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REPORTS OF HIS DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED
By: James Goodhand
A Novel
Mira Books
July 2025
On Sale: July 1, 2025
Featuring: Ray “Spike” Thorns
336 pages
ISBN: 0778387461
EAN: 9780778387466
Kindle: B0DFFVHKBN
Paperback / e-Book
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Thriller | Literature and Fiction Literary
Perfect for fans of The Dead Poets Society, It's A Wonderful Life, and A Man Called Ove.
A lifetime ago, Ray “Spike” Thorns was a well-regarded caretaker on a boarding school’s grounds. These days, he lives the life of a recluse in a house rammed with hoarded junk, alone and disconnected from family or anyone he might have at one time considered a friend.
When his next-door neighbor drops dead on Spike’s doorstep, a case of mistaken identity ensues: according to the police, the hospital, the doctors—everyone—Spike is dead. Spike wants to correct the mistake, really he does, but when confronted with those who knew him best, he hesitates, forced to face whatever impression he’s left on the world. It’s a discovery that brings him up close to ghosts from his past, and to the only woman he ever loved.
Could it be that in coming face-to-face with his own demise, Spike is able to really live again? And will he be able to put things straight before the inevitable happens—his own funeral? The result is a beautiful look at life and what we would all do if given a second chance.
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