The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (2022) is the first novel in a new romantasy series by American author Megan Bannen, whose previous works include Soulswift (2020) and The Bird and Blade (2018). The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy follows a curmudgeonly demigod marshal, Hart Ralston, and his enemies-to-lovers romance with a bubbly human undertaker named Mercy Birdsall. Amid this dynamic, the two must navigate a dangerous plot involving old gods, zombies, and a rival funeral services operation that is trying to destroy Mercy’s small family business. Hart and Mercy must ultimately choose between the pain of loneliness and the risks of vulnerability while exploring complex issues of mortality and achieving a balance between duty and personal fulfillment.

This guide refers to the 2022 paperback edition, published by Orbit Books.

Plot Summary

Marshal Hart Ralston takes an unidentified body to Birdsall & Son, one of the few undertaking businesses that has the necessary government license to process the bodies of unidentified indigents who have no existing burial arrangements and have been killed in the magical region of Tanria, where lost souls infect human bodies and become zombie-like drudges. At Birdsall & Son, Hart encounters his nemesis, Mercy Birdsall, and the two insult each other, though they each secretly find each other attractive.