Book description
When Casey Maldonado and Death hitch a desperate ride away from one
disaster, they throw themselves right into the middle of another. The
semi in which they are traveling crashes. Before the Grim Reaper takes
Evan the Trucker away, Evan whispers to Casey about a stash hidden in
the truck that she should keep away from them. Them turns out to be a
band of men who want that package no matter what it takes, and they
believe Casey knows where-and what-it is. Alone and injured, with
neither money nor identification, Casey es-capes from the ER doctors and
her pursuers and hides out in the cornfields of Kansas. The valuable
stash soon points Casey toward something big and complicated. Uncertain
how to proceed, Casey is led by Death to a group of teenagers looking
for something other than dust and crops to fill their days and nights.
Using their limited resources, she finds her way through a maze of greed
and desperation into the clutches of people who don't care who gets hurt
as long as they get what they want.... Casey Maldonado is not having a
good life. Her son and husband died in a car accident and she is trying
to figure out what to do with her life. Her survivor's guilt gives her a
constant companion - Death- which appears only to Casey. Having no car
or money, Casey hitches a ride with a trucker named Evan. But
unexpectedly the semi is involved in a deadly accident and before Evan
died he told Casey not to let “them” get a stash he has hidden in the
truck. Even though Casey is injured in the accident she manages to
escape from the hospital and hide in corn fields. Unbeknownst to Casey,
the stash she found in the truck might cause her death. Volunteering in
a soup kitchen, Casey finds a friend in Eric whose girlfriend apparently
died of an overdose. However, Eric doesn't believe it and Casey agrees
to help him find out what really happened. “The Grim Reaper's Dance” by
Judy Clemens was an intriguing, fast-pace read from the beginning. I was
really fascinated with Death and how he/she guided Casey into some crazy
situations and at the same time trying to explain why Casey lived and
her family didn't. The chapters were short which made you just want to
keep reading one more. The author provided wonderful descriptions of her
characters, the land and what was going on in Casey's mind. As I was
reading this book, I kept asking myself what would I do in Casey's
situation - it was fun trying to be the detective. Judy Clemens was
born into the Mennonite faith, but discovered her motorcycle leanings
later in life. At home in rural Ohio, she lives with her husband and
two children, where their livestock consists of three housecats.
