by Melissa Marr
First published 2011
Rebekkah Barrow returns to Claysville after her grandmother Maylene dies. She remembers watching Maylene at every funeral, taking three sips from a silver flask and saying "Sleep well, and stay where I put you." Bek thought these were just odd rituals in a sleepy small town. She discovers that Claysville sits above a shadowy realm ruled by the mysterious Charles, also called Mr. D. The living and dead worlds connect here in dangerous ways. When the dead are not properly tended, they rise to feed on food, drink, and stories from the living world. Only the Graveminder, traditionally a Barrow woman, and her Undertaker can stop them. Byron Montgomery fills this role, and he shares a complicated history with Bek. She must accept this frightening inheritance while grieving Maylene's death. The dead have begun walking again, and Rebekkah faces dark secrets, an ancient bargain, unresolved romance, and the responsibility to put restless spirits back where they belong.
Genres: romance, fantasy, horror, paranormal-fiction, contemporary, dark-fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotionally-intense, gothic, haunting, suspenseful
Tropes: chosen-one, enemies-to-lovers, inherited-responsibility, unresolved-romance
Setting: Claysville
336 pages · Paperback · HarperCollins (William
Content warnings: death, violence