Death & Other Inconveniences

Thank you to Vagrant Press/Nimbus Publishing and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this book.

What begins as something of a farce becomes a humor-filled and generous story of grown-ups finally growing up.

Margo, 62, newly widowed by the inelegant death of her second husband (her first left her for another man), is petite, pretty, and a wizard with beauty products. She also is indecisive and dependent on others for everything from finances to remote controls. And she has to deal with her late husband’s embittered first wife and daughter. Fortunately, she has close, mostly sweet, relationships with her grown children and grandchildren, her first husband and his partner, and her much older sister and brother.

As she learns to live on her own, return to work, and make decisions, those around her also move forward with their lives. This quirky coming-of-age story is both delightful and insightful, and can be appreciated by adults at any stage of growing up.

4.5

This was a fast, enjoyable, farcical look at a particular family in New Brunswick, Canada. Well, as the synopsis says, "Dick dead." He choked on a ham sandwich. And the cleaning up of his various messes falls on his wife. However, this is not a good thing, considering she is fairly incompetent and hasn't quite grown into her adult responsibilities. I mean, remote controls confuse her. Although I do have to admit I can't get the hang of them anymore myself!

But Margo is going to learn—oh yes, she is. Over the next year, she will learn how to do things like stick up for herself, live alone, and even calmly help bring a new life into the world.

It is a sweet read perfect for the beach or poolside, filled with character growth and plenty of chuckles.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Nimbus Publishing/Vagrant Press, the author, and NetGalley.

“Death & Other Inconveniences” by Lesley Crew, is NOT, like the title and cover suggest, a cozy mystery. There’s no whodunit in this story, although it starts off with a death. From the very first page, Dick’s Obituary, readers know they are in for a different sort of ride. Luckily Julia rewrote the obituary her mother Margo first made for her husband. While it’s true that Dick the butcher did choke to death while eating a ham sandwich and that Dick’s first wife and daughter are insufferable (although she did say long-suffering), it wouldn’t be quite right to print all that.

It is true that Dick’s death caused all sorts of inconveniences, namely his penchant for gambling left his rather incompetent Margo penniless. For the first time in her sixty-four years, she needs to develop strength to be an adult. Which means becoming less dependent on her children and first husband and getting a job.

This was a fun read that is set in New Brunswick, Canada. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. My opinions are my own.

This was such a fun read even though the first thing that happens to Margo is her husband’s death – Sounds weird right? But after her husband dies, Margo finally comes into her own…in her fifties. Go, Margo! Margo can finally get her act together with the help of her children, their spouses, her older siblings, her ex and his new spouse, and a couple of friends. She is very fortunate to have this family, and I loved them warts and all. I especially loved the way the author wrote Margo’s granddaughters. I was killing myself laughing, especially when they repeated words they shouldn’t have heard in the first place.

This is an ordinary story about an ordinary woman’s ordinary life but to me, it was extraordinary in the mundane. Lesley Crewe’s writing is superb. It is profound, wise, mysterious and thought-provoking. Death & Other Inconveniences is different from any book I have ever read. I highly recommend you pick up this or any other book (my favourite is The Spoon Stealer ) by Crewe, you won’t be disappointed.

Mundane, fun, sharp, and so so so funny.

Margo is a 62 year old widow. Her husband, Dick -perfect name-, dies from choking on a ham sandwich. This spirals into Margo having to uproot her life and deal with the consequences of his mistakes.
There is family drama, family love, constant use of the word, “fuck” - which I am a huge fan of. This story really is just jammed packed with everything you’d need while reading on the beach or at the pool on a warm summer day.
We follow Margo as she transitions and blossoms into becoming the badass older woman that she was always meant to be. It might take a year to get there, but her growth is so beautiful and real. The tight knit family and support that she has around her will get her through.
I loved every single character, even the shitty ones. Everyone had their own story, their own lives, their own voices. Even the animal companions came to life! (Oh, and speaking of animals, Olenka provided the most wonderful and weird facts, bless her.)
A book with heart, humor, dealing with a death in the family and how those around us help to heal and mend us - a heartwarming story with the best characters. Would it be selfish of me to want a sequel? Please????

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own.

