Rating: 4⭐️
“Forgot to feed your goldfish before your untimely demise?
Need to jot down a Will?Say a Goodbye?See the Grand Canyon?
Then Come On Down! Located on Downing Street, in Savannah, GA,one mile from the scenic Bonaventure Cemetery -The Body Shop”
A intriguing cover and woman necromancer as a main character were the first details about Fair Market Value (The Body Shop Book 1) by Hailey Edwards that grabbed my attention. Plus I hadn’t read anything by this writer yet, and that’s always a plus.
Then there’s that premise. Rent a body. Unfinished business? Necromancer Mary Frances Talbot, Frankie as she’s known, runs a body rental business out of her family’s auto repair shop in Savannah, Georgia. Tip toeing the legality of the Necromancer laws, she’s trying to make sure her siblings, who have their own paranormal stories and needs, stay safe and have a home.
The personal stories for the Mary family (how they got their name for instance) is horrific and well written. Their backgrounds are truly disturbing and scenes/nightmares are threads that continue to make an impact on the story and their current situation in various ways. Plus each sibling represents a different paranormal species which I thought was a very different element to include. Frankie is a necromancer, Josie is a dryad, and brother Matty is a Oneiros.
One thing I struggled with was the world building. I had no sense of structure, magical, political, or historical, to put this story into context. There’s references to a Necromancer Committee and Laws but Edwards doesn’t lay out the foundation knowledge for the universe this is being played out in. Turns out,after research ,all this author’s series are set in the same universe but you have to be a reader of those books to be set up here.
Anyway, there no heat but a potential romance with a ex love now detective, Samuel Harrow of the Savannah Police Department. When one of her “rentals” isn’t returned on time and becomes part of a crime, they reconnect.
The mystery or mysteries as they begin to add up are good ones. But the really interesting elements are the ghostly personalities who are “family “ or friends, how much they are part of Frankie’s life, and the twists that pop up in the dramatic moments at the end.
Edwards appreciates historic cars and writes them with care into the story. It’s the same with other fine detail aspects of this novel. The siblings, Josie and Matty have strengths and individual poignancy layered between them. The dynamic between them is beautifully balanced and heartwarming. I can’t wait to see how this family develops further.
And the tension between Frankie and Samuel, which was left at an awkward place.
A definite recommendation and now onto the next book in the series.
The Body Shop series:
Fair Market Value #1
Amber Gambler #2
Midnight Auto Parts #3
Cheater Slicks #4 – Dec 25,2025
Other linked series:
The Potentate of Atlanta (6 book series) – this is set within The Potentate apparently
The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy (9 book series) in Savannah
Buy link
Fair Market Value (The Body Shop Book 1)
Blurb
Forgot to feed your goldfish before your untimely demise? Need to jot down a will? Say a goodbye? See the Grand Canyon? Then come visit us at The Body Shop, where unfinished business is our business.
Mary Frances Talbot—Frankie—is a necromancer, probably. Hard to say since she never met her parents. She can see the dead, talk to the dead, and a few other things that aren’t strictly legal. It’s fine. No worries. As long as she doesn’t get caught.
The whole not getting caught thing was going well until Samuel Harrow blew back into town wearing a Savannah Police Department uniform. He might be a witch, but he hates magic. He’s not a fan of Frankie either. Which explains why he’s her ex.
When Frankie’s less than legal side gigs result in dead vampires, she knows she’s in trouble. Big trouble. And that’s before Harrow offers to help. With him waving a Get Out of Jail Free card in her face, Frankie doesn’t have much choice but to accept.
But that doesn’t mean she has to forgive. She’ll certainly never forget him breaking her heart or turning her over to the police or… Yeah. They were doomed from the start. Something tells her this investigation will be too.
- Publisher: Black Dog Books, LLC. (April 18, 2024)
- Publication date: April 18, 2024
- Language: English
- Print length: 266 pages
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 