REPORTS OF HIS DEATH HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED
James Goodhand
On Sale Date: July 1, 2025
Trade Paperback
9780778387466
$18.99 USD
336 pages
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Due to a case of mistaken identity, everyone believes Ray Thorns to be dead — while he is still very much alive. In the aftermath, he’s forced to reflect on the impact he’s had on the world and those closest to him in this heartbreakingly beautiful look at life and what we would all do if given a second chance, for fans of Dead Poets Society and It’s a Wonderful Life and readers of Fredrick Backman.
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?
This is the best kind of feel-good fiction: it’s deeply affecting but full of clever mishaps and enough laughs along the way. It takes the message from Dead Poets Society and mixes it with the tragedy of It’s A Wonderful Life and tops it off with an ultimately loveable guy like in A Man Called Ove. The result is a heartbreakingly beautiful look at life and what we would all do if given a second chance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
James Goodhand has written one adult novel, published by HarperCollins in the US, and two YA novels, published by PRH Children’s Books in the UK. His adult debut, The Day Tripper, was called “an essential, profound read” by The Washington Post. He lives in England.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Twitter: @goodhand_james
Instagram: @james.goodhand
BUY LINKS:
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/reports-of-his-death-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-original-james-goodhand/21769932
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Reports-Death-Have-Greatly-Exaggerated/dp/0778387461
reecaspieces 
I am doing a spotlight on this book too.
Nicely done!!
Thank you. I might read it at a later date. We shall see.