Finn Fancy Necromancy

Gr 9 Up—Henderson's debut is a hold-on-tight romp through all things weird and fantastical. Finn Gramaraye knows a few things: he is a necromancer, he has been imprisoned for 25 years in the Other Realm for a crime he didn't commit, and he can't wait to go home. There is one thing he doesn't know—who framed him. And just as his soul is about to be transferred back into his body (it's been hosting a fairy this whole time), he and his jailer are attacked by forces unknown. Then the body of the woman he was accused of attacking is found dead on his kitchen floor, and Finn realizes this is not going to be the homecoming he was hoping for. With no memory of the last quarter century, he must rely on the few people who are still talking to him, including his werewolf brother and a berserk Arcane Enforcer, to find out who has it in for him and why. Henderson's take on fantasy feels like an asylum for the dangerously magical and a support group for mundanes (humans) who have been loved, then abandoned, by witches and warlocks. Although Finn's body is technically in his 40s, he still has the mind of a 15-year-old, narrated to perfection by Todd Haberkorn, who also expertly voices Pete the werewolf and girl-next-door Dawn; this juxtaposition leads to awkward moments of self-discovery and loads of Eighties pop culture references.