The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill by CS Robertson is an cracking mystery thriller that is perfectly plotted, deftly written and so, so neatly concluded. 5⭐ from me!

Grace McGill is not very fond of interacting with other people. She works alone, has very few friends and only reluctantly visits her father. Her job has exposed her to people living alone and her curiosity leads her to a mystery that has remained unsolved for almost 50 years. Grace is deeply affected and is driven to find an explanation for what happened.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this thriller which at times made me a little bit uncomfortable. Look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Hmm wow this one left me with mixed feelings.

One on hand, it's a really unconventional suspense novel with one of the most intriguing protagonists ever. It's the first time I've read a mystery with a main character who works as a death cleaner. I really enjoyed all the insight into Grace McGill's job and how she tackles it, both physically and mentally.

I was enjoying this slow burn until it unfortunately fizzled out for me at around 60%, when things went in a totally direction. Not that it was a bad turn per se, but I just found it very unconvincing and inconsistent with the rest of the book so far.

However, the ending was great and held up the book again. I also loved Grace's character arc and she's definitely someone who you won't forget anytime soon.

If you are looking for a unique, character-driven and satisfying read, this will be right up your alley.

What happens to those who die alone is not a topic I (and probably many others) have really thought about, Who cleans up after them? What happens to their belongings? Who arranges the funeral? This book explores that subject through Grace MCGill who is the one responsible for the after death cleaning process. Grace notices a pattern emerging from her recent jobs and from there a mystery unfolds. I cannot say much more as that would certainly lead to spoilers.

The mystery was very intriguing and went in a direction that I was not expecting. As the story unfolded I found myself unable to put the book down.

Grace was a fascinating main character and I very much enjoyed learning more about her. Her morbid sense of humour also helped to keep such heavy subjects light.

I would recommend this to lovers of a good mystery story.

I got The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill by C.S. Robertson from NetGalley for fair and hoest Review

The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill tells the story of a woman in her 30’s who live in Glasgow and works as a death cleaner.
Which means her job is to go and clean up the rooms where people have laid alone, weeks, or even months after they have passed away.
Grace is very good at her work, however there are times when she connects with the individual who has died, as everyone has a story to tell, though some are more interesting than others.
The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill is a psychological thriller that will keep you gripped to the end, especially with the narrative of the lead Character Grace Macgill.
Graces’s point of view is the only one you read all the way through the book, which works very well as the writer C.S. Robertson’s writing draws you into this character. In fact, the first chapter of the book is probably one of the best I have ever read, as it drew me into Grace’s world.
While the novel has the name of the main character in the book, as part of the title, I must say that the way the writer describes the city of Glasgow.
Not only does the city from a backdrop to the story but it also sets the mood of the novel by the way that the writer talks about the city as not as well looked after as it used to be, this was especially true when talking about the local newspaper offices.
While the character’s voice and the location really brought me into the story if the plot failed to live up to the characterisation of and the location descriptions by the writer would have been for nothing.
However, in this novel you will not be disappointed with all the twists and turns, that come out of Grace trying to find out what happened all those years ago.
With the plot line, disceptations of the location as well as the voice of the leading character, the novel, The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill by C.S. Robertson, is in contention this early to be one of the best books of 2022

The Undiscovered Deaths of Gracie McGill by C S Robertson is a very unusual story with a very unusual character in Grace McGill. Grace is a woman who lives on her own and works as a cleaner, having formed her own company. She cleans up after the dead, those people who have lain undiscovered for many months. She cleans their homes and and leaves them ready to be lived in again.
The story of Grace McGill is fascinating and tells the story of a woman who does her best for those lonely forgotten people, whilst herself being a lonely and forgotten person with a secret.
I really enjoyed reading this book and would read more by this author in the future..
Highly recommended.

I am not sure if I enjoyed this book immensely or not. I was surprised with the ending but the subject matter itself when all the events were made clear I did not like. I do understand that the subject matter of this book is in some way always in the public eye and a matter of debate and whilst i did enjoy the book, I am not sure I want to read about it, All in all a good book but not sure if for me.

