The undiscovered deaths of Grace McGill.
When people die alone and undiscovered, it's her job to clean up what's left behind - whether it's clutter, bodily remains or dark secrets.
When an old man lies undetected in his flat for months, it seems an unremarkable life and an unnoticed death. But Grace knows that everyone has a story and that all deaths mean something more.
A really good read with good characters.
4*.

This was a quite interesting and peculiar read for me due to the story and the character.

The story is been told for the main character’s POV. Somewhere half the way it takes a different turn that although I did expect, it still kept me wondering what the end would be. The plot is dark, unsettling in parts, special, disturbing, peculiar.

The same can be told for Grace. She has her own sense of morals and rightness. She will be challenged and questioned and accused.

The end was fitting and I think couldn’t be any better for this story.

This book was very difficult to put down when real life got in the way. A real heart thumper of a page turner. A really interesting premise of the life of a death cleaner, cleaning up after a dead body has been removed. A really unusual murder mystery, a fantastic book.

This is without doubt one of the most disturbing books I have read. Grace McGill has a job that seems very macabre but it is an essential one, she cleans up after a person has died, usually they have lain undetected for a good while. Grace does this to make sure that no death goes undetected and every death has a meaning. The death of an elderly gentleman triggers something of a quest in Grace and this is the story of that quest. In the nicest possible way this book by C.S. Robertson is the most horrifying, dark, disturbing and strangely compelling book I have read in a while and I can only wonder about the way the author’s mind works.

This was a really interesting, if a bit odd (in a good way)! Grace is a "cleaner" who goes in after a death to deep clean the house. Most of her cases are the elderly who have died and whose bodies have remained for weeks or months since no one knew they were gone. And that's sad by itself...but Grace takes an interest and also constructs tiny shoebox type "houses" with life-like features so she can study them carefully. She also often attends their funerals and has a keen eye for noticing things and people that seem "out of place" or awkward for some reason. Because she too is lonely, she concentrates on these poor victims and sometimes digs into their pasts to hopefully discover commonalities. But there's another side to Grace...but for that you need to read this novel! Enjoy! (Out on Jan. 20)
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill is a dark and intriguing story that had me hooked from the very first page. Immediately, there's a sense of unease within the pages, is it just because Grace has such an unusual job or is there something more sinister bubbling underneath?

This was an engrossing mix of a twisty mystery with some very unexpected turns, combined with an enthralling and perplexing character study.

Grace is the absolute star of this book and her character is developed and unveiled dramatically as the book unfolds. At times, she will make you feel pity and guilt, other times she will repulse you and she will most definitely shock you.

Overall this was a gripping and creepy mystery which kept me reading and guessing right up until the end.

Well I don't think Grace McGill is a character I'll forget in a hurry.

This melancholy tale relies solely on the voice of its main protagonist and works beautifully throughout. I was hooked into her life immediately, the work she does is horrific but necessary and in some ways that also describes how you may end up feeling about Grace herself.

There is an unfolding mystery here which is endlessly compelling, not only in the link to a missing girl that Grace gets obsessed with but in Grace herself, who she is, why she does what she does. The author manages the undertones with insightful precision and it is difficult to turn away from.

With an ironically delicious ending and a hard look at human nature, The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill is an oddly quirky read in today's plethora of twists you won't see coming and has a unique tone that lingers. I thought it very good indeed. Recommended.

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity and the invitation to read/review this book.

I find it quite difficult to review The undiscovered deaths of Grace McGill I quite liked bits of it and it was certainly a different theme to anything I have read before, but also found it a bit depressing. Grace McGill cleans people's houses, but only after they have died.

The main character, Grace has a very unusual job and lives a very difficult and lonely life shared only with George (her cat). It seems the photos she takes of the houses aren't enough, so in her spare time she creates a model of the rooms. She is very much a loner and goes on a quest when she finds a clue of a daisy from the body of a "client" that hadn't been discovered for 5 months.

I didn't really like the character but its an interesting read, if a bit gruesome at times and did go a little downhill. Would I read another book by this author? Not sure, would depend on the blub.

I though Grace’s job was really interesting. The social commentary about those who have no one to notice if they are dead alongside the way Grace gets to peek into a person’s life as she’s cleaning up made for a strong starting point and a unique perspective on people and society.

However, I personally found some of the details about her cleaning rather unnecessary. It slowed the pace without adding anything to the story and would definitely be off-putting to someone more squeamish.

Overall this book just felt confused to me. The first half didn’t feel like it was going anywhere and then the second half was quite chaotic. I struggled to understand Grace’s motivations and didn’t find her a compelling character. As the story progressed, there was an inconsistency in her actions which lessened the impact of the mystery. I did however love the moral ambiguities which were bought up and I would have liked more to be given to those debates within the story.

Wow. This book was so unexpectedly (and brilliantly!) dark and I loved every page. From the premise - it being the story of a woman who cleans up after the deaths of people who have been found long after they died - to the twists and turns it takes, I found it so compelling.

I have to admit I wasn't sure whether I would enjoy a novel about a crime scene clear who decintamates properties after people who died alone and undiscovered for many weeks or months.

Actually I loved it! Quirky and intriguing. Grace lives one with her stray cat and looks after her alcoholic father. She prides herself in her work being meticulous she starts to see patterns that the police and forensics have missed and so the story continues.....

I shall be interested in the author's next book.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a chance to read this book early in exchange for an unbiased review.

Oh Grace. My heart hurt for Grace throughout this whole book. She is a loner, has no real friends or connections. Her father is a terrible alcoholic who is mean and nasty. Her mother has passed away. She cleans up after deaths, deaths that haven’t been found for sometimes weeks or even months. She lives a very lonely life with only George as her companion.

