Scorch

Lex Bartleby is sixteen and works as a grim reaper, with a power that few people want anywhere near them: she can condemn souls to damnation. Even other Grims find her frightening. That reputation becomes a problem when part of her ability ends up in the hands of Zara, a murderer on the loose, and the residents of Croak, her hometown, turn against her.

To get away from their anger, Lex sets out with her friends on a long car journey to DeMyse. The desert destination offers plenty of luxuries and entertainments, but Lex experiences it as a kind of confinement.

Her strongest hope of freedom is to put an end to Zara's rampage, yet trying to do that from DeMyse brings its own puzzle, since the Grims there seem strangely unaware of the killings.