13 Days of Halloween: The Restorer (The Graveyard Queen #1) by Amanda Stevens

Tweet

It was as though Amanda Stevens wrote The Restorer (The Graveyard Queen #1) with somebody just like me in mind: passionate about graveyards and loves reading well-written thrillers with strong heroines. The Restorer holds the preeminent place of honor in my Graveyard Bookshelf!

My name is Amelia Gray. I'm a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I've always held fast to the rules passed down from my father. But now a haunted police detective has entered my world and everything is changing, including the rules that have always kept me safe.

It started with the discovery of a young woman's brutalized body in an old Charleston graveyard I've been hired to restore. The clues to the killer—and to his other victims—lie in the headstone symbolism that only I can interpret. Devlin needs my help, but his ghosts shadow his every move, feeding off his warmth, sustaining their presence with his energy. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I've vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the symbols lead me closer to the killer and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

As I read, I wondered, can this book get anymore perfect?

First, I want to let you know that The Restorer was my reward for reading & reviewing a certain batch of books. Aren’t I nice to myself? I had started another graveyard novel by a well-known author with a supernatural twist as well...and it was a disappointment. The characters were annoying, the writing was mediocre, and the plot was slooow. There was none of that in this book; The Restorer gave me everything I wanted and more.

Amelia’s character is smart and relatable; whenever I started to think, oh, she’s going to act this way or that, Amelia would surprise me. Ever read a book and just get so sickened by a female character’s helplessness and stupidity that you couldn’t read on? TSTL I think is the term. Amelia was the opposite of that; she’d do what any smart woman with common sense would do and any mistakes she made were not out of character, a sacrifice to keep the plot interesting.

The unpredictable plot kept me on my toes. My guesses about the killer’s identity and motivations would swing from chapter to chapter as Stevens unearthed each character’s shady past.

But what drew me to The Restorer in the first place, what made me love it so much was the setting. Not only did most of the story take place in one cemetery or other, but Stevens also managed to weave in cemetery traditions regarding gravestones, epitaphs, etc., which were not only fascinating but also furthered the story. Add the supernatural dimension to this superbly constructed thriller, Amelia’s ability to see ghosts, and see if the hairs on your arms stand straight like mine did.

"'...The first and most important is this-never acknowledge the dead. Don't look at them, don't speak to them, don't let them sense your fear. Even when they touch you...

"'The second thing you must remember is this,' Papa said. 'Never stray too far from hallowed ground..."

"'Rule Number three,' he said. 'Keep your distance from those who are haunted if they seek you out, turn away from them, for they constitute a terrible threat and cannot be trusted.'"

You don’t have to have to be a graveyard enthusiast to enjoy The Restorer. Just read it if you want to shiver with fright a little, if you want a story that sets your heart racing, if you like your plots to throw some surprises and your heroines to be cool and a bit kickass. As if you can't tell - I am eagerly, breathlessly awaiting more from The Graveyard Queen series!