Graveminder

Graveminder by Melissa Marr
Review copy provided by William Morrow
Description from Goodreads:

Three sips to mind the dead . . .

The New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series delivers her first novel for adult audiences-a captivating story of the living, the dead, and the curse that binds them indelibly to two special families, the Barrows and the Montgomerys:

Maylene Barrow bears a special responsibility in the town of Claysville, a duty to the newly departed that keeps all she knows and loves safe.

Rebekkah Barrow, Maylene's granddaughter, left Claysville a decade ago, trying to put painful memories behind her.

William Montogomery has been Claysville's Undertaker and Maylene's best friend for a lifetime.

Byron Montgomery, following in his father's footsteps as the town's new undertaker, is tied to the Barrow women-first Rebekkah's dead sister Ella and now Rebekkah--in ways he is only beginning to understand.

But evil has been let loose in Claysville and now Maylene is dead. It falls to Rebekkah to return to the town--and the man--she left behind to stop a monster and keep the dead in their place.. .

My take:
I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this book. I have only read one other book by Melissa Marr, and while I liked the book, it wasn't my favorite.  Graveminder, however, was so intriguing, that I could barely make myself stop reading to attend to life matters.

I loved the setting, the quiet little town, the fact that Rebekkah and Byron feel a pull back home every time they leave. Rebekkah knows her grandmother plays a special role for the town, but she isn't aware of just how special and that it is an inherited role - until it becomes her role.   The premise of this book is just very interesting - I was fascinated as the story unfolded. The concept behind why Maylene had to mind the dead to keep them where she put them is very original - not at all what I would consider a regular zombie story.

The world building was well done and the characters are either appealing or you love to hate them. The story is tense and dark and so wonderfully gothic.

I hate to get too specific about storyline for those who haven't read the book yet. This is one book that you will want experience for yourself without extra information. I loved the way the story unfolded, slowly revealing the role the graveminder and undertaker play in the town.  This is one of my favorite southern gothic novels now.

From what I've read, I think this is a stand alone book, but I would love to read more about this world and the stories of previous Graveminders and Undertakers. There is just enough of their story explained or hinted at to make me really want to read more. I was quite satisfied by the plot, characters and ending of the book, but I wouldn't say no to another book. (hint)