I started off loving this book but by a little over half way fell out with it. I have rea£ books where an unreliable narrator woks but with this book’s plot being as complex as it was it just tree me when I realised this was the case.
Grace seemed such a fascinating character and the original job she does which was explained so well could have led to a brilliant read but it failed to live up to its promise.

Death is something many of us fear but it comes for us all, eventually. It’s something I choose not to dwell on but for Grace McGill death is part of her everyday life. She’s not a doctor or nurse, a funeral director nor a priest but a lonely death cleaner, someone who is paid “to remove and disinfect, to soak, decontaminate and dispose” after a body has lain undiscovered for weeks, months or even years. Based in Glasgow, Last Wish Cleaning is Grace’s company and it is her unusual occupation that is the starting point for this incredibly dark, riveting mystery to thrillingly unravel.

If I hadn’t had such a heavy work schedule I would have zipped through this in just one or two sittings. Why? Well it’s true to say Grace’s voice is distinctive and it is compelling, her perspective on the world around her unique. There’s a hint of desperation tinged with deep rooted unhappiness as her words implore you to imagine life through her eyes. You simply can’t ignore a voice that has deliberately remained silent for so long and neither did I want to. I was morbidly fascinated by details of her work which she undertakes with the utmost care, precision and pride, showing respect and dignity for the deceased when it would appear that there is no one else around to assume that role. With an obsessive and curious streak running through her personality, no detail, however small, is overlooked as she methodically and painstakingly removes all traces of previous inhabitants, building a picture in her mind, with what little clues she has, of each individual left to take their last breaths alone. The sense of loneliness, like the imagined stench of decomposing flesh permeates every inch of the melancholic narrative. You cannot escape it. It adds a depth to the storytelling that blew me away. Grace’s self imposed solitude with only George the cat for company (why does every lonely fictional character have a cat??) means she has a natural affinity towards those she cleans up after. By her own admission she is one of life’s oddballs and in my opinion these type of characters are often the most complex, intriguing and fascinating. I always like them and how can you not like Grace whose line of work automatically places her in the “good citizen” category? Apart from George, her cleaning, and a rather macabre hobby that’s an extension of her day job there’s only a vile alcoholic abusive father who periodically demands her attention. Both these characters are superbly crafted. Grace made me want to cry and fix her at the same time, even though I’m not convinced she’d want me to whilst I wished her father could have a taste of his own medicine.

However, in some ways this is just a prelude, albeit a crucial one, to the mystery element of the narrative that begins to take shape in one dead man’s apartment. If you view Grace as a character who’s gradually dying inside then the opportunity to solve a long buried mystery seems to invigorate her and bring her back to life. As she willingly tumbles down this rabbit hole, trespassing on unfamiliar and dangerous territory, ruffling a few feathers in the process, Grace discovers a new impetus in herself and a lot more else besides. She cannot leave the past alone, following every trail with compulsion, spurred into action by a desperate longing to discover the truth which includes evidence of warped, immoral behaviour and unbreakable loyalties. The truth and dispensing justice the only way she knows how are her two her overriding objectives, nothing and no one will stand in her way, no matter how dark and twisted events become. And oh my goodness they really do become dark! For in the midst of all this comes a humdinger of a curveball! I stared at the words, my mouth agape, rereading in disbelief before the truth finally sank in. This revelation overshadows everything else, but in a good way, helping you to fill in any previous missing blanks. Although some of the clues in Grace’s journey of discovery are far easier to piece together, all in all there are ample surprises to satisfy the harshest critics. I loved the way in which the mystery and thriller elements are seamlessly intertwined.

I’ve never heard of C.S Robertson before but this book has made a lasting impression on me. Clever, refreshingly different and with a killer twist halfway through what’s not to love? Not to mention the ending…..well I’ll leave you to discover how you feel about that! A fantastic mystery thriller that deserves a place on the bestseller lists.

