Title: Graveminder

Author: Melissa Marr

Publisher: William Morrow, 2011

Summary: Rebekkah Barrow is forced into the role of Graveminder for the town of Claysville after her grandmother is murdered.
Okay, I admit I am a sucker for a good cover and tagline. I couldn’t resist the cover photo of a creepy old barn and the tagline “Sleep well, and stay where I put you”. In this case, my lack of willpower paid off. So much more than your typical waking dead storyline, the fully developed characters are what drive this novel.
Rebekkah is the reluctant new Graveminder, and Byron, her first love, is the reluctant new Undertaker. According to an ages old contract, the role of graveminder is to tend the graves of the newly deceased to keep them from waking. The undertaker’s role is to protect her at all costs. When Bek and Byron finally realize what lies in store for them, there is no turning back. Somehow, a few of the newly deceased have awakened, and they are HUNGRY. Rebekkah and Byron must learn their roles and deliver the dead back where they belong before even more people are killed.
The characters in this novel are so interesting that the flesh eating walking dead take a backseat to the relationship between Bek and Byron. Does it make their love any less real just because their new found roles demand their devotion to each other? Should it matter? Read Graveminder and decide for yourself.

Who Might Like This?: Fans of supernatural thrillers.

Recommended by: Sue B, Circulation Coordinator