He’s obnoxious when the story begins, arrogant and demanding and generally awful, but he does change with time. But Wallace can still become a better person, not through an overnight epiphany, but through weeks of slow learning and gradual shedding of his old ways.
In this instance though, rather than being visited by three spirits who give him a chance to live differently, Wallace jumps straight to seeing the miserable affair that is his funeral before being whisked away to contend with the fact that there is no second chance at life for him. The tale begins in an almost CHRISTMAS CAROL fashion, with Wallace playing the role of Scrooge. It’s almost too saccharine, but the dream of having a place where you can offload all your emotional baggage without judgement is one I was willing to embrace. Mei, his Reaper assistant, is a little more brash and willing to tell people off, but is also willing to sit quietly while a ghost accepts that they have died. Hugo, the owner of the shop, is warm and inviting and has no judgement about a ghost’s problems, even when they emotionally (or occasionally physically) lash out.
The fantasy here isn’t truly wrapped up in the ghosts and reapers, but in the magic of having a safe space where everyone is supportive and has near infinite patience while you work through your own issues.
Klune’s tradition of writing cups of cocoa in book form. UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR is a charming standalone story that continues T.J. Stuck in the tea shop until he finds a way out, Wallace has nothing but time on his hands – and for the first time, realizes that maybe that when he was alive, he wasn’t actually living. But Wallace is a stubborn individual and refuses to cross, convinced there must be a way to get back to his body. It’s Hugo’s job to help souls come to terms with their death until they are ready to cross over on their own terms. There he meets Hugo, owner of the shop and ferryman to souls. Struck down suddenly by a heart attack, Wallace is at a loss of what to do with himself until a Reaper arrives to escort him to Charon’s Crossing Tea and Treats, a little tea shop in the middle of a forest. Wallace Price is dead, a fact he refuses to acknowledge.
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