Lenore's a moirologist, a professional mourner. She inherits a house from a deceased man she never met, but was hired to mourn at his funeral. She sees how people die after having sex with them. She's grieving the loss of her boyfriend who died a month ago. So much potential for a truly unique story.

This book started with a great premise and great, promising first chapter. From there it went into multiple POVs, many of which were interesting, but none of which panned out enough to result in a great book. Some supernatural-ish ideas and a HUGE vocabulary (so many words that sounded supremely cool and intelligent, but maybe took away from the storyline).

I feel like there were some very interesting ideas and characters (her best friend who is an internet dominatrix and single mom of twins being one). Honestly, four or five really great books could be made if the author took one storyline and ran with it. The combination of so many ideas has me discombobulated.

The story is about a young woman who (unexpectedly) inherrits a house. She quickly is entangled in affairs of the family the house belonged to.
The story is fast paste, with a great deal of humor. Sometimes a bit too much for my taste.
This book is more meant for readers who love light an quick read.

This captivating thriller will have you questioning everything you know about funerals. Like what exactly, is a moirologist? Grieving from the death of her boyfriend, Lenore Lyn immerses herself in the world of the dead, attending funerals for paying clients. As a professional mourner, she inherits a dilapidated mansion complete with a body, and may soon join those who sought out her services.

Multiple points of view enrich author J. M. Donellan’s unique style of writing by providing insight into an interesting cast of characters who deal with death on a daily basis. Darius, Lenore’s brother, has been ‘dead’ for a couple of years, an actor playing the role of a corpse. Orin, a recently deceased man, struggles with the rules of his demise as his ghost wanders Lenore's newly acquired property. Riley, daughter of the recently deceased, has no fear of death. And then there are the others, cult members who believe they can cheat death. This eclectic mix of characters questions the meaning of life and what happens after we die.

Immersed in so much death, a reader might be tempted to shed tears; it’s the irony of the tale and sardonic wit of the author that makes this book an engaging read. With an element of sci-fi and the paranormal, the book will have you wondering what is truly possible. Donellan blurs the line between literary and genre fiction in his portrayal of the human condition and man’s desire to be immortal (either physically or through their legacy). The tuatara and reptilian theme add food for thought about longevity vs. happiness.

A nice mix of the macabre and quirkiness, Lenore’s Last Funeral is an intriguing look at mankind’s mortality and the struggle to make sense of death.

This was a pretty good read. For a book about death it had some solid humor throughout. I thought the characters were unique and quirky. I also like the titled chapters.

I actually kind of enjoyed this book? I'm not usually one for thrillers but I didn't want to stop reading it. The writing and some phrases were mega cheesy but the story and pace were interesting enough to keep me hooked. I think the last three chapters were unnecessary but not too bad. I enjoyed the book but probably would not read it again.

I would describe this book as darkly humorous. As the title suggests, death is a theme, but I felt it was dealt with in a lighthearted way, which made it seem less intense. I felt connected to the characters and liked the way they interacted with each other. Some of the themes in this book would perhaps be present in the horror genre too, so in some aspects, this felt like a humorous horror or cosy horror, if there is such a thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

This is the first time I went to put a review on Goodreads and could not find the book with a title search or author search. However, I don’t mean to let that stop me.

This is also the first time I discovered there is such a thing as a professional mourner. The proper name is a moirologist and Lenore does her job very well until she finds herself involved with an unscrupulous cult that believes the only way to become immortal is cryogenically preservation.

I learned a lot about death and life from this book and was pleased to find myself laughing at the unexpected moments of humor. I loved the characters, each with their own brand of quirkiness that shone through at the appropriate moments. I would love to see this developed into a movie.

Give this one a try!

I liked this book but I just couldn't get into the story. I didn't like the writing style but overall the story was good.

This author clearly knows a lot about death and the macabre, and has fun playing with esoteric notions, from our professional mourner lead to dropping trivia on things like bone music. All of that is great, and the set up of the story is fascinating!

There are multiple povs with distinct voices (although as a warning to readers: they do not rotate in a clear order, nor is every chapter break a POV change). There is also a bit of head hopping, including more than once into a non human. I found it disorienting, and that it caused me to loose my figurative footing in the narrative.

I did not personally enjoy how the mystery of Riley was handled. The climax and resolution of that particular question threw me wildly out of the story, and I wasn't able to get hooked again after that. I also disliked that I believe I was meant to root for, who was introduced later in the story. The two of these combined made reading the second half of the book a chore for me.

All that said, this story does have a satisfactory ending which I deeply appreciate.

At first I wasn’t sure if this book was for me with some of the concepts seeming abit too out there at first. HOWEVER, I am so glad I stuck at reading this as I reallyyy enjoyed it. For fans of thriller/horror genre this is definitely one for you highly recommend!

I find this book a bit confusing due to the multi-POV, the book is missing a few connections.
Some bits were funny. The only chapter I really enjoyed was the first two

Normally I'd write full length review, but honestly I don't know where to start with book. I feel that the multi POV is quite confusing in it's case. The main character is interesting, but I feel like there are some connections missing in this book. Though it was not for me, I'm sure someone else will definitely enjoy it.

This book is both funny and yet deeply thoughtful and even a tad macabre all rolled into one book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! It was a quick read too, after the first few chapter I sailed through it. The main character, Lenore is unknowingly funny and ends up taking you on an insane journey that ends equally crazy but she learns a lot along the way. A must read for lovers of the dark.

The first chapter was great. The rest….I can’t. Too bad it couldn’t have continued like the first chapter, that would have been a winner.

This was a very different book to my usual mystery thrillers and quite an oddball read. I really enjoyed the chapters written from Lenore’s POV, as there was something that drew me into her voice. The other characters left me scratching my head. Overall it fell a little flat for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy.