This was certainly an unusual premise for a book and I wondered if it might not be too sad to endure. But oddly enough, I found myself laughing through much of the book even with the serious subject matter. Felix Pink is an absolutely wonderful character. I could just picture him - the character was depicted so vividly.

The story is pretty wild. I did have a lot of it figured out before the big reveal - but not all of it. This was an unexpectedly enjoyable read!

Felix Pink is a remarkable character who is brought to life brilliantly in this unusual, but page-turning novel from Belinda Bauer.
It is the multi-layered fine detail and description of every day life that locks Felix into the real world where he is no stranger to death and assisted dying. It comes as quite a shock then he accidently helps the wrong man to take his last breath. On the run from the police, the victim's family and the leader of the Exiteers, Felix discovers a new purpose in life.

An original murder-mystery with adorable old characters playing God, who do not know what they’re doing or who they’re messing with; and a trauma-ridden family in a small town.
Exit tells the story of an underground group of people called Exiteers, whose sole purpose is to offer comfort and easy exit to those, who are terminally ill and in pain. The members of this secret organization work in pairs, do not know nothing about each other and just arrive at the target destination and sit in silence while the “customer” ends their life journey. However, the last job Felix is assigned will not be as easy as the ones before and he finds himself intermingled with a complicated murder plot. The police gets involved, the secret of Exiteers is out and the story unfolds in the strangest possible way that keeps the reader alive.
Though I found the ending a little bit rushed and underwhelming, I enjoyed the unique theme, the smooth-flowing whodunnit with lovable characters and subtle sense of humor and definitely recommend it to the lovers of the genre.

I'm apparently the only person who didn't like this book. I found it a fascinating concept and was very eager to start it, but the execution killed it for me... I could not get into the story. I could not connect with Felix. I could not find the humor people kept talking about in their reviews, or the dry wit, or the cleverness. I just felt like it plodded along... I tried skipping ahead, to find the mystery and magic others did, but kept getting bogged down and ultimately gave up. I may just be in the wrong head space for this one...

Another great book from Belinda Bauer!

This book takes place in the English countryside. The main character is an older gentleman named Felix Pink. He is somehow involved in a group called the Exiteers. This volunteer group takes the task of supporting patients that are close to the end of their life and comforting them as they "EXIT" gracefully.

It started slowly to build up, but then the crimes started happening! Crime writing at it's best, but there is quite a bit of humor in here as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the sound of this book. The premis I thought, was really interesting.

The first few chapters I found a little slow and by the time the actual mystery was unfolded, we were about 40% through so definitely a slow burn.

However, once the mystery kicked in, I was hooked. I loved the characters, just laugh out loud funny and totally loveable.

The mystery itself was flawlessly written. It really kept me guessing.

It really is a heart warming book despite the plot! I think if you liked The Thursday Murder Club, then this could be your next favourite!

4 stars for me!

Thanks to Grove Atlantic, Netgalley and Belinda Bauer for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review

**Instagram linked, review will be uploaded this week

Felix Pink is a 75-year-old widower who lost his beloved wife Margaret to a lingering illness. Now Felix lives in Devon with his dog Mabel, who shoots withering looks and piddles in the house if Felix is delayed at walk time. This sometimes happens because Felix is an 'Exiteer', a volunteer who supports terminally ill persons committing suicide with nitrous oxide - a process that can't be hurried.

To remain on the right side of the law, an Exiteer must do NOTHING to assist a patient's demise. The sick individuals must assemble the materials and administer the gas themselves, while the Exiteers - who work in pairs - merely sit by the bedside.

After Felix's long-time partner quits the Exiteers, Felix is paired with a twentysomething newbie called Amanda, who's very anxious about her first support job. Felix and Amanda are sent to the home of Charles Cann, an old man riddled with cancer. The patient fumbles the gas cylinder and Amanda instinctively retrieves it - thus committing a crime. Things get even worse when Felix and Amanda realize they killed the wrong man. Wanting to protect Amanda, Felix sends her away, determined to take the blame himself.

