Hart Ralston’s work as a marshal has made him a nomad while his parentage marks him as a demigod. Traveling throughout Tanria, Hart patrols the borders for bodies needing to be put to rest before (or sometimes after) they become zombie-like drudges intent on causing havoc and taking human life. The creatures are easy to deal with. So are the patrols so long as he can ignore his self-imposed isolation and how small his life has become. The real problem is the bodies. Actually, the real problem is when Hart has to take the bodies to Birdsall & Son.
Undertaking is competitive in the border towns near Tanria and small operations like Birdsall & Son struggle to compete against larger chains that can cut costs and corners for the bottom line. Rather than falling on the shoulders of the Birdsall patriarch or son, it is one of the Birdsall daughters–Mercy Birdsall–who is doing everything she can to keep Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat. All while pretending the male succession will continue despite her younger brother getting queasy at the most basic of undertaking duties.
Mercy knows that most people think stringing along the business is a fool’s errand. They might be right. But she also knows most people who are not named Hart Ralston are at least civil enough to keep their thoughts to themselves. But every time Mercy and Hart come face to face they seem to bring out the worst in each other.
Desperately lonely and still smarting from Mercy’s latest tongue-lashing, Hart writes a spontaneous letter to “A Friend” hoping for any kind of connection. No one is more surprised than Hart when he receives an anonymous reply. Or when he writes back.
Writing to a mysterious friend is the exact distraction Mercy needs from her mounting responsibilities and the uncomfortable knowledge that her family is taking her for granted. On paper, Mercy’s friend might be everything she could want in a partner. So much so that she worries the real life person will never live up to the letters.
What Hart doesn’t know is that the friend who is quickly claiming a piece of his heart is Mercy, the woman who drives him to distraction every time they interact–which has been more and more often as drudges start showing up with alarming frequency.
After years of writing each other off, is it possible that the simple act of anonymous correspondence will bring this most unlikely couple together? in The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (2022) by Megan Bannen.
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The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is Bannen’s first novel for adults. Hart and Mercy are cued as white with varied skintones among the supporting cast and characters falling across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. The book is a functional standalone but Bannen’s companion novel The Undermining of Twyla and Frank is set in the same world and after the events of this book. Close third person perspective chapters alternate between following Hart and Mercy with excerpts from their letters also included. The audiobook is ably narrated by Michael Gallagher and Rachanee Lumayno.
This genre blender delivers a rich fantasy world alongside a satisfying re-imagining of the classic story of unlikely pen pals popularized in the films You’ve Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner. Bannen’s prose manages to build suspense about the drudge problem and growing tensions at the borders in Tanria while also keeping a close focus on Hart and Mercy’s evolving relationship (with a couple of spicy scenes thrown in). The story is rounded out with a strong ensemble cast including Mercy’s family (especially her brother Zeddie) and Hart’s new (and unwelcome) apprentice Duckers.
Despite the implied gore of a story that includes zombie-adjacent creatures and dead bodies, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy manages to hit the perfect balance between the dangers of Tanria and a gentleness of a slice-of-life romance. Filled with adventure, banter, and romance, The Undertaking of Hary and Mercy truly has something for everyone. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater, Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig, Bride by Ali Hazelwood, Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, Fall of Night by Jonathan Maberry, Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross, Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson, Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne, Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration through Libro.fm’s ALC program*
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