Hold Me Closer, Necromancer ~ Lish McBride

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

I have to admit, the only reasons I bought this book were because the title amused me and, thanks to my Borders going out of business, it was cheap.  I took it home, threw it into a pile and more or less forgot about it.  Then, this weekend as I was sorting through a random stack of novels, there it was.  As my eyes wandered over the cover, I knew it was time.  Snuggling down in my nice comfy bed, I began my journey with Sam, the unsuspecting necromancer.  About a chapter in, I realized this was actually turning into a good read.  Well, I certainly hadn’t expected that.  After taking a moment to be pleasantly surprised, I continued reading and didn’t stop until the last page

This novel is considered horror and there is some gore involved as well as  adult situations.  However, the humor keeps the story from being really scary.  The characters are likeable, average Joes.  There’s even a hint of a “bro-mance” between two of the main male characters.  The prose is fun and casual, with amusing and sometimes down right funny moments.  Hold Me Closer Necromancer has a ton of personality.  It’s almost like hanging out with a particularly quirky friend.  This is a debut novel by Lish McBride and the writing is a bit rough around the edges, however, I felt it really worked within the story and added character.

This is really a fun romp in the land of horror and well worth the read.  Oh, and if you are a fan of Dean Koontz’ Odd Thomas, I think you will really enjoy Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.  A lot of the world building reminds a bit of Koontz, as well.  I haven’t found any information about a sequel, but I’m hoping the author has one in the works!