Selene Shade, Loving the Dead
Will be published approx. on 8. October 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
300 pages
978-1-968043-13-1 (ISBN)
Description
In the second novel of the Resurrectionist Series from Victoria Dalpe, Loving the Dead, a city tears itself apart, a new serial killer arrives in town, and Selene Shade desperately needs a vacation.
A few months after the tumultuous and reality-shredding arrival of the Pale Ones, the world has been changed, and not necessarily for the better. Half-lifes now regard Selene and her ilk with fear, knowing their free will isn't as free as it once was. With the growing backlash against the undead in society, religious hate groups have swelled. Add to that a vampire serial killer, a contentious election, a heap of personal problems and you have the makings of a perfect storm that might just wipe the city of Goat Hill right off the map.
Revenge conspiracies, resurrection, and romance-what's a girl to do? Join Selene and friends as they reluctantly race the clock to stop those that would destroy the world... again.
A few months after the tumultuous and reality-shredding arrival of the Pale Ones, the world has been changed, and not necessarily for the better. Half-lifes now regard Selene and her ilk with fear, knowing their free will isn't as free as it once was. With the growing backlash against the undead in society, religious hate groups have swelled. Add to that a vampire serial killer, a contentious election, a heap of personal problems and you have the makings of a perfect storm that might just wipe the city of Goat Hill right off the map.
Revenge conspiracies, resurrection, and romance-what's a girl to do? Join Selene and friends as they reluctantly race the clock to stop those that would destroy the world... again.
Reviews / Votes
"An ambitiously creative take on the paranormal as a whole, with a satisfying, deepening romance at the core. While part of a series, Loving the Dead can certainly stand on its own strong feet." -Leanna Renee Hieber, award-winning author of Strangely Beautiful and A Haunted History of Invisible Women"The perfect mix of dark magic, black humor, world-ending peril, and forbidden romance, Victoria Dalpe's Selene Shade: Loving the Dead is a must-read for fans of the first installment, as well as anyone looking for drama and danger in a meticulously-crafted world." -Christa Carmen, author of The Daughters of Block Island and How to a Fake a Haunting
"Rival resurrectionists. Self-hating zombies. Magicians who just can't catch a break. All of these and more make up the modern supernatural world of Selene Shade, who must solve mysteries and fight monsters-even though all she wants is to build a life-maybe-with her vampire boyfriend. Buckle up for more adventures in Victoria Dalpe's follow-up to Resurrectionist For Hire, aptly titled Loving the Dead. The ride is wild and you won't regret taking it!" -Rebecca Cuthbert, author of The Hauntings Back Home and other titles.
"The world of Goat Hill gets deeper, weirder, and more achingly real. Dalpe dares to explore the messy aftermath of a near-apocalypse, digging into difficult themes of reconciliation and free will and doing it with aplomb. We're all half-lives here." -Nadia Bulkin, author of She Said Destroy and Issues With Authority
"Loving the Dead is a winner. Page by page, book by book, Dalpe is carving her place in the genre." -Laird Barron, author of Not a Speck of Light (Stories)
"A razor-edged urban fantasy with guts and brains (and sometimes literal guts). Dalpe doesn't just explore what happens after death-she digs into what it costs to come back, and what kind of world we create when the dead don't stay dead. Smart, brutal, and surprisingly heartfelt." -Matt Forgit, author of It's Always Halloween Here and How To Be a Professional Mourner
"Dalpe's Selene Shade: Resurrectionist For Hire breathes new life into the genre, adding a fresh take on old myths with a keen eye for the shockingly horrific. I truly enjoyed the disturbing layers in both the characters' backgrounds and the world building." -Errick Nunnally, author of The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-968043-13-1 (9781968043131)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Victoria Dalpe is a writer and artist. She has published over fifty short stories and the collection Les Femmes Grotesques. She is also the author of gothic horror novel Parasite Life and the dark fantasy series Selene Shade: Resurrectionist for Hire with CLASH Books. Her short story "The Cleaner" was selected for Night Shade Books The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seventeen edited by Ellen Datlow. She lives in Rhode Island. Follow her on instagram: victorialdalpe