Felix hears police sirens approaching the Cann house - and is waiting to explain the situation - when he remembers Mabel, who needs to be walked and fed. Felix makes a clever getaway, and thinking the whole incident over later on, fears he and Amanda were set up. Felix decides to play detective, and makes some unexpected friends along the way.

Meanwhile, the police also mount an investigation into the Cann homicide. DCI Kirsty King leads the case, and she recruits PC Calvin Bridge to assist her. Bridge was a plainclothes detective for a brief time, but felt overwhelmed, and went back to being a uniformed cop. Still Bridge is glad to be in the big leagues again, if only temporarily. When he's not working, Bridge hangs out at the local betting shop, where he likes a flutter on the horses.....and Bridge's interaction with his fellow gamblers is a hoot.

Many things are not as they seem in this novel, which is very funny, with quirky characters and unexpected situations. This is an ingenious mystery, highly recommended to fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, Belinda Bauer, and Atlantic Monthly Press for a copy of the book.

Absolutely loved this book by Belinda Bauer, a new author to me but will definitely search out her other work. A story of assisted suicide gone wrong. Excellent plotting, similar in some ways with an elderly protagonist but far better than Richard Osman’s ThursdayMurder club, laughed out loud on several occasions! I couldn’t predict the twists and turns turns. Fantastic mixture of crime, humour and human frailty. Felix Pink is the 75 year old hero we have been waiting for!

I don't even know if I can write a review to do this book justice. Bravo Belinda Bauer Bravo. I am yet to read one of her novels and dislike it, she has talent!

Okay let's review, Felix works for a company called the existeers they help terminally ill people end their lives at home safely and painlessly. However he goes to a job with newbie Amanda and things go terribly wrong, when they realise they've killed the wrong person! (That's not even a spoiler ha). A police investigation follows and life for Felix starts to unravel.

First off I loved Felix he is such a lovable character as he himself is 75 and is only doing this work after loosing his wife and son. His heart is in the right place. He is comical at times and I love the way Bauer managed to incorporate that into what on the surface is quite a depressing subject matter. I literally was bent over double in laughter at one part and I struggled to keep reading, even thinking about it now I'm laughing again.
I enjoyed the way we got what Felix wants to say and what he actually says especially with his rather over friendly neighbour Mrs Knott.

What is done so well like in every book of Bauer's I've read is tell us a story from more than one point of view. Yes there are a lot of people to remember, it becomes much easier to remember each character as the book progresses. Its also in 3 parts which I found useful. The prose flows well and is narrated in third person.

As this book is quite cleverly complex in regards to the storyline it is hard to go into much more detail here in a review. I will say if you are a fan of Bauer and have read her book Rubberneck you will understand how well she layers a narrative. I highly recommend this book and not just because I love Belinda Bauer but because its a dam good book. The last paragraph had me in unexpected tears. Each of the characters have some sort of depth to their storyline.
There are so many WTF moments and I didn't see that coming 😳. Just when you get comfortable and think it's all concluded something else comes your way. Loved it! One thing I will say is it is a bit of a slow starter so bare with it, the narrative is being set once you know everyone you need to know it becomes quite fast paced. An easy 5 stars, which I didn't think when I started I would be giving it.


Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers Grove Atlantic and ofcourse Belinda Bauer for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my fair and honest review.
It's always a pleasure to get to review one of your favourite authors work, thank god I loved it!

What a fun book! Someone is killing off the old, infirm and ready-to-die seniors of North Devon. Well, they are actually killing themselves, with the help of “The Exiteers” to hold their hands as they die. But Felix Pink’s latest assisted suicide goes very wrong, and even if he is seventy-five with a bad hip, and a fierce longing for his dead wife and son, Felix is determined to find out why.

This is a very funny book with a sufficiently twisty plot to keep the story going through the very end. An additional bonus is the very likable police force, whose members give community based policing a very good name.

