An original murder mystery with quirky dark humour.

This was my first murder mystery from Belinda Bauer, and I thoroughly enjoyed her quirky originality.

Felix Pink, a very law-abiding 75-year-old retired gentleman, wanted to find something worthwhile to be involved in. He was widowed, so decided to join a group called “The Exiteers” . . . A very discreet group which helped people with assisted suicide . . . Just keeping on the right side of the law!

Occasionally this bespoke group would have a new member; hence Felix met Amanda, his new work partner. Unfortunately, something went drastically wrong, and they became embroiled in an unusual murder mystery!!

Calvin Bridge and Kirsty King are the police officers involved in solving the crime, so Felix finds himself fleeing from the scene and feeling guilty that he has become a criminal! He is anxious about his special pet . . . Mabel, a rather unfit mongrel . . . What if Felix must go to prison? Who would feed Mabel?

There are many twists and turns throughout, plus unusual friendships formed. I love the dark humour running through the pages, which made for superb reading entertainment. I’ll look out for Belinda Bauer again.

Galadriel.

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of this book to review.

I was drawn to this story as it sounded different than my usual read.
Pink Felix is an “Exiteer” his responsibility is to sit with a person who is dying of a terminal illness who is choosing to die. The Exiteer’s is not allowed to assist in any way but just be there so that the family knows the person did not die alone.

I soon thought Yikes this is going to be a sad!
I believe this will make a great book club discussion.
I have mixed feeling about this story. Certainly a character based..
I know there is an audience who will appreciate this more than I did! ⭐⭐.5 rounded up

Want to thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic ~ Atlantic Monthly Press for this uncorrected Digital Galley; granted to me early for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed are my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for February 2, 2021

Thanks NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and Belinda Bauer for an ARC to review.
Back in 2015 I read The facts of life and death for her , I loved it and I remember it stayed with me for a long time afterwards.
I loved Exit!
No matter how much you think you figured it out, you sure didn't! What I loved the most is considering the dark nature the book is talking about, it was funny in a likable way. The story has its fair share of unexpected twists.
I loved the satisfaction Felix reached regarding Jamie's short life, why should we remember our loved ones sadly and disregard the rest of their happy life.
Note : loved the dogs and the cats characters the most ♥

This book started out with greta promise. It also started out with a great, glaring, problem that was never really addressed. I walk into a room and someone dies. It is not the person who wanted to die. And I think I did it? The cops try to arrest me for it? I literally sat down in the wrong room. That's it. Throw in a lot of convoluted stories of former cases, neighbors, bookies, and quirky characters...it's stigma waste of a day.

I ended up having an excellent time with this story! I have a weak spot for stories with older main characters and having crime and humor combined sounded absolutely brilliant. A comparison to Jonas Jonasson‘s dark humor sealed the deal for me, and now I have read Exit I definitely stand by this comparison. This kind of dark humor might not be for everyone, but for me personally it was a perfect match and I loved every single minute of my time with Exit. Such an unique and well executed crime thriller!

I’m going to keep this review short as this is one of those books were it’s best to go in blind to fully enjoy the experience. What I can say is that I loved the plot and the development of both the plot and plot twists is very clever indeed. I loved slowly discovering how everything and everyone fitted in, and I definitely didn’t guess the full truth until the very end… The hints and clues just hidden enough to keep you on your toes while also having fun along the way.

The story is told mainly switching between main character Felix Pink and Calvin, a police officer investigating the case. This way, we get a better grip on what is exactly happening on both sides of the story, and both characters are both intriguing, flawed and well developed. Felix especially makes for a brilliant main character, and I loved the fact that his dog Mabel keeps popping up throughout the story as well.

The Exiteer angle is intriguing and thoughtprovoking at the same time, making you stand still by assisted suicide and terminally ill people lacking the option of peaceful death… But also about what could go wrong. Death plays a big role in this story, and other serious topics as addiction and gambling likewise make their appearance. These heavier moments are well balanced with a healthy dose of (dark) humor and there were multiple moments I couldn’t stop myself from snickering.

In short, Exit turned out to be such a unique mix of crime thriller and contemporary with a healthy dose of dark humor to lighten up the mood and easy to like characters you cannot help but start rooting for. It’s a story that will stay with me for quite some time, and I definitely can’t wait to try more of her books now!

Felix Pink is an Exiteer. He supervises assisted suicides. But one day it goes wrong, the wrong person ends up dead and now Felix Pink is wanted for murder…

This was not at all the book I was expecting.

