Review: Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore

Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore

(Eric Carter #1)

February 5, 2013

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic

Contains: violence, language, disturbing images

Necromancer is such an ugly word, but it's a title Eric Carter is stuck with.

He sees ghosts, talks to the dead. He’s turned it into a lucrative career putting troublesome spirits to rest, sometimes taking on even more dangerous things. For a fee, of course.

When he left L.A. fifteen years ago he thought he’d never go back. Too many bad memories. Too many people trying to kill him.

But now his sister’s been brutally murdered and Carter wants to find out why.

Was it the gangster looking to settle a score? The ghost of a mage he killed the night he left town? Maybe it’s the patron saint of violent death herself, Santa Muerte, who’s taken an unusually keen interest in him.

Carter’s going to find out who did it and he’s going to make them pay.

As long as they don’t kill him first.

This may be my first necromancer read where the necromancer is the main character, and not just a side character. So perhaps I'm not an expert in this genre. But regardless, I was hooked. This was dark, gritty, and visually disturbing at times, but also splashed with humor and fascinating lore throughout. Despite not agreeing with all of Eric's choices (past or present), I really enjoyed him as our main protagonist and his first person POV. His imperfections made him even more intriguing. This was an addicting read I did not want to put down. We have this mystery of who brutally murdered Eric's sister, which brings up a slew of other issues that Eric has been avoiding for the past 15 years. It was fast-paced and smart, with a host of twists and turns. And though the story did not end in rainbows and kittens, I still appreciated the impactful way it did end. I'm normally pretty good at catching clues and figuring stuff out, but this one had me fooled. Kudos to the author for that. I immediately purchased book two. Looking forward to what comes next.

Amazon ~ Goodreads