Graveminder by Melissa Marr

Graveminder
by Melissa Marr

“Sleep well, and stay where I put you.” You wouldn’t think you’d need to instruct the dead to stay dead, but apparently in Claysville you not only need an Undertaker with some special skills (and a capital U) but a Graveminder as well.

In a lot of ways, these are typical small town people with bent and broken relationships just trying to get by. Rebekkah and Byron were once a couple but Rebekkah severed that link in her desire to leave Claysville behind. Byron came home first, then Rebekkah returns when her grandmother, Maylene, is killed. But neither of them quite know what they’re returning to or how they will have to rely on each other.

So, who killed Maylene? Was it a vagabond? If so, why was nothing stolen? By the looks of it, it might have been a wild animal. It seems like there’s a few people in town who know more than they’re telling. Byron and Rebekkah have lots of questions, and they aren’t going to like the answers.

Graveminder by Melissa Marr is an enjoyable light read – lightly romantic, lightly creepy and a bit of a mystery. It was intriguing and yet simple. I just didn’t feel like any aspect of it was sufficiently developed. Some of the repetition could have been eliminated to make room for fuller development of characters. A good mystery will give you enough clues and red herrings so that you get to the end and, when you find out whodunit, you think, “Why didn’t I see that all along?!” The bad guys simply didn’t get enough stage time or interaction to be appreciated in this book.

A good read overall but not mindscape altering. A really good book should change the way you look at things a little, grip you and hold you in thrall. This is simply a fun read, which can be just what the doctor ordered for a little R&R.