Score: 4.5/5 Bookmarks

Thank you to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for gifting me review copies of Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune.

Wallace Price is an a-hole…and he’s dead.

A reaper, Mei, comes to collect him from his own funeral and take him to Charon’s Crossing Tea and Treats. The tea house is a transition point from this life to ‘what’s next’. Wallace refuses to cross over though, and the more time he spends at the tea house, with the rag-tag bunch of reaper / ferryman / ghosts, the more he actually learns about living and all the things he missed out on in life. Essentially, it took Wallace dying for him to find his humanity and work out what is truly important.

As always, the author has created such wonderful characters (both main and supporting) and I was getting some major Terry Pratchett vibes, which I’m always ok with.

There is some romance, but just like in The House in the Cerulean Sea, it isn’t the whole focus of the story. Parts of this one felt a tad bit slow, but overall I enjoyed it and while the point of the story really hits you over the head, it’s a good point so I think it’s ok that it isn’t very subtle.

The audiobook was narrated by Kirt Graves, who has an impressive number of audiobooks on his resume including Out of Character and Conventionally Yours. I will say that while I didn’t especially enjoy the narration of Out of Character, I did really enjoy this book. It was just under 15 hours long and you can download a copy via the button below, or get a physical copy here.

Synopsis:

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with.