Funeral Song

by Carly Racklin

No one mourns the living dead.

In the remote town of Cairney, a gift from the Angel of Death allows the dead to miraculously return to life — after a fashion. For Friede Inkerman, pianist to Cairney’s sacred funerals, Death’s gift is a curse, not a blessing. All she wants after being murdered by her wife and resurrected against her will is to finally rest in peace, free from the grief that ostracizes her from the rest of her death-worshipping town.

On Allhallowsmas, Friede’s hope of passing on to eternal rest is dashed when Death’s gift is stolen and the acolyte who guards it murdered, putting all the dead souls in Cairney at risk of fading into oblivion at sunset. Friede also can’t ignore how much the murder resembles her own.

Clinging to her last happiness, her oldest friend Bastian, Friede races to set things right and see her last wish granted. But Cairney is a town where nothing stays buried, and Friede’s search for answers unearths new horrors that threaten everything she holds dear to her dead heart.

A wrenching, elegant work of supernatural horror about a devout small town’s reckoning with death and the love that transcends it. Perfect for fans of Mike Flanagan and Caitlin Starling.

Genres: Horror, Queer, Fiction, Adult, LGBT, Fantasy, Supernatural

142 pages, Paperback

First published January 27, 2026

About the author

Carly Racklin is a writer, editor, and unapologetic vulture enthusiast whose work blends the fantastical with the visceral. They hold a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from Arcadia University, and has written for an international horror film festival, a table top role playing publisher, and more. They currently work in social media marketing and serve as an editor for Luna Station Quarterly. Carly’s fiction has appeared in Cosmic Horror Monthly, The NoSleep Podcast, NECKSNAP Magazine, and other publications. Funeral Song is their debut novella.

When she's not writing, Carly can be found drawing, watching horror movies, and playing video games or D&D, usually while drinking something caffeinated. She hopes to one day publish novels and write for a video game (or several). She can be found on most
socials @willowylungs and at carlyracklin.com.

Reviews

[Barbara Behring · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funeral Song was an unique take on the undead genre. I enjoyed the main characters and the way the author explored grief. At times the writing became a little too flowery and I didn't really like the Ending, but all in all it was a decent story.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

New York’s hottest new club is Funeral Song by Carly Racklin. This club has EVERYTHING: doomed romance, toxic lovers, toxic friends, universal triumph over death via ritual resurrection, total religious hegemony in a town that somehow no longer quite seems to exist, disaster bisexuals around every corner…

Friede, a musician in service to the local church which reveres their patron entity That Is Death, finds herself murdered shortly after her wedding day and subsequently resurrected (par for the course in her town of Cairney) against her wishes (quite poor manners in her town of Cairney) by her dearest friend, Bastian. She has little time to adjust to her new unlife when another murder - this time accompanied by a serious theft of existential proportions - sets the duo off on a ragged, snowy, Dan-Brown-esque hunt to avoid permanent consequences by striving to return all to rights before Allhallowsmas ends.

What a delightful and intriguing bit of gothic smorgasbord Racklin has given us here. There are some heavy themes, including intimate partner violence and what could perhaps be considered a sort of passive suicidal ideation, but they are handled well and with nuance in service of the larger story. Delicious prose that flows with ease and a plot that doesn’t waver from its nice clip as the book progresses - a surprisingly quick read and one that I definitely recommend!

As always, many thanks to NetGalley and Dead Sky Publishing for this ARC and the chance to share my thoughts.

[Dana K · Rating 3 out of 5]

{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Dead Sky Publishing for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.

Friede is a pianist in a small church who performs at funerals in a town where death is not always the end. She herself has been raised from death but she does not feel relief of her suffering. She finds a way to face her fate after a relic is stolen and its guardian murdered.

This one was definitely more about dark vibes than plot. I liked Friede and her plight but the star of the show was lush, dark world building. Even though it was a novella it felt like I could have easily read much more set in this world as it was so easy to slip into based on the writing.

[Lizardley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and sweet novella about complicated relationships and death; 3.5 stars rounded up. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I really liked the worldbuilding in the novel, almost more than anything else. It was subtle, as it has to be in a novella where the background isn't the point, but I enjoyed the little mentions of the war and how the town of Cairney became what is it now. I would have like more about how integrated the dead are into the lives of the town, even though that also runs into the same problem of length. I quite liked the way Friede sucked? She was very avoidant and a bit mean, and I felt that, as someone who is also avoidant. It makes for good drama, and the drama between Friede, Bastien, and her wife was very tasty and complicated. The ending felt a bit too convenient for my tastes, but it tied things up at least.

It's not overly memorable, but it's a good enough novella.

