2024 urban fantasy, second of its series. Frankie the necromancer
continues to work for her dead clients…
But where the first book at least paid some lip service to
Frankie's unique job, renting out (voluntarily donated) bodies to the
recently dead so that they can put right things that are bothering
them, here that's all forgotten and she's basically just Yet Another
Paranormal Detective. There are a lot of those already, and Edwards
isn't such an amazing writer that I want to read about this specific
extra one.
There's also lots of orchestrated angst. Harrow the cop was Frankie's
sweetie back in the day and is clearly meant to be her long-term love
interest, but we can't have that yet, so he does some unforgivable
things… and while Edwards wants me to think, when all the explanations
are done, that they are forgivable after all, I am less prone than
Frankie to say "oh well, he's a good guy even if he did that". He
kidnapped her brother! He laid violent hands on her! He didn't even
try to solve the problems that prompted these actions with words
first, he went straight to the violence.
Oh yeah apparently Frankie is also on the path to godhood, which is
handy when things get tough. Maybe that'll save her from her obviously
abusive future boyfriend. Or maybe he will be Redeemed by Her Love.
Either way I'm not going to be around to find out.
Really I was more interested in Carter, Harrow's redcap partner, and
her relationship with Frankie's adopted sister Josie, but we barely
get any of that because this book is remorselessly about Frankie… and
alas, Frankie here is kind of dull.
I may try some earlier Edwards but I don't plan to return to this
series.
Oh, neither amber nor gambling has any significance to the story, or
indeed shows up at all. It is probably unreasonable of me to count
that as a point against the book, but I do anyway.