This story did not go where I thought it would. It is dark and sad and incredible. I devoured this book, and was up reading at 3 am to finish. It’s been a week since I finished and I still think of poor Grace.

Definitely worth the read. Would highly recommend.

This is the story of Grace. Grace lives alone in her flat with her cat. For a living Grace cleans up homes of people who have died and lay undiscovered for weeks or even months. Whilst going about her job Grace makes some connections where the police haven’t and decides to investigate

I went into this book with only a vague memory of the synopsis. I found it a little slow at the start and it felt more like a character study but I was intrigued enough to carry on reading. The pace picked up quite quickly thankfully. Grace is a complicated character and I was a bit conflicted as to whether or not I liked her but ultimately found myself rooting for her. There were a couple of unexpected twists that genuinely shocked me. I really enjoyed this book although there were a couple of difficult scenes that were hard to read for me personally. I will definitely lookout for other books by this author.

When a life ends, her work begins….

There are not many books that leave me speechless… this is one of them! C.S. Robertson’s debut novel is so original and intriguing that, although I finished reading it a week ago, I am still thinking about the main character Grace and her story.

Grace McGill is a death cleaner- she is called in to clean up after a body which has been left undiscovered often for weeks or months. She is a very lonely woman, with only George the cat for company. She has to deal with an angry alcoholic father who constantly bullies and demeans her. When an elderly man is found in his flat after lying dead for many months, Grace knows that his life might appear unremarkable, but there are always secrets and a story ready to be discovered. What she uncovers with this man leads her to delve into his past actions and she finds herself the centre of unwanted attention.

Grace as a main protagonist is truly a fascinating person. She is damaged, lonely, starved of any sort of affection or companionship (except for her cat). She is almost like a ghost in life; no one notices her and she keeps to herself, not liking to make herself visible to others. She is perfectly suited to her job in that she is an obsessive cleaner and wants to put things back to where they should be. Her obsession with those whose homes she cleans is very weird and it takes on a life of its own in the book (no spoilers but when you come across it, you will know!) Robertson’s attention to the details of her work were a fascinating inclusion. I have always loved crime scene documentaries, so to get an insight into the later stages of dealing with a death is intriguing. Grace is an unreliable narrator and the reader must work to figure out what is the truth and what is lies which I really enjoyed.

A strange, haunting, weird but fascinating novel, Robertson has excelled in creating a psychological crime thriller like no other. It is so different to other books in this genre and I am really looking forward to what Robertson creates next. Prepare to delve into a dark and sinister world with plenty of jaw-dropping revelations throughout. 5 stars!!

Thank you to NetGalley and to Hodder & Stoughton for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill will be out tomorrow, the 20th of January.

This is a strange book. First of all the protagonist has the unusual - although essential - job of cleaning up the scene after someone has died. In the majority of cases they have lain undiscovered for a long time and the environment takes more than a quick flick of the duster.

The theme of loneliness runs throughout the book, from the undiscovered deceased older people to the protagonist herself and even her cat. When she visits the home of the departed she goes through a respectful ritual before the gruesome cleaning operation begins, demonstrating the sympathy she has for these poor souls.

As the the actual job itself, this is described in meticulous detail with the reasons behind the process, mainly as a large information block near the beginning. The story is told in the first person in a casual, personal manner with the disjointed thoughts from her disjointed family and an obsessive fascination with a fifty-year-old photograph.

Some of the threads in the plot are a little far-fetched and slightly odd, but so is the whole concept of the book. A dark and disturbing tale, certainly something different and George the cat is a wonderful addition.

This was a fascinating subject, the life of a crime scene/death at home clean up professional. There was A LOT of information about about what exactly happens to a corpse when it is left undiscovered for months on end. Partly a treatise on the way that society can ignore someone until they become noticed by their death and partly a crime story the protagonist Grace McGill is hard topic down. The twist is unexpected and clever and Grace keeps the reader guessing!

There’s so much more to this novel than I first supposed from the blurb. The twists and turns keep coming at you as the author takes us on a deep dive into Grace’s life and psyche, as Grace deep dives into the life and past actions of a lonely old man who died and lay undiscovered and unmissed. A clever combining of murder mystery, social commentary and psychological thriller, every layer peeled back offers new joys. Quite gripping, this book not only reveals itself to you slowly, page by page, but reveals you to yourself slowly, too. Twisted, brilliant, beautifully written, you will be happily drawn into the darkly haunting narrative that will stay with you as you go about your day.

This proved to be a real page turner - a great story combined with an interesting and complex main character. Grace McGill is a cleaner - a cleaner who specialises in removing any trace of the dead from the homes that they've lain undiscovered in for far too long. It's not a pleasant job but it's one that's particularly suited to Grace. It's whilst she's cleaning one of these homes that she stumbles upon the disappearance of teenager Valerie Moodie more than 50 years ago. Despite being reserved by nature, she's also quite obsessive and can't seem to leave the mystery alone.

Having not read any of Craig Robertson's previous work, I'm delighted to have a back catalogue of books to explore.

I thought this was a really unique read. I’ve never read a book about cleaning up after a death. I’m sure it happens but you never think about that do you. A good read. I can be squeamish but this was so good I didn’t think about that.

The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill by C.S. Robertson

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Death is not the end.
For Grace McGill, it's only the beginning.

When people die alone and undiscovered, it's her job to clean up what's left behind - whether it's clutter, bodily remains or dark secrets.

When an old man lies undetected in his flat for months, it seems an unremarkable life and an unnoticed death. But Grace knows that everyone has a story and that all deaths mean something more.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. Robertson starts off strong and I was intrigued but unfortunately my interest wasn't maintained. Overall it was a good read it just had so much more potential.

Rating 3/5