for.
You wouldn't think Death (aka Mortimer) would ever get bored with everything that goes on around Earth, but you'd be wrong. Longer lifespans, predictable romance novels, and general restlessness have Death going on a vacation. As he looks for adventure, he stumbles upon a sleuthing senior citizen Mrs. Morris. Hoping she can lead him to a murderer that will reinvigorate his tedious existence, he gets far more than he bargained for.
This book is a perfect example of what you can expect from the illustrious Tammie Painter: puns a plenty, mystery with lots of twists and turns, and mouthwatering food descriptions!
Mortimer was enigmatic and interesting to figure out. I loved his odd view of our world and learning about the Under World. He's definitely got a lot to learn, and it was a ton of fun getting to watch his adventures. I love a snarky character, and Mrs. Morris ticks all of the boxes. She's got a guarded heart and a schedule with little time for anyone, which made the duo unlikely and refreshing.
The plot of this book moves fast and shifts between Mortimer and Mrs. Morris's point of view, the majority belonging to Mortimer. There were a lot of great clues along the way, some of them red herrings, some of them legit, and it was a struggle for me to figure out who was responsible for all the mayhem. Zero complaints with this book. It's to die for.
August 23, 2026
I loved this book!
Poor Death (who prefers to be called Mortimer). He’s bored to sobs because humans are taking better care of themselves and stubbornly refusing to die. Even his addiction to romance novels has soured thanks to their increasingly predictable plots. The one thing that might cheer him up is a holiday in Top World, where he assumes the guise of an Armani-suit-wearing mortal who really doesn’t understand how mortals work.
He falls in with the feisty 73-year-old Mrs. Morris, who has troubles of her own—not to mention a challenging murder to solve.
What follows is a fast-paced romp (really, it’s the only word for it), with a side order of wonderfully original pastries and coffees.
The story unfolds through the alternating points of view of Mortimer and Mrs. Morris, with plenty of twists, turns, and surprises along the way. Be forewarned: this is the first book in a three-part series, and it ends on a cliffhanger. Fortunately, the author has promised us the second and third instalments in 2027. I’ll be waiting.
Poor Death (who prefers to be called Mortimer). He’s bored to sobs because humans are taking better care of themselves and stubbornly refusing to die. Even his addiction to romance novels has soured thanks to their increasingly predictable plots. The one thing that might cheer him up is a holiday in Top World, where he assumes the guise of an Armani-suit-wearing mortal who really doesn’t understand how mortals work.
He falls in with the feisty 73-year-old Mrs. Morris, who has troubles of her own—not to mention a challenging murder to solve.
What follows is a fast-paced romp (really, it’s the only word for it), with a side order of wonderfully original pastries and coffees.
The story unfolds through the alternating points of view of Mortimer and Mrs. Morris, with plenty of twists, turns, and surprises along the way. Be forewarned: this is the first book in a three-part series, and it ends on a cliffhanger. Fortunately, the author has promised us the second and third instalments in 2027. I’ll be waiting.
August 6, 2026
Review of advanced copy received by author
Mortimer isn’t just Death—he’s also a hopeless romantic (spice level: habanero 🌶️) who’s thoroughly bored with the Underworld. So, naturally, he takes a vacation, where he has an adorable meet-cute with the newly widowed detective, Mrs. Morris. The two team up to solve a mystery, and the resulting chaos is equal parts clever, hilarious, and heartwarming. A delightfully quirky romp with plenty of laughs, a dash of romance, and characters you’ll happily follow into the afterlife. A dashed good read!
Mortimer isn’t just Death—he’s also a hopeless romantic (spice level: habanero 🌶️) who’s thoroughly bored with the Underworld. So, naturally, he takes a vacation, where he has an adorable meet-cute with the newly widowed detective, Mrs. Morris. The two team up to solve a mystery, and the resulting chaos is equal parts clever, hilarious, and heartwarming. A delightfully quirky romp with plenty of laughs, a dash of romance, and characters you’ll happily follow into the afterlife. A dashed good read!
