Graveminder by Melissa Marr

The New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series delivers her first novel for adults, a story about the living, the dead, and a curse that binds them.

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is dead and Bek must go back to the place--and the man--she left a decade ago. But what she soon discovers is that Maylene was murdered and that there was good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in placid 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--a place from which the dead will return if their graves are not properly minded. Only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk. - Amazon.com Review

I found this book on an amazon.com list while I was searching for something different. I got exactly that. The book was the perfect amount of creepy, gothic deliciousness that I haven’t read since I used to read Stephen King and even Patricia Cornwell about 10 years ago.  I was sucked into the book right away and had a hard time putting it down anytime I had to put it down (note to self: gotta turn off the TV more often!)

In the history of Claysville, there has always been an Undertaker and a Graveminder.  It’s a special duo of people that keep Claysville and its secrets safe. See if you are born in Claysville, you’ll go back, and you’ll die there. The Undertaker will carry out the funeral arrangements and the Graveminder will make sure you stay where you are laid to rest. Those who are born in Claysville but die elsewhere, may either be in danger or cause it. A young resident is murdered outside of Claysville and does the latter.  The Graveminder, Maylene, is murdered and her partner, the Undertaker must leave and passes the “business” on to his son without any other choice to either of them. Byron must protect the new Graveminder, Maylene’s granddaughter, Rebekkah.  Together they have to find the zombie, for lack of a better word, and get her back to where she should have been laid to rest.

I liked that there wasn’t a great amount of gore in this book. The elements of vampires, zombies and underworld gouhls and ghosts are there but I didn’t imagine buckets of blood and guts. There is an underlying tension between Byron and Bek and I just wanted them to get over it and be true to how they’ve always felt about each other.  I enjoyed the book overall. The cover and title are provocative and I had a great time talking about the book, especially to those who know I read books very much NOT like Graveminder.

Next up is a slew of 9/11 memoirs, Thunder Dog, Memory Remains, and Where You Left Me.  I also won an advance copy of Falling Together by Marisa De Los Santos and Mozart’s Last Aria from Library Love Fest and Harper Perennial, respectively.  Locally, I just purchased Miracle Beach, by Madison’s own Erin Celello.