Graveminder by Melissa Marr
Genre: Horror, Paranormal
Length: 10 hours and 26 minutes
Narrator: Emma Galvin
Source: eLibrary
Author's Website | Blog | Twitter
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo
Description:
Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville. While growing up, Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual at every funeral: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words, "Sleep well, and stay where I put you." Now Maylene is gone and Bek must return to the hometown—and the man—she abandoned a decade ago, only to discover that Maylene's death was not natural . . . and there was good reason for her odd traditions. In Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected—and beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. From this dark place the deceased will return if their graves are not properly minded. And only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk.
My Rating:
My Review:
Following her grandmother's death Rebekkah, or Bek, returns to Claysville to pay her respects to Maylene. She remembers her grandmother as a loving person who had many traditions that involved lovingly taken care of the death. However, Bek soon realizes that these rituals are more than traditions and they will now affect her in ways she never imagined. Byron, the undertaker's son, has lived in Claysville almost all his life, and while he is accustomed to hearing that things are done a certain way because of traditions. He becomes tired of these explanations and wants some answers. When finally gets the answers he's been looking for, he finds that it comes at a very high price. Both Byron and Bek find that their lives has been drastically change and they try to navigate their new roles in the midst of a crisis.On the story...
I absolutely loved this story. I was hooked from the very beginning. The story is told from various points of views of residents of Claysville. This worked really well in this particular story because everything was so strange that I was dying to know what was going on in everyone else's head. I love that this premise is unique and refreshing. I initially thought that the story was primarily about Byron and Bek finding out and navigating their new roll but I soon found there was more to everything. That surprise really put the book over the top for me. The ending was well done but everything isn't quite wrapped in a pretty little bow. There a few things left to the reader's imagination and a few unanswered questions. Overall, this was a wonderful book.
On the narrator...
The narrator brings the enjoyment of this book down just a tad for me. Ms. Galvin has soothing voice and it is very much a storytelling voice. I found that I was able to get lost into the story very easily. The only downside to this audio is that Ms. Galvin has very little, if any, voice changes for the different characters. This wouldn't be a problem except there are different points of views throughout the book. Some people we only hear from once, but others, like Bek and Byron, we return time and time again. Therefore, it made it very difficult to follow the point of view switches. At times, I was well into the section before I figured it out. While I was still able to enjoy the book, I found myself a tad frustrated at times.
Overall, I would recommend this book in both paper form and audio form. Ms. Marr has a way of putting together a story so that it unfolds in the most entertaining way possible. I enjoyed this one from start to finish.
Have you read Melissa Marr before? I hear she writes YA as well, are those good? For anyone who has read this book...Does this qualify as a zombie book (just curious)?
