Last Rites

by David Darke

Reunion of the Damned

They were a circle of friends, misfits, and outcasts. In high school, they reveled in forbidden sex and rituals of black magic. now, they will give anything to bring back the best years of their lives. Anything at all...
That's why these former members of a very special club have been reunited into a frightening new fellowship. But this time around, they're not just raising hell--they're raising the dead.
What they don't know is that sometimes it's better to leave dead enough alone. Especially when the killings start - and the dying start to outnumber the living.
They're back. They're mad. They're hungry.
They're out for blood.

Genres: Horror

317 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1996

About the author

Pen-name of author Ron Dee

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Betsy Walker, leader of "The Necro Club" gathers all her old friends together once again, at her home, after they have reconnected at their highschool reunion earlier that night. She is very excited to share her breakthrough on something they tried to do all through school - Betsy has managed to raise the dead.
The dead know the future, and when you raise them, you are allowed to ask them one question, in exchange for promising them their eternal peace. Betsy has been using this one question to predict the outcome of the horse races and win a ton of money.
Now, Betsy has been working on a new spell, that would allow them an unlimited number of questions - if they can find a spirit who's willing to be brought back. Betsy believes this person must be a very freshly dead person, which is why she wants to teach her old friends the ceremony - so they can kill her and bring her back. If the spell works, not only will Betsy have eternal life, but she will also be able to predict the future.
The spell goes horribly wrong, however, and one of the group dies, unable to be brought back. That doesn't deter Betsy, though, for she is both power and money hungry and nothing at all will stop her.
"Eternal life without death is her goal. The secrets to the eternal mysteries. The power of domination... not only of others, but of herself. Of the so-called natural forces that control life."
From that night on, tragedy plagues the friend group and their significant others, as they die horrible deaths left and right. Not to mention, Betsy is draining massive amounts of power from them; controlling them, without their knowledge. Can anyone manage to stop Betsy before she becomes too powerful?
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So I have mixed feelings about this one. At first, I didn't care for it. Then I put it down and read other books for a while. I picked it back up and realized I actually did like it. Then I got to the last 1/3 and it just went off the rails. Balls-to-the-wall insane, kinda impossible to follow, at least imo - maybe I'm just super tired though? Anyways, I liked the first 2/3 and the cover is amazing, so I can't be too mad.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Zebra Horror. For the uninitiated Zebra Book Publishers has a division that specialized in horror during the 1990s. Zebra Horror was to that genre what Harlequin is to romance novels. When you read a Zebra Horror you could always depend on lots of scares, lots of sex in all sorts of flavors and not much plot making it a perfect read for a chilly sick day in bed.

'Last Rites' was no disappointment. Granted it will never be debated in hallowed halls along with great literature but it was fun and entertaining way to spend an afternoon. And isn't that way all good books should be?

[Egghead · Rating 2 out of 5]

if necromancy
was this easy, the graveyards
would all be empty