Graveminder by Melissa Marr

From Melissa Marr, the New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series, comes a mesmerizing novel for adults, GRAVEMINDER (William Morrow; on-sale 5/17; ISBN: 9780061826870)—the hauntingly atmospheric tale of a curse that allows the dead to walk and the people who are responsible for keeping them at rest.

“Three sips to mind the dead…”
Now in development for a television series with Ken Olin (Brothers & Sisters, Alias, Thirtysomething).

GRAVEMINDER
By Melissa Marr
William Morrow
Hardcover May 2011
Paperback January 17, 2012
ISBN: 9780061826870
Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the attention her grandmother Maylene bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the small town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn’t a funeral that Maylene didn’t attend, and at each one Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: She took three sips from a silver flask and spoke the words “Sleep well, and stay where I put you.”
Now Maylene is dead, and Bek must go back to the place she left a decade earlier. She soon discovers that Claysville is not just the sleepy town she remembers, and that Maylene had good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in Claysville the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected. If the dead are not properly cared for, they will come back from the shadowy, lawless land of the dead to satiate themselves with food, drink, and stories from the living. Only the Graveminder, by tradition a Barrow woman, and her Undertaker—in this case Byron Montgomery, with whom Bek shares a complicated past—can set things right once the dead begin to walk.

Although she is still grieving for Maylene, Rebekkah will soon find that she has more than a funeral to attend to in Claysville, and that what awaits her may be far worse: dark secrets, a centuries-old bargain, a romance that still haunts her, and a frightening new responsibility—to stop a monster and put the dead to rest where they belong.

The 411:
I was so excited for the opportunity to read and review Graveminder. I loved Wicked Lovely and it still remains one of my favorite young adult books.

In Graveminder we meet Bek who returns home to bury her beloved Grandmother Maylene. What she doesn't know is that her grandmother was murdered and she will be expected to take her place as the Graveminder. When the dead pass they need someone to mind them (provide them with food, drink and a story and to bring them where they need to go) and make sure that they stay dead. The world of the living and the dead is connected and the folks who keep the threads from fraying are the Undertaker and the Graveminder who work in conjunction to make sure the dead's needs are tended too. Without these two doing their very hush hush jobs the dead will walk and search for blood and flesh. A treaty with the townsfolk was made, contracts were written to protect the dead and the living. While only the Undertaker and the Graveminder know the details, others know they are doing this work.

When Bek returns to town for her grandmother's funeral it is Byron (a man from her past) and his father William (the Undertaker) who handle things and comfort her.

Without getting into the specifics...Byron and Bek have been predestined to be together. His father, William is ready to join Maylene and another Undertaker and Graveminder must take position as the protectors of the living and the dead. Are Byron and Bek ready for this connection? Can they work together? Will Bek like her sister and be unable to fight the temptation of the underworld?  Can they trust the dead who are currently walking? All will be revealed in this wonderfully creepy and creative story.

I read this in two days with the kids and life always in the way. I wanted to read it every chance I got and was able to jump back in whenever the time was right. As someone who cannot read with too much going on around them, this was not the case. I read this during soccer, cub scout meetings, and TV time with the husband and kids making noise as usual.   

Hearing that this book is currently in the works to be made into a TV Series makes me very happy. Can't wait to hear more. It sounds like a cross between Ghost Whisperer and The Walking Dead

Who knows, maybe this is the way it works!!! If it is, I am thankful that my lineage keeps me from being a Graveminder. I would prefer to simply be ignorant and pray that there is a Graveminder around when I pass to make sure I sleep forever.

This is a must read for paranormal lovers. To pre-order Graveminder, head to Amazon.

Trivia: Graveminder is also the winner of the Goodreads Best Horror book. 

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About the Author
Melissa Marr is the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Lovely series of YA novels: Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange, Fragile Eternity, Radiant Shadows, and Darkest Mercy. She currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband and children. GRAVEMINDER is her first adult novel.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harper Collins to facilitate this review.