August 18, 2026
This book grew on me. I liked the story, but the author was so successful at giving Death annoying characteristics that I was thoroughly annoyed by the time I'd read halfway through. Now that it's been a few days since I finished, I realize it was a really good story: some humor, some mystery, a very entertaining coffee shop, and interesting characters. The Cassie Black and the Circus of Unusual Creatures series are still my favorites, because (besides their good stories and humor) their characters are people I'd want to be friends with; I didn't feel that way about these.
Review of advance copy received from Author
All of Ms Painter's humourous books are guarenteed to have you laughing out loud, but this may be the most hilarious yet. Mortimer and Mrs Morris are the ulitmate 'odd couple' (in a Felix and Oscar way, not a romantic one) with lots of snark, a cosy found family feel, light humour and some serious issues to sort through. The only thing to complain about with this book is that once you finish you need to wait for the next one.
I received an ARC and voluntarily leave an honest review.
I received an ARC and voluntarily leave an honest review.
August 23, 2026
Death has a big personality! Of course he does! He’s Death!
The characters in “Death Takes a Holiday” are well fleshed out and there are just enough of them to move the book forward to the end. Mrs. Morris is my favourite ‘old thing’. She still has so much to do, especially find out who killed her husband.
This book was a fun read that wrapped up very nicely but left enough mystery that I want to read the next book in the trilogy, like, right away!
The characters in “Death Takes a Holiday” are well fleshed out and there are just enough of them to move the book forward to the end. Mrs. Morris is my favourite ‘old thing’. She still has so much to do, especially find out who killed her husband.
This book was a fun read that wrapped up very nicely but left enough mystery that I want to read the next book in the trilogy, like, right away!
Review of advance copy received from Author
What a hoot, Mortimer is bored and looking for some action up top. Latching on to Mrs Morris and trying to solve some murders, finds him getting into hot water with the Council and Mrs Morris. Can he find out who's trying to sabotage him and solve some suspicious deaths. This Arc left me wanting more and kept me guessing. What a strange partnership, looks like this will be a fun series.
Review of advance copy received from Author
A great start to a new series starring Death. He is bored, and lets his assistant persuade him to take a vacation Top World. He has made some plans, but when he meets Mrs. Morris, an elderly private detective, the plans change. Murder and mayhem happen, and Death has some astounding adventures. Although the most astounding thing is his bottomless capacity for ice cream. Can't wait for the next installment.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Have been a big fan of all of Tammie Painters books for a while an Death Takes a Holiday did not disappoint! Loved the interplay between Mortimer and Mrs Morris. Snarky, thought provoking and makes you think at same time. Enjoy!!
August 24, 2026
Just what I was in the mood for! I love the idea of death on vacation and Mrs. Morris is very relatable. The story has some surprises and is well written. The humor is sarcastic and funny, and I truly enjoyed the story.
August 22, 2026
Two entertaining main characters, mismatched in the best “buddy” style, solve a challenging case. One is a widow detective and the other is Death.
The author is always entertaining and I look forward to her next book.
The author is always entertaining and I look forward to her next book.
August 24, 2026
Another fun-filled and entertaining book by Tammie Painter.
Intriguing storyline ... cannot wait to read what's next in the series. Hope it's soon !!
Intriguing storyline ... cannot wait to read what's next in the series. Hope it's soon !!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Want to find a killer try a detective
Death decides to visit us, with the express idea of recruiting a serial killer to send souls his way, as he has been a bit light recently .
With this in mind he things best way to find one is to team up with a detective - right?
But he teams with a bumbling one, who is more used to finding lost pets than serial killers.
What happens next is a comedic tale that will make you LoL as you make your way through the book.
I received an arc of this book
Death decides to visit us, with the express idea of recruiting a serial killer to send souls his way, as he has been a bit light recently .
With this in mind he things best way to find one is to team up with a detective - right?
But he teams with a bumbling one, who is more used to finding lost pets than serial killers.
What happens next is a comedic tale that will make you LoL as you make your way through the book.
I received an arc of this book
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews