Lucy Kline, Necromancer

 

Lucy Kline, Necromancer
by Tom O'Donnell
 
Book: Stand Alone
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Pub Date: September, 22, 2026
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon  Bookshop
 
For fans of Supernatural and true crime, Lucy Kline, Necromancer brings back the dead with a perfect blend of humor and heart.

It’s been two years since Lucy’s twin sister was presumed dead. As the only person who knew about Louisa’s plan to sneak out on the night she was killed, Lucy still feels responsible for her sister’s grim fate—despite the fact that it was Lucy who eventually cracked the case, putting Louisa’s killer in jail.

Or so she thought.

When another girl who looks just like Louisa goes missing under similarly mysterious circumstances, and ghostly dreams begin to plague Lucy, she throws herself back into the investigation. The more clues she uncovers, the more her nightmares bleed into reality. And signs start to point to the necromancy.

With the help of her classmate Howie and a retired medieval history professor, Lucy must find the culprit behind these disappearances and finally come to terms with the grief that’s haunted her for years.
 

My Review: This book was a love/hate situation for me.
 
I loved the title and bio. I love a good necromancer book, and this book was very promising.
 
At first, I didn’t really love the book. The pace was slow that it bordered boring. The character development wasn’t really there and I couldn’t stand Lucy. Sure, she lost her twin sister and that can change a person. But after so long, it almost came off as if she isn’t done grieving nor able to move on enough in her life and it doesn’t make her look that great. The constant moodiness, attitude, etc. wasn’t something I was caring for but then again, being that it’s YA may have a part to play in that since YA is very hit or miss for me these days.

HOWEVER.

Despite all that, yes, if you push through it, the book finally becomes what I’ve been waiting for and couldn’t put it down.
 
Roughly around the halfway mark is when things really picked up and sucked me in. 
 
Lucy and Howie are getting deeper into this case. Believing that what should sound crazy isn't crazy after all. Creating a pentacle for herself, Lucy found it to be helpful that night. 
 
They keep on with everything and start to believe that the real person behind it all was brought back to life and taking these girls and controlling their spirits. 
 
Everything is starting to move faster, the more that happens to move you want speed ahead to see what happens it truly grips you. Lucy and Howie are characters that time some getting used to and I'm glad there was character growth, least for Lucy cause she was difficult at first.

The ending was relieving in a way. The person behind it all is no gone. They are able to properly bury Lucy's sister and her family is starting to come back together. Lucy made some good friends and all seems to be moving forward now.

After pushing though, this book is certainly worth the read. What I will say is don't go in with the hope of heavy necromancer use. It doesn't go into more until closer to the end, but even then it's not as much as I would've liked to see but overall still a good read for YA.

 

My Rating:

✪✪✪✪