Review: The Restorer - Amanda Stevens + The Abandoned

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.

My thoughts:

 I really do not understand how I rate. Here I wondered if I should give it a 3 or 4. It was good, a compelling story, chilling feelings, and great writing, still I felt unsure. But the good writing tips it over to a 4 this time. Which is the best you can get.

I do not really know how to classify this one, southern Gothic mystery? With a touch of romance and yes of course paranormal. I like the mix, I like how it stands out.

Amelia can see ghosts, but she must NEVER let the ghosts know. Which gives the whole book an eerie feeling. Ghosts are present a lot, but she can't acknowledge them. That would open the door to unknown dangers. Not to mention that ghosts here are not kind. They suck the life force out from those they haunt. It did make me look over my shoulder. I hope no ghosts are around me, looking over my shoulder.

There is also that hint of romance, just a hint as it can not happen. I shall not say why. But the pull of passion is there and I wonder...

The mystery is good. A body in the cemetery where Amelia is working, dark dealings going on and in comes Devlin, the officer who tries to solve the crime. All while those ghosts are there. And the setting is of course perfect for this.

Conclusion:

A book that made me want more.

Cover: Works

Series: Graveyard Queen #1
Genre: Southern, Gothic Mystery, ghost-story, paranormal suspense, romance ;)
Pages: 376
Published: 2011 by Mira
Source: Own

There are rules for dealing with ghosts. Too bad Ree Hutchins doesn't know them.

When her favorite patient at a private mental hospital passes away, psychology student Ree Hutchins mourns the elderly woman's death. But more unsettling is her growing suspicion that something unnatural is shadowing her.

Amateur ghost hunter Hayden Priest believes Ree is being haunted. Even Amelia Gray, known in Charleston as The Graveyard Queen, senses a gathering darkness. Driven by a force she doesn't understand, Ree is compelled to uncover an old secret and put abandoned souls to rest--before she is locked away forever....

My thoughts:

I remembered I had this book while reading The Restorer so I quickly changed books. But, I did not think the stories went hand in hand. I would have had a story from long before. Than a story about a girl haunted by a ghost and looking into a shady society.

It was still good, as it was. But when I then think about The Restorer I find holes.

So it works better as it is, than as a prequel.

Series: Graveyard Queen 0,5
Pages: 73
Published: 2011 by Mira
Source: Own