“Victoria Dalpe’s urban fantasy Selene Shade, Resurrectionist for Hire, is a spellbinding cocktail of supernatural intrigue, dark humor, and sizzling romance that will leave you thirsting for more.”
Selene Shade, Resurrectionist for Hire: 1 by Victoria Dalpe
In her latest venture the versatile Victoria Dalpe turns to urban fantasy and Selene Shade is a memorable creation
I first came across Victoria Dalpe in 2018 with her impressive debut novel Parasite Life.
This very mature and seriously dark YA vampire tale was initially written for adults before being adapted. Do not be put off by the YA label; this book has the juice to shock anybody, and I hope it has a rerelease sometime in the near future, as a long-since departed publisher originally released it. It was so impressive I featured Parasite Life in my recently published review Almanack, The YA Horror 400. If anybody knows how TicToc algorithms work to connect books to readers. In that case, I strongly recommend they look at this intense LGBTQIA+-themed vampire novel as it stands head and shoulders above most of the “TicToc made me buy it” recommendations currently dominating the market for older teens.
In 2022 Dalpe returned with Les Femmes Grotesques, an impressive eighteen-tale collection of short stories which explores the horrors which lurk just under the surface, and I found myself marvelling at her clever plotlines, changes of pace, varied settings and unsettling clashes of the everyday mundane with the supernatural. I love authors who remain tricky and elusive to categorise, and Dalpe snugly fits into that category as Selene Shade, Resurrectionist for Hire, is another smart change of direction.
Urban fantasy is not a genre I usually read.
But I found myself quickly sucked into Dalpe’s world of resurrectionists, half-lives (not quite zombies), vampires and necromancers. The world-building was particularly impressive, and within the context of the story, I marvelled at the various supernatural powers and how these contrasting creatures coexist in our world. Ultimately, this is a wild supernatural mystery thriller about saving the world by preventing a magical portal from acting as a doorway to a demon-infested hell world (and having a much-needed romance along the way). A normal day at the office for Selene Shade!
Our hero, Selene Shade, owns one of two ‘resurrectionist’ firms which operate in the small city where she lives. Resurrectionists have the ability to manipulate the dead and partially bring the deceased back to life (for a price). If somebody has cancer and knows their time is short, once they have finally passed away, Selene can bring them back to partial life, and if they follow specific rules, they can inhabit their previous dead body and ‘live’ a seemingly normal life. Many find this creepy, but it is accepted as standard practice where necromancers exist, and vampires lurk in the shadows as dangerous apex predators.
Selene is an excellent and sharp character who single-handedly carries the book.
Even though it is top-heavy with larger-than-life support characters. She has a downbeat, rather droll, sense of humour, which laments her lack of a boyfriend and social life whilst throwing herself into her work for comfort. Selene is written in the first person, whilst the narrative takes in other characters in the third person tense. I enjoyed how Selene was not just in the resurrection business for the cash, explaining the complex consequences which can occur as a result of bringing people back. An interesting example was that those ‘brought back’ are tethered by some bond to the resurrectionist, which becomes a crucial part of the later stages of the story.
The core plot of Selene Shade, Resurrectionist for Hire would not be out of place in a B-movie or the sort of thing which might go down somewhere seedy like Gotham City. There have been a series of highly gruesome ritualistic murders of young women of a sexual nature, which lead the police begrudgingly to Selene for help.
There is also the possibility Selene might be a potential victim, as it is discovered that those being killed have resurrectionist skills, even if they have kept them hidden because of the stigma attached to them. This brings Selene into the orbit of Detective Marlow, a ninety-year-old sexy vampire cop who is able to disguise his true nature from everybody except those with supernatural abilities. The pair hit it off, and the resulting chemistry brings some smiles to proceedings as the reader cares enough about Selene to be delighted she has found somebody (even if he is a vampire), and the romance smoulders along nicely, adding a softer edge to the book.
The support characters flesh the narrative out nicely.
Rakish Peter Partridge is a bored reporter looking for a story revolving around half-lives. As his father is approaching death (and potential return), this narrative allows the reader to get their head around how coming back to life works. I also thought Selene’s mousy and lonely apprentice, Germaine, was a believable and sympathetic character, even if she takes a wrong turn along the way. When Selene finds herself in a tight spot, the reanimation of all the little dead mice is also very cool. Victoria Dalpe’s magical system was first-class and advanced. Selene Shade, if she has a bit of literary luck and decent marketing, has the legs to mix with prominent-selling urban fantasy writers such as Cassandra Claire, Holly Black and Lucy Snyder.
As the book progresses, the mystery intensifies, the clock ticks towards the next full moon, and it evolves into a perfect page-turner with a wild, full-blown, over-the-top horror ending. With this novel, I heard Victoria Dalpe attempt to merge her love of urban fantasy with weird cosmic fiction while creating a believable magic system framed in a plot that was a bit lighter than her usual stuff. Selene Shade, Resurrectionist for Hire, completely nailed this, and it was a hugely enjoyable read.
I look forward to book two of this projected trilogy.
Selene Shade, Resurrectionist for Hire: 1 by Victoria Dalpe
In the first installment of Victoria Dalpe’s new dark fantasy series, we meet Selene Shade, a resurrectionist for hire who might just have taken on the wrong case.
With the ability to restore life to the dead, “Zombie Queen” Selene Shade has earned quite a reputation. Not that it helps her get dates. Her bed may be empty but business is booming. That is until her life is thrown into disarray when a brutal killer comes to town and all signs point to her being the next victim.
Enlisted by the police department due to her unique craft, she must make new alliances, deal with old rivals, and maybe even save the world—whether she wants to or not—all the while avoiding the gruesome allure of dark magic and the sacrificial ritual of a mad cultist.
In Resurrectionist for Hire, Dalpe weaves a dire tale of magic, murder, and romance. To survive, Selene will have to harness her power of the dead and overcome her struggle to connect with the living.