My thanks as always to the publisher Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

When death occurs, for Grace McGill, it is not the end, but rather it is the beginning. Think about what happens when someone dies, particularly when alone, and undiscovered in their home, often for weeks or months. Grace’s job is to come in and clean up what gets left behind. Clutter, menentors, heirlooms, all traces of bodily fluids and harmful pathogens, and occasionally, the darkest of secrets.
When Grace cleans up after an old man who lay unfound in his flat for months, at first glance it seems unremarkable. He lived a sad and lonely end to his life, completely unnoticed. But as Grace goes through his flat, she uncovers more of his story. She discovers he had been keeping something hidden. Something she is determined to get to the bottom of.
I am not going to give away any more, bar to say this story was haunting. It was dark, and incredibly original. It made you stop and think. It made you feel guilty, angry, and feel compassion for someone you perhaps shouldn't. I was hooked until the very end. This book was completely different from anything I have read before, particularly in this genre. A definite gritty and gripping page turner.

*I received a copy of this from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

I loved this book! It was so different to the thrillers that I usually read and I really liked it's uniqueness.

This book tells the story of Grace McGill, from her point of view. She is a specialist cleaner for situations where dead bodies have lain undiscovered for a long time. When she is cleaning up after one particular death, Grace discovers something that may lead to answers in a cold case regarding a missing girl from decades before. Grace does some detective work of her own and finds herself in the middle of a threatening situation.

The book is well written and I found myself falling in love with Grace McGill, she was a really likeable character and made me smile on plenty of occasions. There are twists and turns a plenty and I definitely found myself emotionally involved in the story.

Overall, I would give this book 4.5 stars and highly recommend it.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

What a fascinating and incredibly different murder mystery this is. I love our heroine Grace, who is so flawed and vulnerable yet has an inner core of steel that I don’t think even she realizes she has. Her toxic relationship with her father makes for difficult reading. The descriptions of decomposing bodies and the reasons they decompose is reminiscent of Patricia Cornwell’s early books which I found fascinating for their forensic detail. I would challenge anyone to anticipate how this who dunnit would pan out. It was a huge shock to me and made this book a five stars and I have no hesitation in recommending it as a must read. Expect a thrilling, interesting read from start to finish and definitely expect the unexpected.

Grace McGill, the narrator, is in her own words ‘a lonely death cleaner’. It is her unenviable task to go into the homes of those who have died alone and have lain undiscovered for weeks, months or even years. She will collect a box of their belongings to be given to any relatives that can be located. She will clean the place thoroughly while wearing the full bio-hazard kit and she shares with the reader the details about what exactly she has to clean up and why.
We meet, as she enters the flat of a Thomas Agnew, after first saying a Buddhist prayer. He has lain unnoticed for 6 months. The bodies are always removed before she enters but their traces remain. She cleans thorughly.
As she looks around the flat, she notices the usual signs of a life now gone: photos, clothes and mementos. However, while looking through his belongings, she discovered that he kept newspapers. A pile of them are dated 23 July and copies have been kept with the date but at 10 year intervals. There are also piles of them in the wardrobe. In a drawer she discovers a black and white photo of 5 young men, clearly on holiday, and when she turns it over, there are names written on the back. One of them is Tommy – a younger Mr Agnew. She is intrigued and attends his funeral. It’s a sparse congregation. But she found a dried daisy on Mr Agnew’s pillow which she also found at another flat of the forgotten dead. Are they connected?