I thought it was a thriller (it is in fact variously labelled thriller/crime/mystery) but it was above all a black comedy.

This is not a complaint – in fact, it was a pleasant surprise and the book started off with 5-star potential – but I had to re-read the synopsis because I didn’t remember requesting anything like this. And I didn’t, really.

The synopsis seems to set the reader up for a traditional fast-paced, thriller/crime novel, especially with the black cover. I wasn’t familiar with Belinda Bauer, perhaps this is her style and I was supposed to know. It actually reminded me of Anxious People in places with the comedy/crime.

Anyway, as I said, it had 5-star potential. I was hooked and it was funny! However, getting towards the halfway point things seemed to stall. The plot wasn’t progressing, and I was getting bored. I found myself making a real effort with the second half of the book and perhaps it was because I’d lost interest, but the plot became silly and convoluted. The ending wasn’t exactly a surprise.

That said, in the beginning, Felix Pink reminded me of Ralph Roberts from Stephen King’s Insomnia (one of my all-time favourite characters), just an old man who gets sucked into a matter of life or death. My favourite characters in Exit were Calvin Bridges the Police Officer and, of course, Mabel the dog (Bauer is clearly a dog-lover).

There is something to say about euthanasia here, but I’m not sure what it is… beware the potential crime? But any crime happening here could happen with or without the Exiteers.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this ARC!

What a fun read! I
I found it to be an easy and fast read and quite farcical at times!

It's a story centred around Felix Pink who is an Exiteer. Their job is to support people who are terminally ill and who want to take their own lives. They don't help them but go and sit with them in the end and then clean up so it looks like a natural death. What a terrible job to do! So what do you do if it all goes wrong? Was it human error or something more sinister...

There are a few nice twists that you don't see coming and I will definitely look out for more books from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Enjoyable, hilarious and tragic. What a book!
Felix is an Exiteer - a small group of people who help those in pain and suffering terminal illnesses die with little pain and dignity.
He has no issues until Mr Cann and his new partner, Amanda. They flee the house after Skipper Cann informs them the wrong man is dead. Felix and Amanda killed Albert Cann.
Felix returns to the scene of the crime to find their housekeeper watching tv. Hayley sobs she is pregnant and tired. So Felix helps her tidy up. Afterwards he repairs the fence he broke to escape.
Calvin Bridges helps the police investigation- tracking down witnesses, CCTV and interviewing the coordinator of Exiteer.
One lead turns into another as the characters bumble through life- theft of a tulip, a maniacal vending machine, nosey neighbors and horse betting.
Dark humor keeps this book lively through some serious depressing reality - dying alone, after your friends and loved ones. Bereft elderly struggling with the loss of meaning in their lives, loss of dignity and kindness.
The ending - ugly crying.
Highly recommend.

The Exiteers are a small group of volunteers who help people with terminal illnesses who choose suicide over drawn-out pain. They are there to witness, to comfort and to clean up after. What happens, though, when a mistake is made and aide is given to the wrong man? Felix and Amanda find with horror that they have done so and things spiral from there. I never know what to expect with Bauer's books, but I always end up giving them 5 stars. Exit is no different, and with all the twists and turns and red herrings in this book it will satisfy even the hardest critic.

I fear that my review will not do the justice that this book deserves. I haven't read anything by Belinda Bauer before this, but as soon as I finish this review I'm heading off to download more of her books. Thank you to Netgalley, Grove Atlantic and Belinda Bauer for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The hero of our story is a widower named Felix Pink, a sweet, respectable, law-abiding, man of his word. After having already lost his wife and son, at age 75 Felix feels as though he has nothing left to live for other than his elderly dog, Mabel. So Felix spends his time volunteering as an Exiteer.

The Exiteers sit with terminally ill people who are choosing to end their own lives so they are not alone at the end. They don't interfere, they don't assist. They simply sit there for however long it takes. Exiteers always visit people in pairs, and Felix's long time partner Chris has decided to "retire".

At his next "appointment" Felix meets his new 23 year old partner Amanda. After talking a bit, they go see the client. It's when they get there that things begin to awry. And I'm going to stop my review here, because to go any further would deprive you of the pleasure this book brings.

This book was fantastic. I loved it. The plot is a comedy of errors that reminds me of an episode of I Love Lucy. While all the characters were great, I really loved Felix. I was so sorry when the book ended and I had to say goodbye to him.

The only negative I'd say about this book, and it's a slight one at that, is some of the references to the betting were confusing. Not all of them, but for instance, Calvin says at one point "I've got that at twenty. " I have no idea what that means, but it doesn't detract from the book as a whole.

