Graveminder by Melissa Marr

Graveminder:
Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville. While growing up, Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual at every funeral: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words, "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is gone and Bek must return to the hometown—and the man—she abandoned a decade ago, only to discover that Maylene's death was not natural . . . and there was good reason for her odd traditions. In Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected—and beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. From this dark place the deceased will return if their graves are not properly minded. And only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk.

Graveminder is an intricately woven story that speaks highly of Melissa Marr's attention to detail and writing style. It has a slower pace, but that in no-way-shape-or-form takes away from the story at all. Although I did still have a few questions by the end of the book, I was completely drawn into the pages and enjoyed it from start to finish. Melissa has a talent for creating deceptive layers in her stories, and this was done beautifully in Graveminder, and as you dig a little deeper you learn something more about the world she has created. Each character plays an important role in moving the story forward at a steady pace; the book was deep and enthralling, with page-after-page of complex relationships. The walking-dead Melissa imagined seem so realistic, I could so vividly see them, wondering around in everyday life and at the same time, made my skin crawl. I loved the small town secrets and mystery behind Rebekkah's return home after years of wandering. Beneath the story of Rebekkah and Byron's past are the more serious issues of trust, honor, betrayal and family duty. They both enter into a bargain that they don't fully understand, but if they don't carry out their roles as Graveminder and Undertaker...the lives and souls of everyone will be at stake.