Anna Dingel is a teenager who will soon be 18, but struggles with her devout Christian mother’s strict rules and harsh discipline. Her father, on the other hand, is the town’s Undertaker. Anna grew up with a mortuary lab in her basement, occasionally assisting her father with his projects. Other than that, she’s a typical teen. She has a best friend, a crush, and is about to begin her senior year of high school. When a night out turns sour, the perpetrator - a popular jerk who goes to her school - is set on revenge. But when Anna and Naomi enlist the help of an old Jewish ritual to bring them peace, things go horribly wrong. The Undertaker’s Daughter by John James Minster is aptly described as “A Novel of Supernatural Horror” that will convince readers not to play with dead things, or else risk unintended consequences. 

Anna’s crush, Timmy, is in a band and she convinces her mom to let her go see his show. The aforementioned popular jerk, Bruce, sexually assaults Anna on her night out. But heroically, Timmy comes to the rescue and authorities charge and punish Bruce for his crime. Convinced that Anna is responsible for his summer spent in jail, he enlists the help of his loyal henchmen and non-girlfriend. Next begins a spiral of bullying, harassment, and vandalism to the Dingel property. 

The girls don't see a clear way to end the revenge spree without making things worse. So Naomi proposes that they attempt to use recently revealed ancient Jewish ritual to scare their classmates into leaving them alone. Using one of Anna’s father’s subjects, they successfully complete the ritual. But as I said before, unintended consequences ensue. The girls inadvertently unleash a golem on her town - more specifically, anyone who has ever wronged Anna and her family. And they’re not quite sure how to stop the killings without putting their own lives at risk. 

The Undertaker’s Daughter comes with plenty of trigger warnings - sexual assault, murder, bullying, necrophilia, and revenge porn. In addition to that, there’s plenty of gorey details that Minster uses to really drive that horror into readers’ minds. That being said, the nature of the events seemed a bit much. Without revealing too much about the plot, the corpse in question was a death row inmate who raped and murdered about half a dozen people. But his method in doing so was definitely the stuff of nightmares. And he remains consistent after the girls bring him back to life. 

Other criticisms I have include the “teen crush” vibes between Anna and Timmy. They’re not even 18 but are committed to marriage after one date, during which they lose their virginities to each other (on the first date, with no hesitation...) And apparently they know what they're doing - no awkward first-timers here. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at some of the conversations between the teenagers. In fact, there’s a lot of teenage horniness in the book. Bruce is obsessed with using sex as punishment, and Naomi’s boyfriend's only purpose for conversation is to coax her into sex (literally every time he has any dialogue). 

Aside from that, The Undertaker’s Daughter’s plot is very heavy on the theology. Anna is Christian, Naomi is Jewish, and Timmy is Catholic. These different faiths drive much of the character’s actions, conversations, and plot overall. I'll give credit to Minster for the research required to incorporate these themes. But when you juxtapose that with rape, murder, and stereotypical teenage hormones, it seemed out of place. Obviously I’m not speaking for all readers, but it simply didn’t work for me. 

Overall, I was grateful that The Undertaker’s Daughter is a quick read. Considering Minster is ultimately a writer of short stories, I appreciate that he gets to the point with his writing style. The pace was good and kept me engaged throughout the story. Other than that, it wasn’t for me. However, I guarantee those who enjoy gore, horror, and the supernatural will enjoy what this one has to offer. 

The Undertaker’s Daughter is available now.