Look, I despise not reading through every word when I receive an ARC, but it took a single chapter before my reaction to this work was a despairing "oh no". I messaged a friend who was likewise reading this with: "did I have a stroke? Is this work completely incomprehensible?" and upon her agreement tried valiantly to get farther in the narrative. Look, I'm not going to lie, there are some lovely turns of phrase here, but it's all under a thick veneer of prose so purple that it obscures what in the heck is actually going on. I reread the first three chapters twice before deciding that this books was not going to be for me. I enjoy a story that makes you think, and like dense prose, but this was trying so very hard to make you think it smart that it actually went the other way wholesale and started misusing words.

Beautiful. Amazing. Stunning. Full of women in power, being themselves whether that is right or wrong. It's full of love, sincerity, passion and authenticity that grabbed me in from the beginning and held me right until the end.

I don't think it's a bad thing that the beginning of the novel confused me and made me wonder what was going on - in fact I think it's excellent that I had so many questions at the beginning and then none by the end. It's powerful, incredible, and over all utterly perfect.

Men are trash, women are right even when they are wrong.

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

Was SO impressed to find out this is a debut novel. Firstly, the prose is GORGEOUS and so self-assured. You will get lost in this one.

As for the story: this is an absolutely fascinating take on the Salem Witch Trials that bridges the gap between fantasy and history. You will root for these women to fight back against the men in their lives. Men who only wish to control and extract them of their power and self-worth. A tale sadly just as relevant today.

One of the best horror yarns of 2024 hands-down.

This sounded really interesting but i just could not get into the writing style! It was too abstract for me and i felt as if i was reading poetry at times. What i did read had interesting themes and the overall premise sounded great but this sadly just wasn't for me. It was purely personal taste concerning the writing style and not because the book was bad. I would be interested in trying out more by this author in future to see if future books worked better for me,

The strongest aspects of this novel are its retelling of the Salem Witch Trials through fantasy, horror and realistic feminist themes. The plot, characterisation and the delivery of the themes were effective.
This is a great debut. I was a bit tired of the use of nicknames/symbolic names for several of the characters partly due to the frequent use of some of those names in other popular books these days, but this is simply a coincidence. If the names were more distinctive, I believe secondary characters would have been a bit memorable for me. We need more books that deal with feminist themes through the devices of horror and its power of catharsis.

Terrifying and thought-provoking in equal measure. I totally devoured this book. Cannot wait for the second in the series!

Meg Ripley's debut, Necrology, is a fascinating exploration of the Salem Witch Trials that traps the reader in a sense of thought-provoking gloom only a well-crafted fantastical horror can evoke.

Full disclosure: as someone from outside the US (Germany/Egypt), I knew nothing about the Salem Witch Trials except the name. This brings me to my first point of praise for Ripley's Necrology. It strikes a delicate balance between educating the reader with necessary information while keeping the plot moving forward. This is not an easy task and often fails because the narrative leans too heavily on one side, leaving the reader feeling they are either reading a textbook or unable to follow the events. I'm glad to say this wasn't the case with Necrology. The introduction to the world and the history behind it was used expertly to enhance the plot and the characters' journeys, making the story feel like one coherent and highly engaging unit rather than two books mashed into one.

The second thing that left me in awe was its incredibly sharp prose. I'd call it magical, but I think "bewitching" is more fitting (and appropriate given the topic). It's very rare for me to read a book that has lines that drain the air out of my lungs, but the precision of Ripley's prose feels almost surgical at times. It is something to be experienced for sure since words can't really describe the effects of Ripley's prose, but you'll understand what I mean once you read this book (something I wholeheartedly recommend if it's not clear yet).

But at the heart of this story, at the eye of this storm of magic, history, and darkness, are the characters. The women who are fighting for survival in a world that wishes to take away the power they have. This story has many fantastical elements, but any great fantasy, at its core, is trying to talk about something serious and relevant to our real world. For me, Necrology was a tale about the deep-rooted fear weak, insecure men have toward women who display any amount of power or agency, and the lengths they would go to in order to try and control these women and strip them of their power.

Necrology is an incredible debut by Meg Ripley that tells a relevant and important story in a unique and fascinating way by utilizing some of the most exquisite prose I've read in a long time. It is a story I will definitely revisit multiple times in the future and share with as many people as I possibly can, and for that, it deserves 5 stars from me.

4 stars

That s is a wonderful exploration of the Salem witch trials. I loved the prose and the characters and the way the author chose to write about this subject. I was glued to this book.

Also side note, that cover art is so gorgeous.

They way this book explores the Salem witch trials and adds a new layer of danger and darkness was really well done. I was captivated instantly with this book.