Synopsis:
A grandmotherly necromancer seeking resolution for her past with the help of her loyal entourage: an undead cat and a spectral knight.
A girl on the run from the Eternal Empire for the mysterious power she possesses.
When a chance encounter pulls them together, Gam Gam will do what it takes to protect Mina from the rogue sergeant hounding her–including raising the dead. As long as they’re dressed for the occasion.
Review:
A cosy necromancer fairy tale. Yep. You read that right. I needed something as a palette cleanser. Leaning towards a novella and with a bittersweet but uplifting tone after finishing what was ultimately a series of rather dark, but excellent, fantasy books.
I came looking and found it on the first attempt.
When you combine ‘cosy’ with ‘necromancer’ you know it’s not going to be all trips to the meadow to pick flowers or quaffing a cocktail down the pub. Yes, there’s knitting, and baking, and amid all that, a spot of raising the dead while weaving a tale of how we cope with grief. Gam Gam and her menagerie of the dead are the stars of the book, but how Mina grows from a grief-stricken twelve-year-old on the run from her father’s murderer (See, I told you. Cosy) to a magic user capable of plucking memories from the mind is the story at this book’s heart. Dealing with her father’s death with a spot of revenge along the way, while helping the ageing, and also grieving, Gam Gam to heal along the way.
There’s found family, generational friendships, skeletons, zombies and sloughy along the way. Need a spot of whimsical darkness? Dig this one up.
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