Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (May 17, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061826871
ISBN-13: 978-0061826870
Three sips to mind the dead . . .
Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the attention her grandmother Maylene bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the small town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each one Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: She took three sips from a silver flask and spoke the words "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."
Now Maylene is dead, and Bek must go back to the place she left a decade earlier. She soon discovers that Claysville is not just the sleepy town she remembers, and that Maylene had good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in Claysville the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected; beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. If the dead are not properly cared for, they will come back to satiate themselves with food, drink, and stories from the land of the living. Only the Graveminder, by tradition a Barrow woman, and her Undertaker—in this case Byron Montgomery, with whom Bek shares a complicated past—can set things right once the dead begin to walk.
Although she is still grieving for Maylene, Rebekkah will soon find that she has more than a funeral to attend to in Claysville, and that what awaits her may be far worse: dark secrets, a centuries-old bargain, a romance that still haunts her, and a frightening new responsibility—to stop a monster and put the dead to rest where they belong.
My Thoughts:
"Sleep well, and stay where I put you." caught my eye right away when reading the book description. Melissa Marr is the author of 17 books including the Wicked Lovely young adult series. Although I have never read any of Ms. Marr's books I liked the description of this book. Rebekkah Barrow comes back to her hometown of Claysville to continue the ritual, as the 'Graveminder' that the Barrow women have been doing for a very long time. Byron Montgomery, a former lover, is next in line to be the 'Undertaker'. Each male member of the Montgomery family has been the Undertaker also for a very long time. It seems that the dead will walk if the graveminder does not perform the ritual. A very unusual story to say the least. It was a page turner and the paranormal aspect was very suspenseful especialy with one of the dead creating havoc in Claysville. I found myself engrossed in the relationship between Byron and Rebekkah although I have to say that I found the underworld to be a bit unsettling. A very creepy story but I did enjoy it. I can definitely see that this could be a series if the author so choses to write more. I recommend this book for fans of Melissa Marr and her other books. I received this book for review Harper Collins Publishers.
Graveminder was a good story, but it starts off slow and never really picks up. It wasn't really able to keep my attention. At first I thought it was my mood, but I was able to pick up a couple of different novels and finish them during the time I read Graveminder. The chemistry between Bek and Byron could have been a little more explosive, or at least included more tension than the subtle undertones, and the plot definitely needed to have a little more action. Seriously, Wicked Lovely had more action than Graveminder. Melissa Marr still weaves a good story, but this one just doesn't have the same impact that her Wicked Lovely series has.
ReplyDelete