Deadly Lineage – M.J. May

Shunned by most species and abandoned by their warlock fathers, necromancers are marginalized, feared, and reclusive. Erasmus Boone is different. His warlock father chose love instead of abandonment. Unusually powerful and talented, Boone’s embraced his necromantic abilities and managed to carve out an existence within a world that would rather he not exist at all.

Humans aren’t the most respected species. Hell, they’re just a step above termites in the eyes of most. Detective Franklin O’Hare has never taken derision towards his humanity to heart. Determined to do the best given his human limitations, Detective O’Hare does whatever it takes to right the wrongs of the world—no matter the species concerned—even if that means working with a necromancer. Besides, Erasmus Boone isn’t so bad. In fact, he’s temptingly perfect.

Seeking solace after a difficult case, Boone walks the typically peaceful gravesites of Trinity’s Holy Cross Cemetery. The gentle hum of contented, long-dead souls ease Boone’s mind—until he’s hit with an unearthly cry unlike any he’s heard before. Unfortunately, that first soulful cry isn’t Boone’s last, each wail revealing a disconcerting pattern. There’s a serial killer in the wind, and their murders are resulting in souls with painful, missing pieces, leaving their voices incoherent and
indecipherable.

Boone and O’Hare must work closely together if they’re going to stop the killings. O’Hare learns quickly that keeping Boone safe from disgruntled clients and serial killers is a never-ending and nearly impossible task.

As O’Hare and Boone grow closer, so does the killer. They need to figure out who’s indiscriminately murdering seemingly unrelated species, and why the victims’ souls are devastated beyond repair, before Boone becomes another victim on the ominous list.

Deadly Lineage is the first book in the Necromancer Tales series. This series is a spin-off of the Perfect Pixie series and takes place in the same world but can be read as a stand-alone. Deadly Lineage is a M/M romantic fantasy mystery with an unusually sane necromancer just trying to make a living, a humble human detective attempting to ignore his attraction to the aforementioned necromancer, an arrogant but redeemably overprotective warlock father, a twisted serial killer, a questionably agreeable all-powerful djinn, damaged souls, humans-some redeemable and some not, a steamy Mississippi summer, and far too much sweet tea. Deadly Lineage has a HFN ending.

Mentions of violence, murder, souls bruoght back from the beyond, speciest bigotry, and a few characters of questionable morals and sanity.

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Deadly Lineage is the series opener of Necromancer Tales, a paranormal/urban fantasy spin-off of Perfect Pixie by M.J. May. This is a world where supernatural creatures live openly among humans. The story is in dual POVs.

The opening scene immediately grabbed my attention with jobbing necromancer Erasmus Boone chilling in an old cemetery, then tasked to summon the soul of a murder victim. Hovering around him is Police Detective Franklin O’Hare, in charge of the crime scene, and really because the good detective is crushing on the necromancer.

This was the first of what became a series of murders in which the souls of the victims were torn apart. Erasmus was puzzled, as only a necromancer—whether working alone or in collaboration with a witch or warlock—has the ability to do such a thing. He is the only known necromancer in the area.

Like most necromancers, Erasmus is a solitary creature, but he’s sweet-natured and full of southern charm. As a necromancer, he would have been chased out of his neighborhood if not for a kindly neighbor couple. In more vulnerable moments, he finds comfort in his mother’s reminder that he is loved.

Among the various supernatural species, necromancers aren’t very popular. People tend to associate them with necrophilia. Even their own warlock fathers shun them since necromancers tend to become mentally and magically unstable as they grow older and thus have short lifespans. Warlocks can sire only sons, and they’re either warlocks or necromancers.

One of the key aspects is Erasmus’s relationship with his father. His father is one of the most powerful warlocks in the US, and he loves Erasmus, despite Erasmus being a necromancer, and their time together might be short. He’s fiercely protective and readily provides Erasmus with protective charms even if he’s on the other side of the country.

Erasmus is friends with the djinn Aurelia, the best character in the series. As a creature bound to a master, she values having the power to choose. She can be unemotional and has a different perspective on things that humans take for granted, which is amusing whenever she sassed people in her flat tone. She saved the boys every time they’re in a tight spot, and I think she likes the option to do so.

Franklin is Captain America gorgeous and just as protective of his necromancer. He’s as dedicated to his job as he is to keeping Erasmus safe. It’s ridiculously cute whenever he gets into protective boyfriend mode, even when they weren’t boyfriends yet. And the romance is so slow burn, all we get are kisses and sweet tea, granted, they are some knee-melting kisses.

Erasmus’ relationship with Franklin is supportive, refreshingly drama-free, and one of the healthiest, even before they admitted their attraction to each other. I really liked that the author took time to build their romance instead of forcing an HEA. It made me excited for the next books.

The plot focused on the mystery and Erasmus’s connection to it. It’s pretty easy to guess the perp, but far from a letdown, it was fun tagging along with Erasmus and Franklin on their investigation. It also made the world-building more immersive, especially for me as a first-time reader of the Perfect Pixie/Necromancer Tales world.

Their world is not perfect, but I enjoyed reading about it. The highlights are the established magic system, necromancer history, the characters’ connections, the state of their world in general, and their everyday life. It’s fascinating because it’s what the real world would be like if supernatural creatures existed in the here and now.

Also, there were intriguing open threads that would be fun to follow in the sequels. And was that a power-up? Let that be a power-up!

Deadly Lineage is about the sins of the fathers and the trials of sons. Dark with that laid back Southern vibe, overall, it’s a comfort read that is just this side of deadly,

Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bits

Soundtrack: I’m Only Human Sometimes
Artist William Control
Album: Babylon

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