Grace begins to probe Agnew’s life and a possible connection to a missing person case from over 50 years ago. Do Agnew and his friends have a secret that they wanted to keep hidden? And someone soon makes it clear that they want Grace to stop raking up the past….
I liked Grace; she was a loner, a little OCD, lumbered with her appalling widower father, and living alone with her rescue cat, George. In her spare time. she creates dioramas of the scenes that she encounters during her work and I immediately thought of the Nutshell crime scene models. A journalist who interviews her calls them ‘art therapy.’ She does a job that few of us could do and yet has to be done. I sensed her compassion for the dead and her anger at how they could often be lying dead in a house full of people living in other flats and no one notices. The Beatles song, ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ is referenced.
The book takes an even darker tone about halfway through when we discover Grace’s other sideline and the book builds towards an ending which somehow seemed appropriate and was also unforgettable. It is a very dark tale but leavened with Grace’s wry comments. After all, the cleaning company is called ‘The Last Wish Cleaning Company’ and she describe one of the mourners at Agnew’s funeral as a corpulent, Toby Jug man.’ However, I did wonder why she put up with her awful father.
I would like to read more about Grace as I found her a complex and fascinating character. Ultimately, she was someone who was trying to do the ‘right thing.’

MY thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

This was brilliant. The twists and turns have you gasping and throwing yourself hard into the story. Grace is a complex character with an interesting psyche, obsessive personality and a tragic past you definitely feel drawn into the mystery she's shrouded in with her perspective. Definitely would recommend.

Grace as the name suggests is a wonderful and thoughtful woman.
Having an unique job of cleaning up after the dead and with as much humanitarian as possible.
But it's not just a job for her, she wants to know how these people have been left unnoticed for sometimes months on end without anyone knowing that they have died.
Everyone has a life before death and has a story to tell and Grace wants to discover the people that everyone has forgotten.
A truly moving story.

Unique unusual premise for a story. Grace is a death cleaner, the person who goes into clean after a body has been left for a period of time. The plot is interesting but I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I can see from all the five star reviews that’s it’s me that’s out of step with everyone else but I found this book a bit of a chore to read. I was determined to finish it, and it gets three stars for the clever unusual plot and the twists but somehow I just didn’t love it like I thought I would. I guess you can’t love them all..

This was a very strange story. about Grace McGill. She had a very traumatic childhood and as a result she doesn't like seeing people suffering or causing suffering to others. She has her own special way of dealing with this suffering which is rather questionable. Fascinating conclusion

Grace McGill lives a lonely life in Glasgow. Her traumatic upbringing has made her uncomfortable around other people and distrustful of them. She finds meaning and purpose through her job, which gives her all the human contact she needs. Except the people she connects with aren’t alive. She is a lonely death cleaner - deep-cleaning and putting right the homes of people whose bodies aren’t discovered until long after they have passed away.

It’s a grim task. Through Grace’s wry narration, we see the judgement she endures from other people - neighbours, her vile father, even the police - recognising their disgust as guilt that although they wouldn’t do her job, someone has to. Making her the weirdo makes them feel less guilty.

Deeply moved by the loneliness and pain of others, and outraged that anyone can be so forgotten or overlooked, Grace acts as an avenging angel: “I’ll make order from the chaos, make right some of the wrongs that loneliness brought”. In each home she says a prayer for the dead and seeks out mementoes as a reminder of their lives.

In one such home she finds a collection of old newspapers from the same date every year. Does this tie in with the 1960s photo in a smashed frame that she finds in the same room? And what is the connection between the dried daisies that are turning up at death sites, too trivial for anyone other than Grace to notice? In her own obsessive manner, Grace puts herself in danger as she starts to investigate the mysteries of the past, because no one else cares enough to do it.

This book has all the elements of a regular murder mystery and it’s certainly a twisty page-turner. But Grace’s unusual preoccupation makes it a wholly different, and darker, story. Her troubled life is entwined with those of her ‘clients’ as she seeks to get the stories of the forgotten heard. It is a novel haunted by the effects of guilt and loneliness.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are entirely my own.

I’m sure everyone’s heard at least one story about someone who was found dead in their home for quite some time, months even. Their absence was not remarked upon by family, friends, not even their neighbours. How sad is that? Well the last person that takes note of them is the woman who cleans up after they are gone, it’s Grace Mc Gill, death cleaner.

