Alistair Fall and the Restless Dead

Thank you very much to the author, publisher, and to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐ 4.75/5 stars

I was hooked by the synopsis for Alistair Fall and the Restless Dead, but I’ll admit I wasn’t sure the mystery itself would fully win me over. It’s hard to write a good fantasy novel, and even harder to write a good mystery. Turns out I had nothing to worry about, as this book shot straight to my favorites list. That prologue? Instantly hooked.

The worldbuilding is SO good. It’s hard to make a world feel alive, ancient and lived-in, but Marianne Gordon nailed it! I especially loved the little snippets at the start of each chapter: decrees, scraps of writing, a recipe, bits of lore woven right into the world, giving insight and context into each chapter. Such a small detail but it does so much heavy lifting. Osk really feels lived-in instead of just explained to me. If you’re into the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab, or Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, you’re going to feel right at home here! I love both of these series, so I was attached to this book almost instantly.

The best part of this novel are the characters. Alistair is a brooding, serious, government-sanctioned sorcerer, and I found him more charming than I expected to. Sunny is basically his opposite in every way: a street-smart, free-spirited, and completely loveable thief, with a huge spot for cats, baked goods, and anything shiny (relatable, honestly). Alistair is genuinely bad at talking to people. Sunny will bolt the second a conversation gets too close to comfort. And watching these two, a prickly loner and a woman who trusts no one, slowly become friends out of necessity and then choice? That was my favorite part of this book.

The mystery had me hooked too. There was a murder investigation, forbidden magic, forgotten gods trying to resurface, and necromancy. There’s so much going on in Osk, and I loved piercing it all together right alongside the characters instead of feeling ten steps ahead or totally lost.

And that ending! It landed exactly where I needed it to, and knowing there’s book 2 coming has me genuinely giddy. I need at least ten more books about these two, no exaggeration.

If you love a fantasy murder mystery with a found-family friendship at its heart, pick this one up!