Yes, death can be very inconvenient. It is especially inconvenient when your husband The Dick (I mean named “Dick”) dies and his gambling debts leave you with nothing. The widow's family can be named The Quirkiest Family in the Land, and there's a donkey named Fred who plays with a yoga ball and farts.

We learn how inconvenient death can be from Margo, Dick's widow. She has to figure out how to put her life back together at the age of 62. Margo is a sweetheart, but she's also an airhead!

All this makes it sound like a plot that is way over the top. But, anyone who has read Ms. Crewe's books knows that her characters are anything but “normal”. And, if there is anyone who has not read her books, it's time to start!

The story makes me laugh in places but it also makes my heart proud to watch Margo evolve from the airhead who needs taking care of into a strong woman, ready to take on the world. She has a lot of support of her family through the transformation.

Every character in the story is interesting. They get introduced fairly quickly at the beginning but it doesn’t take long to figure out the family structure and their outside world.

Ms Crewe has a unique writing style that is hard to describe. All her storylines are a little over the top, as are her characters. But, they are all heartwarming. I'm always smiling when I finish one of her books. She's an automatic read for me, without even reading the blurbs or synopses. And, because she is Canadian, from Cape Breton, most of her books are set on the East Coast, an area I am very familiar with. It’s always fun to have a vision of the setting in my mind which might be close to the actual thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Not my usual read but I read through this book so fast I absolutely loved it. So well written, Such heavy topics made light and readable. I really really enjoyed this book and highly recommend.

I ADORE Margo! She's a great character and I loved that this book stayed fairly light while in heavy topics. This was a quick read that left me wanting more from Margo because I just adored her so much.

The cover summary hinted at a quirky family story and it delivered that.

Complicated feelings around death and grieving mixed with a zany writing style made this light and funny. There was substance as well. Each of the characters had their own issues to work through while navigating through family dynamics.

I read this at night before bed and it was a good pallet cleanser after some long days.

Author Lesley Crewe shows us that humour is a great coping mechanism for stressful situations.

I love that Margo has the ability to shift perspective and distance herself from what has the potential to paralyze her with anxiety and helplessness. She’s not only learning to live alone for the first time but she’s dodging well-meaning comments and the domino affects of the death of a family member.

I’d love to incorporate a little of Margo’s cognitive restructuring so that I can redefine and reappraise stressful situations more positively and more humourously.

I was once told that humour was the shock absorber of life. It certainly has enabled Margo to take the blows.

Allow Crewe to transport you to rural Cape Breton to learn how a group of amazing women deal with life’s ‘little’ stresses.

I was gifted this copy by Nimbus Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for a chance to review this book. This is a voluntary review. This was about a 62 year old woman named Margo who's husband Dick dies and she loses her home. She now needs to figure out her whole life. Where is she going to live? What can she find for work? How can she learn to do everything herself? This is her "coming of age" story.

At times I found it funny, but mostly I found it a little heart-breaking and depressing. I think many people go through something similar when a spouse dies and although her children love her they could sometimes be quite harsh with her. I did like the relationship she had with her sister though and her son's girlfriend (Olenka) was a quirky, fun character.

I also enjoyed the ending as Margo's character really grows and she learns how to stand up for herself and take control of her life.

"Death & Other Inconveniences" is laugh-out-loud funny and relatable. It begins with the morbid humor of an unexpected death and hastily corrected obituary, and continues through the ups and downs of a tight-knit family you will want to spend more time with. Full of heart as well as humor. It's the perfect beach read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
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This book was a delightful surprise. I shouldn’t use the word delightful exactly, but it’s the closest approximation. The book talks of the ordinary mundane things that follow the death of a man. The events test the personalities of some people connected to him, a few directly and others indirectly.

Margo becomes a widow unexpectedly. She is a little relieved at the situation until she finds out about the state of her finances. Her family pitches in. They are a motley collection of flawed but loyal people. The way things change over time, especially Margo’s outlook in life was quite fun to watch unfold.

I did not expect such a simple plotline to be that effective, but each character’s interaction with others was entertaining in its own way. They were so ordinary that one could see it all legitimately play out somewhere. I could go into the eccentric nature of the people individually as well, but I think they deserve to be met directly in the book, in the format the author deemed best.

This story is entirely character-based, and I would recommend it to fans of the genre. I would love to try out another book by the author.

I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.