Grace has a 10-step plan each time she needs to carry out a deep clean and it’s very thorough. Grace takes the reader (once or twice) through what happens after bodies start to decompose and how she needs to clean their final resting place. It’s a unique approach, it fascinated me and Grace is quite unique (and fascinating) as well. A little quirky right from the beginning maybe, because she lives alone with her cat George, thus leading a similar life to the people she cleans up after, and because she makes dioramas of the rooms the people who died were found in, right till the smallest detail. She is also at the beck and call of her father who’s an ugly drunk most of the time. They don’t seem to be able to stand each other so it was a real mystery to me why she didn’t just ignore his calls. There’s a lot more to be discovered about Grace and her family history but that would be spoiling things too soon.

At one house she finds newspapers of the same day but for different years and Grace packs them up with a few other mementos of the deceased to give to his next of kin, only to start wondering about the significance of the date of the papers once home. She also finds the strangest little thing next to his pillow, a little dried daisy. It won’t be the only time she’ll find this little flower either, but what does it mean and who left it there?

I found the investigation about Thomas Agnew’s past and the secret he took with him to his grave a little slow going in the first half of the novel, nobody wants to talk, everybody’s angry at her for asking questions and Grace walks around in the footsteps of another person without much result at first (I know I’m impatient!) but the significance of the daisy sure made up for it. This side of the story was so cleverly put together and I had not seen this coming at all.

Grace cares about the lonely people, the ones lying in their homes all alone, their absence unnoticed. Grace is a remarkable character, determined to solve a 56 year old secret that leads her to Bute and to age-old conspiracies. She’s a person I won’t easily forget, especially with the ending the author had in store for her, it was utterly fitting even though I felt a bit sadness about it as well.

The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill might be a little bit of a macabre read, but don’t let that put you off because it’s worth it! If you don’t mind your reads more on the darker side then make sure to put this one on the list, it’s so unique!

If you are looking for a different murder read, then this may be the book for you. Grace McGill has an unusual occupation in that she does deep cleans on houses where the occupant has been found dead but has lain in the house unnoticed for several weeks or months. However during one clean she comes across a photograph of five young men, taken in the early 1960's, and in Rothesay as she able to ascertain from the background. Then other discoveries are made leading her to "investigate" what happened back then. Subsequently in the story we are given a OMG moment completely out of the blue!
I liked the story probably more, being a local to Glasgow and knowing of all the locations which are written about. What it does do is to make the reader have opinions on what is going on throughout, be them legal, moral or emotional or a mixture! I did find it a very thought provoking read.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

Well, this is like no book I have read before and most definitely in a good way and whilst, in my honest opinion, I don't think the cover does it justice, please don't let it put you off.

I'm sure we have all read or heard about those very sad situations where someone dies and lies undiscovered for days, weeks or even months and have wondered what their story is and why they died so alone in the world; this is a story that unlocks some of that mystery but from a very unique perspective - the cleaner who removes all evidence of that lonely death.

Grace McGill is that cleaner. She does a job that very few people would want to do and she is good at it but there is more to Grace than meets the eye; she is an extremely interesting and complex character that is, what some might call, slightly odd but I found her fascinating.

Things plod on at a fairly sedate pace where we get to know Grace, her background, her foibles and eccentricities. She goes into great detail how she sets about cleaning a scene, which some might find a little too descriptive, and how she tries to get to know the person and their story.

One such death has her intrigued and she sets on a path to find out more and this is where the story and action really begins and just about half way through, there is a totally unexpected and jaw-dropping moment which totally surprised and shocked me and completely shifted the book into something else and I was hooked until the end racing through the pages to find out what was going to happen next.

This is like no other book I have read before; it's a little bit strange with a quirky but endearing main character and a unique story that I would recommend to others who enjoy reading things that are a little bit different from the usual.

I have never read anything by this author before but will definitely be looking out for him in the future and I must thank Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.