[Marisa (marisalynnreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A huge thank you as always to @deadskypub for the #gifted copy.

"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯."

A gothic tale of the living dead, the complexity of grief & not letting it be your downfall, but be the resolution to your story.

I love stumbling upon a horror novella so beautifully written that I have little words to describe my love for it. & knowing it's @willowylungs first book?! I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

Please, if you decide to read any novella I recommend, let it be this one. Grab your copy now!

𝘼𝙙𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙏𝘽𝙍 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚...
💀LGBTQIA+ representation
💦stories about death and grief
⚰️the undead
❄️religious tales with a twist

[Hannah Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, first of all, for making me preorder a book that comes out in a few weeks. My bank account really appreciates this. But I read this in one sitting and I knew I had to have it. (Seriously, thank you for releasing it in paperback on preorder.)

First of all, love the cover. Love the concept. I was worried it would border on fantasy too much--a genre which usually drops you in a completely unknown world and just expects you to roll with it without much beginner explanation--but it didn't. I quickly caught on and didn't feel like I was trying to swim my way around and figure out what was going on. I appreciate that.

I loved the author's writing style. It was beautiful and flowed well. I know some people don't care for the more flowery type of writing, but that is 100% my jam and so I ate this like candy. You know, if I... liked candy.

The story, I thought, was very good. Very, very unique. I felt so bad for MC and though I understood why Bast did what he did, I don't know that I personally could have ever forgiven him. Friede is a better woman than I. I am glad that she didn't her sorrow and misery stop her in her tracks, though, and that she got an adventure out of things. I also enjoyed the way her story ended, as I think that having her own terms was the least that could be done for her. So, overall, I was very satisfied with the story. I would actually love to read more about that down and the dead who come back, hint, hint, not so subtle hint.

Just a couple of small critiques, one of which I'm sure will be fixed in the final version and I worry will come off as rude, but my wife assured me since it's not published yet, it's okay. Please forgive me if it's not.

1. Kamil was referred to as 'her' at one point in the book. Since they were referred to as 'them' to rest of the time, this threw me. I wish I could remember where it happened exactly, but I know it was closer toward the end of the book.

2. Did I miss something? Following along, I thought Lor was the villain and then Lor was the saviour and then bam, Lor was the villain again. I don't know if I just didn't understand what was going on or if that wasn't explained very well. It could very well just be a me thing. Either way, I kind of wound up feeling really bad for her because of her actual motives (though, she, like Bast, was trying to take away Friede's anatomy.) It made me further question how I felt about Bast, which I never ended up figuring out. He was like a train that just kept derailing and saying, "Sorry," and then derailing again. (Though I do understand WHY. He was very, very human and I am grateful he did not fight Friede at the end.)

Overall, I loved this book. I will be recommending this book for anyone who likes the strange, tragic and beautiful. I am really, really, really looking forward to seeing more from this author.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up because the premise hooked me and, yes, the cover is ridiculously pretty. A town where the dead are resurrected and just… rejoin the living like it’s no big deal? Sign me up.

“Praise All-Eternal Death who restores life to the dead.”

In Cairney, Death grants resurrection to its residents, a ritual the townsfolk treat as sacred. But Friede, the church pianist, has never viewed it as a blessing. When she awakens in the catacombs coughing up mud and brackish water, her first thought is a horrified no… no, no, nooo. As her memories return, she realizes she has died—and been dragged back—against her will.

Soon after, she learns that Death’s relic has been stolen and the acolyte who guarded it has been murdered in a manner disturbingly similar to her own. With Allhallowsmas approaching and the resurrected at risk of fading away, Friede and her friend Bastian set out to recover the relic and restore order to a community obsessed with death, even as she longs for the rest she was denied.

The setup is fantastic. The vibes are moody. But the story never digs into the lore the way I hoped it would. Cairney is begging for deeper history, richer mythology, and more fully realized characters, but the narrative keeps things frustratingly shallow. Racklin had a killer concept, but instead of plunging into the depths, the book just treads water.

Pretty prose, great concept, underwhelming execution.

[Lilibet Bombshell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The town of Cairney lies in the shadow of death, cut off from the rest of the world by a supernatural veil. Inside, death doesn’t usually stick–instead, sacred funerals performed in honor of the Angel of Death allow the town’s residents to be resurrected, if that’s their wish. The issue is that Freide, our main character, didn’t want to be brought back. After being murdered by her wife, the only thing Freide wants is eternal rest.