I'd give this book 4 ½ stars, rounded up to five. If you enjoy some humor with your mysteries, definitely check out Exit by Belinda Bauer. I'd recommend this book for fans of mysteries, comedies, general fiction and women's fiction. I'd also recommend it if you enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club or Anxious People.

Exit is about a man who belongs to a dedicated group of people called Exiteers. (No, I'd never heard that term before.)

Felix aka John lives alone, is seventy-two, and watches people die.

An Exiteer is a volunteer who witnesses euthanasia and then clears the scene of all evidence—the most damning item being a canister of nitrous oxide. Who knew nitrous oxide could be lethal? As a confirmed dentophobe (someone who fears the dentist), I happen to be quite partial to the substance.

Felix is a perfectionist who believes in death with dignity. Unfortunately for Felix, on the day he initiates a young volunteer to the practice, said volunteer makes a mistake that results in a tragic mishap. Now Felix must do his best to make things right, and, failing that, accept criminal liability in place of the hapless volunteer.

Into the story steps Calvin, a police officer made insecure by a family of ne-er-do-wells and thieves, who nonetheless does his best to investigate suspicious activities. I didn't expect to like Calvin (mostly because I saw him as a threat to Felix), but Calvin is one of those dedicated but humble public servants whom you can't help but admire. Plus, he has his own character arc of self-doubt to travel.

Exit is perfect for readers of A Man Called Ove. Like Ove, Felix is in his twilight years, lives a solitary existence, is devoted to the memory of his late wife. And thinks about death.

I found Exit to be a delight. Dark humor, engaging voice, and lots and lots of heart.

I received a copy of Exit from NetGalley.

Felix Pink enters a home with one goal: to kindly keep a dying man company. But when he flees fifteen minutes later--more quickly than his seventy-five years usually allow--he's on the run from the police. Because Felix has made a mistake, and now his quiet life will never be the same.

"The [words] he needed finally dropped slowly from his numb lips. 'We killed the wrong man.'"

Oh my gosh, this book was amazing. Absolutely excellent. It has a different premise, keeps you guessing, and the characters are beyond superb. Bauer utterly captures Felix, with whom I fell completely in love. Yes, seventy-five-year-old widowed Felix is my new literary love. She also does an excellent job with Calvin, the young policeman who must investigate Felix Pink. These two men--along with the supporting cast--jump off the pages of this thriller. I was completely enthralled.

Even better, somehow this tale is witty despite it revolving around death. Felix has a superb sense of humor and the entire book is just infused with wit and a feeling of tenderness. It's also incredibly shocking, with a couple of plot twists that made me gasp. It's twisty and a total page turner. Rare do you get a mystery that is sweet yet exciting. But EXIT is just that.

Overall, this book is a total winner. Funny and heartwarming coupled with an excellent, intricate mystery plot that keeps you surprised at each turn. Highly recommend this one! 4.5 stars.

The Exiteers are a group that helps assist people commit suicide, generally when they are terminally ill. Felix and his new apprentice Amanda go to a client's house to perform their 'duty' and things go wrong quickly, ending up with the wrong person dying. Were they set up? If so, why and who did it? Felix is determined to find out exactly what happened.

This book was confusing since I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be humorous or just a mystery with a lot of odd things happening. There were a lot of details that seemed so unrealistic to me that I couldn't easily breeze past them. There were also more than a few chapters / scenes that didn't fit into the story and just seemed more like fluff, very annoying. Unorganized, choppy writing that lacked a complete picture by the end. Just not my cup of tea...

This was a creepy but gripping by one of my favorite authors of crime fiction. Bauer knows how to weave a clever, twisty tale and Exit was no disappointment. Recommended!

When I'm reviewing a book I usually make notes on my phone. The notes for Exit run to just one line ... I LOVE THIS!
Exit is probably the best crime fiction novel I have read for several years.
The characterisation, the plotting, the pace is absolutely spot on and I read it in about 6 hours. I was enthralled.
It may not be a novel for everyone as it deals with euthanasia and death throughout.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Exit by Belinda Bauer is a page-turner. I couldn’t put down this highly inventive, twisty, turny mystery. Great plot and characters.

After reading a few pages, I got the feeling this is going to be five stars read. I am glad it stayed the same by the time I reached the last page. This goes straight into my all-time favorite reads and will be memorable. What I loved best about this, no-nonsense approach of every character who gets straight to the point. The premise is spectacularly brilliant and refreshingly original. Bauer skillfully crafted a tight plot which takes breathtaking turns at lightning speed and enthralled me.

