Greg Levin

When Eli’s father dies, Eli receives a strange request from a retired police sergeant (and family friend) to assist with the helium-induced assisted suicide that his father was supposed to help with. Eli is conflicted at first, but he’s seen terminal suffering firsthand and there’s the financial benefit to consider. He never expected the act to give him a rush.

Fast forward. Eli embeds himself in a terminal illness support group where he becomes somewhat of a legend as the local angel of mercy. Then he meets Zoe. Suicidal, a bit unhinged, and rather than assist with Zoe’s exit, he convinces her to stick around. It’s the old “boy meets suicidal girl and finds out she’s homicidal” trope. Just kidding. I don’t think that was a thing before Greg Levin.

People die and tension ensues.

I have a macabre sense of humor. I’d recommend this book only for those readers who do, because lighthearted sarcasm is used as coping mechanism for the subject of assisted suicide. There is a quirky, offbeat romance and some darker undertones (minor references to rape, as a trigger warning). A fun read with likeable characters despite their circumstances. If I had to complain, the cynicism is overdone in a few places and the ending falls under the category of “my, isn’t that convenient?” Unique. Fun. A clever idea well executed. Pun intended.




… (más)

“Many a true word is said in jest”, is a quote often attributed to William Shakespeare. Greg Levin gives great expression to the phrase in this entertaining and enlightening novel. Suicide and euthanasia are controversial topics, but in Greg Levin’s talented and imaginative hands they’re the basis of a unique novel that had me laughing and thinking.

Eli Edelmann returns home when his father dies. Eli is directionless, takes too many drugs and is disinterested in life until police sergeant Rush, an old friend of his father, approaches him asking him to euthanise him. Eli’s father had promised to do it so Eli agrees to do it and his life changes forever.

He saves Zoe from suicide and she joins him in his euthanasia business. The demons Zoe battles make for a tumultuous time, which, along with the constant threat of discovery, maintains the tension.

Told in the first person, Eli is witty, acerbic and likable who narrates an unpredictable story that has a surprising ending. The best novels are entertaining and have something to say. “The Exit Man” does both in abundance.… (más)

Sick to Death by Greg Levin manages to be humorous, thought-provoking and touching all at the same time. Gage is a character you can pull for because he readily acknowledges his flaws while also doing as much good as he can.

So, for a sequel, the group becomes home to an ever-changing (by necessity) cast of terminally ill disposal specialist. How would such a support group establish a procedure to enlist new people as others, uh, retire? There can only be 2-3 at any time active and the others would need to stay in the dark about it. Hmmmm, if the details can be worked out, I'd like to see a series on this terminal disposal unit.

Anyway, the characters are well developed and the reader becomes invested in them, riding the roller coaster throughout. The premise is one that many have likely pondered in one form or another but it is Levin's injection of just the right amount of humor that keeps this from becoming either too dark or a complete farce. That is not an easy line to walk.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy some dark humor, or at least some humor around some dark subjects. The story succeeds as a dramatic (not sure which genre it best fits) novel on its own, so those who like that genre should enjoy it also with the humor being a extra ingredient.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.… (más)

Death Can Set You Free
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The concept for Sick To Death by Greg Levin hooked me and the opening pages drew me in, keeping me on the edge of my seat until the last page was read. Death. Disease. Vigilantism. Terrorism. Retribution. Murder.
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Over the previous six month, there was only one thing Gage has become more efficient at than killing…and that was dying.

In the lottery of life, Bob Gage has won a dead cat, an ex – wife and a cancerous pancreas! After finding out he has cancer and was given a death sentence, Gage comes out swinging.

According to my brother, I only became funny once I started dying.

A year to live.

What would you do with the time left. Probably not what Gage does! I knew what he was going to do, but not the way he would go about it and I love it. Sometimes the only way to see justice done is to do it yourself.

Cancer has a way of ruining a perfectly good murder.

Diarrhea’s what happens when you’re busy making deadly plans.

A humorous accounting of one man’s decision to take matters into his own hands. And the outcome is very surprising.

I never anticipated the creativity and originality Greg Levin displays creating these wonderful characters that jump off the page and into my heart with their willingness to step up, sacrificing their last days on earth to leave it better than they found it. They were drawn together by their disease and death and had a camaraderie many could never understand. Death kept them living.

The moral issues are addressed in a way some could find agreeable, others would condemn them no matter the why. What would it take to make you kill? What about the social and moral repercussions?

I laughed at ‘Tumor Terrorism’, ‘Metastaside’, ‘The Stage Four Slaughters’. Why not go out with a sense of humor and a few laughs.

I empathized with the gang. I have always loved vigilantes, loved the Charles Bronson movies, but, after reading Sick To Death I find why vigilantism is so bad, even when it’s good. Where do you draw the line?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Sick To Death from Greg Levin.… (más)