Illustrator Cecilia Ruiz navigates readers through a graveyard of bizarrely ironic and often darkly humorous demises in The Book of Extraordinary Deaths. Presented in chronological order from the seventh century B.C. to the present, the lights are extinguished from the famous and infamous alike, all in noteworthy fashion. Karma makes a flashy appearance in more than one of the peculiar obituaries, while other unfortunates have less dramatic but no less unusual fates. Dancing to death, braining by eagle, drowning in hot molasses and losing in a cockfight are among the unfortunate ends Ruiz highlights, with correlating illustrations that would make Edward Gorey and Charles Addams proud. Mystery and crime readers are sure to enjoy this engrossing and morbidly entertaining collection. Those who revel in quirky trivia will also find this assemblage of outrageous epitaphs a real scream. --Jen Forbus, freelancer