Honestly, I didn’t understand what this novella was trying to say. Novellas depend on an economy of words: using efficient wordsmithing in order to tell a complete and comprehensive story. While Funeral Song was a complete story, I didn’t feel it was a comprehensive one. It jumped around a lot, included information I didn’t feel was all that pertinent to the story while leaving out information I thought was more important for us to have, didn’t really seem to know who or what was the antagonist, seemed to lose track of characters and objects until they were suddenly needed again, and didn’t feel sure of how the supernatural aspects of the story worked.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of Racklin in the future, but Funeral Song just fell really flat for me. 2⭐️


I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews three stars and under will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always very interesting to see how authors tackle what being undead feels like, and I think Carly Racklin handled it very well. It's deeply sad how the undead here continue to go on with the usual motions of their past lives without truly being able to experience many of its comforts. They continue to go to the pub and drink, despite it always ending up with them retching it all up. They're never really able to feel warmth or the quickening of their companion's or their own hearts. Their bodies are falling apart, they're still gripped by rigor mortis, and they're left to contend with whatever damage their death and undeath have dealt to their bodies.

I loved how mysterious and undefined the magic surrounding death/undeath are in this. It's all got a really spooky and gothic vibe. I will say, I wish the book was a bit longer so we could have explored the characters and especially the setting more. The plot was also quite predictable. However, for a debut novella, I think this is a great effort and I think there's a lot of potential here. It's clearly a very heartfelt piece of work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dead Sky Publishing for the review copy!

[K.B. King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funeral Song by Carly Racklin is a haunting, beautifully rendered gothic supernatural horror novella. We follow Friede Inkerman, a pianist who performs at the resurrection rituals, “funerals” of Cairney. Her deepest desire is to be freed from her undead state so that her soul can finally rest in peace.

On Allhallowsmas, the undead’s hold on the earth is threatened when one of Death’s sacred relics is stolen and its guardian, as well as Friede’s beloved friend, is brutally murdered. As sunset approaches, every lingering soul in the town of Cairney faces the threat of oblivion, including Friede, whose fragile hope for release hangs in the balance. As she investigates the crime, the events begin to echo the circumstances of her own gruesome death, forcing her to confront the unresolved trauma of her undeath and the reality of what was taken from her.

Racklin’s prose is lush and evocative, carrying a musical quality that expertly balances visceral horror with deep emotional resonance. The result is a story that is as atmospheric as it is intimate, and beautifully done. I want to note as well that I appreciate the author's expert inclusion of fully realized gay and nonbinary characters, seamlessly incorporated in a way that adds to their depth without approaching the line of caricature.

Ultimately, Funeral Song is an interesting and emotionally resonant work of supernatural horror. If you enjoy gothic horror that value atmosphere, character, and emotional depth, this novella is a must-read. I look forward to purchasing a copy for my personal collection.

Carly Racklin has appeared in Cosmic Horror Monthly, The NoSleep Podcast, NECKSNAP Magazine, and other publications. Known for blending the fantastical with the visceral, Racklin brings unique precision, emotional weight, and narrative control to their work.

[Tiff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I'm disappointed in this one. I really liked the idea of the undead and a town swept up in the religion that provided it, but I didn't get that feel from the way it was written For the promise of Mike Flanagan, there wasn't enough atmosphere and background characters were non existent. I didn't get the underlying queer yearning and character development I would expect from a Caitlin Starling which was the other comp.

Overall, the characters were not very well developed and could have been interchangeable. The ending was anticlimactic and the whole thing felt like it needed more while also being overly descriptive.

However, I will be looking forward to more from Carly Racklin as I could see things here that were pieces of really great storytelling.

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

My latest read in testing the waters of current indie genre voices. This one was objectively well done. Coherently written, professionally edited, etc.

The concept was intriguing too. But I don't think I was quite the right audience for it. I didn't really connect with the characters, which wouldn't necessarily be an obstacle, but the prose was just way too purple for me. Sentence by sentence buckled under the ponderous weight of its cumbersomely ornate stylings. Every metaphor was a chandelier.

It may be a debut writer's overeagerness or just how the author writes. Either way, it didn't really work for me. It may very well work for other readers, particularly ones who enjoy the heavy velvet curtains of gothic wordiness.
Thanks Netgalley.

[Alisa Saiko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Funeral Song had me intrigued right away. The premise was solid and there are moments where the writing really works. It is atmospheric, thoughtful and clearly aiming for something emotionally heavy. There are clear themes of grief and longing.

But... it just didn't land for me. The biggest letdown was the ending. After the build towards something meaningful, it wrapped up in a way that felt oddly flat and anticlimactic. By the end, I realised it was mostly my stubbornness that kept me from DNFing.

Not a bad book and I can absolutely see what it was trying to do. It just didn't come together for me in the end.

