I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
How to Save an Undead Life
by
Hailey Edwards
urban fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by Black Dog Books LLC on August 19, 2017 and has 240 pages.
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First in The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy urban fantasy series set in Savannah, Georgia, and revolving around Grier Woolworth.
My Take
It’s an odd and scary start with a woman conversing with her sentient house. I gotta say, Edwards cracks me up with how Woolly communicates with Grier. It helps that Edwards uses first person protagonist point-of-view from Grier’s perspective.
It’s a world separate from humanity and itself split into High and Low Society — god forbid the twain shall meet. It’s a useful conflict with a Grier who is High while her best friends and neighbors are Low. Nor is that the only bigotry practiced.
It’s a Society rife with betrayals and cover-ups, and Edwards does a good job of scaring me with its evils and individuals who won’t do something for nothing.
Thankfully, Edwards skims the detail on the torture, but she sure dishes it out with Grier’s nightly nightmares. That includes the circumstances of the judgment, one made without a trial. It’s a series arc right along with the secrets Maude locked into Woolly’s basement — a treasure trove of necromantic knowledge and artifacts. Grier’s reflections on what her dreams had been are rife.
There’s some bitter humor in here that many of us can relate to, especially Amelie’s comment about her and Grier on the playground eating apple slices instead of sour candy straws because “even then Mom didn’t want me to live my best life”.
Grier does have an interesting stance on Boaz. She knows he can get any and all girls on their backs with just a glance, and she and Amelie have their own words to describe such situations. That “dead-bug” position cracks me up. Still, Boaz has her back, providing help in so many mundane ways.
And pink is anathema.
The Story
Newly released from prison, Grier is not homeless, but she no longer has a good name or money, which means few friends on the ground. Nor is her necromancy of much use, since she’s but a barely educated assistant. Her experiences have left her leery of everything and everyone, even as she grasps for alliances.
Worse, Woolly’s protective wards are breached and Keet parrotnapped. Then the price for Grier’s release is laid out.
The Characters
Grier “Squirt” Woolworth, an assistant necromancer and the ex-Woolworth heir, is pardoned and back at her sentient house, Woolly, a.k.a. Woolworth House. Its carriage house has been converted into a guesthouse. Maude, a powerful necromancer, had been Grier’s adoptive mother. Keet Richards is Grier’s psychopomp, a parakeet Grier had raised from the dead. Gus had been Maud’s driver. The stuffy Linus Andreas Lawson III is/had been Maud’s thirteen-year-old nephew. Odette Lecomte is a famous seer and a family friend. Evangeline “Evie” Marchand is the mother Grier lost when she was young. Clarice Woolworth Lawson is Linus’ mother and Maud’s younger sister; she’ll become the new Grande Dame. Arnaud is part of Dame Lawson’s staff. Nina Compton Woolworth had been Maud and Clarice’s mother.
Boaz Pritchard is a man whore and one of Grier’s best friends, a boy with whom Grier has been in love forever, who enlisted in the army when Grier was imprisoned. Amelie is Boaz’s sister and another best friend, currently pursuing her MBA. They’re neighbors living next door. Macon is their young brother who adopted Keet while Grier was in prison. Jolene is Boaz’s motorcycle, a silver Triumph. Wilhelmina “Willie” is Boaz’s new bike. Annabeth Pritchard is their mother and the matron of their family.
Cricket Meacham is the owner of Haint Misbehavin’ Ghost Tours. Her employees include Grier (Blue Belle), Amelie, and the gay Neely Torres who is a corporate accountant by day and an artist with hair and makeup at night. Houses on the ghost tours include Volkov House which was eventually purchased by Mayor Rouillard. The Black Hart had been known as the White Sparrow’s Tavern owned by the jealous Brutus Sparrow. The Black Dog Brewery is owned by the Clarks. The Rumrunner was founded in 1789 by a pirate.
Cruz is Neely’s very jealous husband. Erin is Neely’s second youngest sister who noticed he had a good eye and a steady hand; Regan, his eldest sister, asked him to do her makeup for her graduation. He does have two more sisters.
The Society for Post-Life Management is . . .
. . . a group of necromancers split into High and Low Society. Ruled by a Grande Dame, in this case Abayomi Balewa, who had sentenced Grier to prison. The Lyceum is Society headquarters. Omar Hacohen works for the office of the Grand Dame. Sentinels are the police/army of the Society with the Elite an upper echelon. Heath is one of the Elite.
Taslima “Taz” is a friend of Boaz’s in the army and is good at self-defense.
The Undead Coalition is . . .
. . . part of the Society and an organization of vampires split into clans. Danill Volkov of Clan Volkov, a Last Seed Vampire, has come home again. Lena is one of Grier’s jailers. Dr Becky Heath is a physician. Ariana is the upstairs maid. Mercia is another of the clans.
Atramentous is a stone-cold prison for the worst of the Society’s supernaturals. An avowal is a blood oath between consenting parties. The Culmination is last rites for a necromancer.
Resurrections are humans resuscitated by necromantic magic who rise as vampires — their seed is fertile for the first 36 hours. Last Seed vampires are those who are sterile and immortal from birth. Deathless vampires are capable of reproduction and immortal. A heritor appears to the heir to the Clan master. Progeny are the vampires created by a necromancer.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a reflection of the story, DARK. The background is primarily black with a glimpse of an old Victorian house represented by the towering front with its upper-story window lit up in this dark night, a full moon misty in the background with Grier, her long hair swirling around her in front of it. She’s three-quarters turned away from us but her head is turned back. She’s wearing a short brown jacket and jeans with ghostly figures in the background. The series information is on the right by Grier’s waist. The title begins at her knees in an embossed gold. At the very bottom is the author’s name in an embossed silver.
The title is too true, for this is a tale on How to Save an Undead Life.
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