Finn Gramaraye is having a tough day. Exiled to a formless void 25 years ago for a crime he didn't commit, he is planning to re-enter the human world when suddenly he encounters sabotage by mysterious forces. The worst part is not knowing specifically who has it out for him. It could be the unidentified entities who framed him when he was 15 years old, it could be factions in the world of wizardry, or it could even be someone from his own family.
The Gramarayes are necromancers, gathering magic essence (mana) from deceased magical folk. Dad has gone insane and mom is just a ghost. Finn's eldest brother, Mort, has kept the family business afloat during his exile, and might think Finn, a talented Talker who speaks to the dead, is back to take over. Finn's youngest brother, Petey, is sweet, dumb, incredibly loyal and thinks he's a werewolf, while Finn's older sister, Samantha, is allergic to magic and wants nothing to do with the family or its funeral home.
In addition to figuring out who's trying to frame and exile him yet again, Finn has to contend with conflicted feelings about his high school girlfriend and the girl next door, who's also sweet on him but more likely to smack him than kiss him. Because Finn's been gone since the 1980s, plenty of cultural shifts and unfamiliar references add to his confusion.
Finn Fancy Necromancy is Randy Henderson's first novel, and it's filled with seemingly effortless world-building and solid plotting, plus a fun murder mystery thrown in for good measure. --Rob LeFebvre, freelance writer and editor