Thank you to Net Gallery and Dead Sky Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my review.

[Kaitlyn Lopez-Collier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Dead Sky for sending me an arc of this one. All thoughts are my own.

I love a good gothic book with flowery writing and heavy themes surrounding death. The characters were flawed and interesting. I especially liked Bast. I also loved the queer rep. The book was atmospheric and dark. It dealt with a lot of grief and some tough subjects, so reading the trigger warnings would be helpful! The author did a good job handling those subjects with care though.

While there were many parts I loved, I had a little bit of a hard time staying focused even though it was 120 pages. This one left me wanting a little bit more at the end and I had some questions remaining. But if you’re a fan of gothic thrillers this is one to check out!!

[Megan Beech · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting Gothic horror novella that does a very good job at describing how someone who is undead is still trying to behave as if they were still alive. This can be a very difficult undertaking and the author did this very well! The only thing that didn't make it a 5 star review is that I wish it was a little bit longer. I understand that it's a novella so it's supposed to be short but I just wanted it just a little bit longer. Other than that, I quite enjoyed it!

I would like to thank the author, publisher, editor, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC book complimentary in exchange for an honest review.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gothic horror novella
A quaint town where the dead is resurrected by the gift of death. Friede is killed by her wife and was brought back to life by the anchoret but not fully she grieves as this is not what she wants to be undead. At allhallowseve during the next resurrection something goes horribly wrong where her friend is murdered and the relic to bring people back to life is missing can friede find it before sunset before everyone who is resurrected come to their end. Friede past comes back to haunt her during her search for the relic. Also has to decide if she wants to be undead or be taken away by death

I rated this 3.5 stars

[Em Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚ARC📚

✨ 4.5

“Death broke one’s heart a thousand ways, even once it stopped beating.”

This is a melancholic look on grieve and the lengths we go to in order to hold on to those we love.
Racklin’s writing feels grounded in each of the emotions explored and she tells the story of Cairney so beautifully.

My only criticism is that I truly wish that this was longer, I wanted to explore more about this curious town and its inhabitants, both living and dead.

A massive thank you to Dead Sky Publishing and The Future Of for the advanced copy.
Funeral Song is out now!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You did what you could to make it worth living another day. I understand.”

3.5 but goodreads are hateful with their lack of halves

I'm actually going to visit my family at the memorial garden later today, first time as an adult I've had the means to get there to 'celebrate' or I guess acknowledge is a better word, my birthday, which is soon.

The phrase soul-tired.

Yes.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

The lives of the dead….and interesting idea to be sure. I just could not get into it. It felt like the author was trying to to be lyrical, magical or something, I can’t quite put my finger on it, I ended up being someone confused and a little bit annoyed. I’m sorry that I can’t be more positive.
#netgalley #FuneralSong

[TheBookGoblin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher. Well written to the point of being poetic in the style but personally not my style of normal read because at times it can be to the point of "flowery" in style. It is a unique take on grief and the genre. Not a bad book but just not my cup of tea.

[JXR · Rating 5 out of 5]

lyrically done gothic horror about a world where the dead are still alive. it's pretty short and sweet. I liked it a lot. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

[Roberta R. (Offbeat YA) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mini blurb: In an isolated town where a gift from the Angel of Death allows the deceased to return to life, a young woman who was killed by her wife and resurrected against her will feels compelled to solve a murder and to retrieve Death's gift to prevent the town from falling into eternal oblivion.

***

Rated 3.5 really.

First off...DISCLAIMER: this title was up for grabs on Edelweiss (in the To Download section). Thanks to Dead Sky Publishing for providing an ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

This was such a gothic, sad piece, with an old-fashioned feel (though in this world, gender identities and sexual preferences are never questioned - there's even a NB character), and I'm not sure I understood all the implications of Death's gift of resurrection and what the protagonist's wife wanted to accomplish by murdering her. But it was a unique, well-written novella, and even if the style and genre weren't exactly my cup of tea, it kept my interest enough for me to reach the last page. The mythology and worldbuilding the author wove around her revenants are cleverly planned and appropriately horrifying, and she managed to make her dead characters feel so very human even while (or especially because) they were left to grapple with a second life that was mostly just a mocking of their first one. If you're looking for a peculiar afterlife/undead narrative and you don't mind a somehow-open ending (and a gloomy atmosphere, and some graphic body horror), this novella is worth the price of admission.

Note: definitive review (I don't have enough to say to justify writing a full-length one later; also, due to time commitments, I've decided not to write full-length reviews anymore for short stories, novellas and anthologies, except in special cases or unless they're part of a series).