Exiteers is a tight-knit group who provides emotional support to terminal ill people while they take their lives. Their job is taking the equipment away after the deed is done in order to make the death look like a natural one to spare the family’s feelings. Everything is above board. Felix is part of this group headed by Geoffrey.
Felix and the new girl Amanda arrive to do their job and realize a little late that they have bumped off the WRONG man.

Felix and his hilarious musings remind me of Ove from ‘A Man Called Ove’. Loved a lot of characters in this - everyone in the cop team and they are all well developed.

The characters’ actions seemed daft but they turned out instrumental. One thing I loved is how an innocuous tulip flower led the culprit straight into cops’ hands and ensuing drama is fun to watch. It’s humorous and poignant in some parts.

Along with gripping suspense drama, another great feature is the dialogues are humorous. Bauer’s writing has magical quality which made me exhilarated. Each turn and twist had my heart thumping and adrenaline rushing through me.

I was gob-smacked at the identity of the perpetrators. Don’t you love it when the author takes your breath away with their brilliant twists.

Overall, I absolutely recommend this highly entertaining and fabulous mystery.

Thank you Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How I enjoyed the wit in this highly entertaining comedy thriller.  
How I was surprised by <b>Exit</b> by Belinda Bauer as I didn't quite realise it was this sort of book when I started out.  
My early notes were about how the tension was building.  These notes were soon followed by words about the madcap (mis)adventures of the elderly Felix Pink a good natured and good hearted fellow.   I observed he was doing things with the best of intentions but worried they may not have the desired effect.   I also wondered at the capability of the police who didn't seem to be the most switched on bunch.

Felix is an Exiteer and when he goes to the home of Charles Cann he knows what he needs to do, or more specifically what he's not to do.   Exiteer's are assisted suicide volunteers,  and Felix knows his role as an Exiteer is to be there at the end.   To spare the family from this ordeal.   To pick up and take home the used canister of laughing gas, the signed waiver relieving him of any responsibility, and the copy of the suicider's will.   He knows he is not to assist or encourage in any way.   Provided he doesn't deviate he's on the right side of the law.     And after 27 times he has it down to a fine art.    Until he doesn't and the wrong man ends up dead.

There were so many twists and turns and I just loved Felix and his story.   Belinda Bauer created a whole collection of interesting and entertaining side characters to accompany Felix through his drama.   Besides the plot which definitely held my interest her use of humor was excellent and she included themes of friendship, family, loss and grief, aging and failing health.  It was a feel good story and I caught myself laughing out loud several times.

This was my first Belinda Bauer title and I'm confident it won't be my last.   My thanks to her, to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review which it was my pleasure to provide.

This is the second book in a series, though you do not have to read the first one, Snap, to read this one, though I do highly recommend Snap. Felix Pink is a 75 year old retired pensioner, his wife had passed away and he lives with his dog Mabel in their house. Felix is also an 'Exiteer', someone who stays with a person that has decided to end their life until that person passes, they collect a copy of the will and a document absolving them of any wrong doing. He and a newbie, Amanda, attend a person who has decided to end his life, they respond to his house to watch over his last moments. Unknown to them, the person they watch pass away, and accidently assist along the way, is the wrong individual, which could mean they face a murder charge. Felix has a curious mind and decides to look into the situation a little closer, things he discovers leads him to a startling conclusion. This was a very enjoyable book, there was a bit of humour that fit in well with the story. Felix is an enjoyable character and I found myself rooting for him throughout the story. Highly recommended. Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for the ARC

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The story centres around Felix Pink. Felix is 75 years old and is an Exiteer. Exiteers are a secret group of people who anonymously volunteer to supply people with fatal illnesses and diseases the aids to pass away on their own terms. They do no assist but provide the tools needed to do the job and do the “clean up” afterwards. They don’t do anything illegal. At one of their Exits, Felix is joined by newbie Exiteer Amanda, and things go wrong. This causes a whole chain of events. The whole drama is investigated by the police.

We read the story from the perspective of Felix and DC Calvin Bridge. Both are great characters. Felix is a widow after losing his wife, and channels her into himself a lot, but he is a charming and wonderful character. Calvin is from a criminal family, albeit estranged from them, and he was an interesting character also. The story was really clever, and flowed lovely throughout the whole book.

I’ve read all of Belinda Bauer’s books, and this is by far one of my favourites. I would definitely recommend.