Death and the Taxman (Audiobook) by David Hankins

   

Today is an anomaly on my blog, as it is a twofer special day!  If you've just happened on this blog, welcome! But if you are a repeat reader, then first of all thank you, and secondly you know this blog focusses primarily on book reviews.  I LOVE TO READ!  

    I access my books from a reader site named NetGalley where I request advance readers copy literature in exchange for honest reviews.  Hence my blog. 💗 When I am not physically reading a book, I am listening to one. Pretty much non-stop, words are flooding my brain!  So imagine my happy heart when I remembered seeing audiobooks on the NetGalley website.  I dove in and requested my first one, and it is a gem! 

    Death and the Taxman by David Hankins is a lively read published September 1, 2026, from Lost Bard Enterprises. 

The Grim Reaper's main job in life is to usher souls from their deceased bodies into the afterworld. Imagine the surprise when Grim is tricked by a mortal named Frank Totmann who just happens to be an IRS auditor. Frank steals Grim's scythe, cloak, and immortality! In the exchange, the balance of death and dying falters and the laws of mortality begin to change. The world is in peril, and so is Grim as he finds himself thrust into a human form plagued with all the needs that human bodies endure...eating, sleeping, and the dreaded - defecation. Grim is mortified. How can he endure the humiliation as he deals with people and being alive as well as the need to get his real job of "death" back?  

David Hankins does a brilliant job creating his characters and storyline. He has a distinct comedic writing voice that keeps the reader entertained throughout the entire novel. As an audiobook there is an additional need to create a successful story, the narrator.  Death and the Taxman succeeds in this aspect as well.  Peter Wicks has a deep, resonant voice that creates just the right tone for the story.  I could picture Grim, the Reaper as Wicks performed the book.  

I am so happy to have chosen Death and the Taxman as my first audiobook to review for NetGalley!  I am rating the novel with 5 stars, something I rarely do, just because it was so entertaining and well done! You can find the audiobook to purchase on Audible and Amazon.com.

Thank you to NetGalley, David Hankins, and Lost Bard Enterprises for the Advanced Listeners copy of Death and the Taxman in exchange for this honest review.