I loved 'Snap', Belinda Bauer's previous novel, so was pleased to be offered a chance to read her latest book, courtesy of NetGalley. Felix is an 'exiteer', a volunteer for an underground operation that helps people who want to end their lives. But things start to unravel, when one suicide does not go according to plan. The book's other protagonist is PC Calvin Bridge who has been brought in to investigate the baffling aftermath of Felix's mistake.
'Exit' is perfect lockdown reading as it is funny, gripping, and expertly plotted. I loved the Devon setting, the characters and their interactions, and an ending which is just right.

Felix is 75 yrs old, lives alone, with just his dog, as he lost both his son and wife to illnesses in which they both suffered greatly.
So, he became an Exiteer, a person who is hired to just sit and keep company and watch a person exit life after they have, on their own, placed a mask from a tank of nitrous oxide to commit suicide. He regards this as an act of kindness, helping a person avoid suffering from illness.
Exiteer’s arrive in groups of two, to watch over each client.
Something goes terribly wrong on his latest job, and the wrong person dies! An investigation starts that includes the dead mans father, son, Felix, the other Exiteer, and some other people.
This ends up being a very funny! I laughed so much!
Loved it! I’ll be checking out this author’s other books!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC!

Belinda Bauer’s Exit is a delightful, offbeat murder mystery novel.

“Felix Pink found the predictability comforting – even if the predictable outcome was death.”

Seventy-five year old Felix Pink is an ‘Exiteer’, a volunteer with a secret group that aids, but does not assist, terminally ill people to end their own lives. A minor breach in protocol by Felix’s new partner, Amanda, seems innocent enough until they discover that they have in fact witnessed the death of the wrong man.

What follows veers between tragedy and comedy as Felix tries to understand how such a mistake could have been made. It soon becomes clear that the Exiteer’s were set up, but by who, and why? The answer is far more complicated than one might expect, and I’m loathe to spoil the smart twists of the plot that implicates more than one person.

Felix is a charming protagonist, he lives with his dog Mabel, enjoys puzzles, and considers himself boring but steadfast. The loss of both his wife and son is his motivation for joining the Exiteers and he believes he is doing important work. When he realises a mistake has been made he is horrified, eager to protect his partner, the group, and make to amends.

There are several other characters of importance to the story including the Exiteer’s group leader, Geoffrey, Amanda, the family of the dead man, and the investigating officers, DCI Kirsty King and DC Calvin Bridge who astute readers may recognise from Bauer’s previous works.

This is a well crafted tale with a unique hook. Witty, clever and engaging, I really enjoyed Exit.

Such a conundrum, this one! After reading the first quarter of it, I was certain it would be my favorite book of '21. Then everything fell apart. The premise was fresh and interesting as you'll read in the synopsis. Soon multiple characters were introduced with very little backstory given so that I was not at all invested in any of them and didn't really care enough to follow relationships. Soon, the core premise fell away only to be replaced with very surface level interactions and characters who added very little to the story. Finally, the last 10% feels rushed and contrived. I'm probably being very harsh in this review because I felt a real bait and switch. I was so excited for this one after a string of disappointments and I just had another disappointing read. Now, it very well could have been me. I know this will find its audience. Thank you to Netgalley/Transworld Digital for granting me an advanced copy.

Thank you to the author, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a delight, which seems a bit skewed, seeing it's about a group that offers assistance for suicide to the terminally ill - and one particular such procedure that goes wrong and has knock-off effect after knock-on effect after... well, I'm sure you get the picture. It's so cleverly plotted and full of unexpected humor that it drew me in, and the characters are so well-drawn that I found myself invested and not able to put the book down, so eager was I to find out what happened. And to cap it all off, all the - very - loose threads come together, some in unexpected but not implausible ways, to create a very satisfying ending. Highly recommend!

Meet Felix Pink. He's widowed, has discovered that's be been boring all his life and has done nothing "outstanding" during his 60-some years.

He occupies himself volunteering as an Exiter. He sits with terminally ill patients as they die by suicide, lending moral support. When the patient has passed, he removes all evidence so that family and friends are not implicated. Per state law, he is not allowed to assist the patient in any way. The patients sign a letter stating that they are doing this on their own and the Exiters are to be held blameless. They also have a copy of the patient's last will and testament showing that the Exiters did not profit from their death.

Along with a new recruit, he enters the home of a dying man to witness and comfort the patient.

Minutes later, he sends his new recruit away, and he himself, is on the run from the police. He's just made the biggest mistake of his life ....

Was it a mistake ... or was it murder?

There is so much that makes this an outstanding read. The intricate plot features people who are terminally ill and wish to go now .. and not wait for death to occur naturally. Felix is a senior citizen who wants to make a difference in others' lives .. or deaths ... before he faces making the same decisions for himself. It's heart-breaking in so many ways ... yet there is also dark humor ... and compassion.

Many thanks to the author / Grove Atlantic / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Another winner from Belinda Bauer! As with all the her books, there is a bit of a lighthearted feel and tone that is undercoated with incredibly dark subject matter. I found this one to be immensely engrossing and also found the plotting super on point. The lighthearted tone was supported by really likable characters and some great humor. It's a skilled writer I think, that can write about the most excruciating last moments of death and have the reader experiencing it as if it was a 'feel good' kind of book. And there are two very adorable dogs and a big cat that no harm comes to, in fact they seem to come out better in the end :)

A book about a group known as Exiteers. Of course, your first logical question is, what exactly is an Exiteer? Glad you asked!

A group of volunteers that passively assist someone who suffers from a terminal illness to leave this life. No laws broken. Well...until now!

Most important rule: Exiteers must not take an active roll. All previous arrangement are to be made by the person or their family, to have a tank of nitrous oxide present. The Exiteer simply sits beside to let the person know they are not alone... and of course to witness the passing..

Felix felt the calling to volunteer, to help those in the most dire of times. He’d witnessed many deaths, but today things didn’t go as planned. To say the least! Now he’s running from the police!

When I first started noticing reviews for this book I was fascinated by this most unusual premise and immediately hooked! I knew I had to read it and so glad I did!

The police assigned to the case brought even so much more depth to the investigation. In the words of DC Calvin Bridge, “Worst job ever!”

You’ll be laugh at the tulip caper...and cry with poor Felix and his solitude and frailties. I just loved Felix! All imaginable emotions are here. So if you’re searching for a book that will make you feel look no further!

My first read from this author but I have several of her books stashed on my shelf and can’t wait to dive into them.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and Belinda Bauer for an ARC to read and review

This was a very character driven story that I found sad. However, huge props for a very unique story line. .

Felix Pink is a widower, pensioner and Exiteer. He, along with a fellow volunteer, attends the home of those who have chosen to die, to keep them company in their final moments. Not allowed to participate in their death, the exit were are there to provide comfort as the person escapes from whatever terminal illness plagues them. But when Felix and new recruit Amanda attend the home of Skipper Cann, things go awry and suddenly Felix is waiting for police to catch up with him.

Felix is a man with one foot in the grave. His wife and son have both died and he has his own plans for when the day comes but for now he is content with his work with the Exiteers. Felix is a great character, and the plot sees him forced
out of his comfortable life. The supporting cast are great too.

The plot, as should be expected from Bauer is brilliant. In the opening scenes when things go wrong, I both gasped and laughed at what transpired (partly because it reminded me of a sketch in a tv comedy that I won’t name). I thought I knew what was going to happen.....I didn’t. There’s a certain amount of humour in this book and I chuckled quite a few times at the predicaments that Felix found himself in or his reactions to them.

This is a standout book for me, wonderfully plotted, memorable characters and great writing; the best of 2021 so far. The age of the main character and the fact that he is trying to solve a crime will no doubt draw comparisons so The Thursday Murder Club and if those comparisons draw readers in then that’s great. But for me, whilst I thoroughly enjoyed TTMC, this is the superior book.

I have throughly enjoyed every book of Bauer’s that I’ve read and she has got to be one of the best crime fiction writers in the UK right now. This has prompted me to pick up the ones in her back catalogue I haven’t read yet and I’ll be looking forward to reading what she writes next.