Poppy Stringer is an influencer, shaping the views of followers around the world from a decadent Palm Beach home. Every day, she’s pitching makeup and skincare routine tips, fashion advice, and more, frequently accompanied by the sounds of her favorite musician, Eddie Michaels. As a fellow queer creator, Eddie’s music was always incredibly powerful for Poppy, and she’s been a fan ever since her childhood in a group home.
Poppy has a night job, too. When her daughter Marlo is asleep, she packs a fake ID and heads out in a refrigerated truck, finding corpses at local funeral homes that no one is going to miss. She poses as an organ donor retrieval specialist and then sells the bodies to various groups. It’s just a body, after all, and the money’s good. It’s enough to help provide for the extravagant lifestyle that she has grown accustomed to.
When Eddie Michaels is killed by a drunk driver, Poppy’s life is irrevocably changed. She’s offered five million dollars to retrieve his body for a mystery client, with 10% paid up front. More than enough money to get out of the corpse game for good. More than enough for Marlo to be set for life. Short notice notwithstanding, she’s on her way. The pick up goes smoothly enough. If anything, it’s easier than most, without even having to deal with extra people in the process. However, mid-transit, a literal bump in the road sends Eddie’s body out the back of the truck and into the night. When Poppy gets out to look for him, she finds that he’s not quite as dead as the rest of the world had thought. In fact, he’s up and singing and dancing and… asking her for help? Well, when the corpse of your favorite music idol hops up and puts on a show for you, then asks you to drive him around for the evening, what’s a girl to do?
Thus begins the weirdest night of Poppy’s life, playing chauffeur to Eddie in the weirdest riff on Weekend At Bernie’s outside of the current US Senate. Poppy’s got a lot of questions. How is Eddie up and walking? What is he trying to accomplish the night after he supposedly died? Why get her involved in the first place? It’s a long time yet until the sun comes up, and she’s got a long way to go.
If there’s one horror writer whose work I’ve consistently sought out over the last few years, it’s Chuck Tingle. Fabulous Bodies is a delightful and terrifying look at modern culture, influencers, and celebrity. Tingle’s blend of shocking and endearing weaves a masterful path of destruction across Palm Beach.
Fabulous Bodies came out back on July 7th. Go check it out. My utmost thanks, as always, to Tor and to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for a fair review.
The Swords of the Ancients 