Saturday, April 7, 2012

The Restorer (Graveyard Queen #1) by Amanda Stevens

The Restorer
(Graveyard Queen #1)
Amanda Stevens

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Never acknowledge the dead.

Never stray far from hallowed ground.

Never get close to the haunted.

Never, ever tempt fate.

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 these rules passed down from my father…until now.
Detective John Devlin needs my help to find a killer, but he is haunted by ghosts who shadow his every move. 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 headstone symbols lead me closer to truth and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.


Amanda Stevens delivers an eerie murder mystery with the added plus of the paranormal in The Restorer.

Amelia is a lonely character, having to live her whole life avoiding ghosts and those haunted by them. She has trained herself not to react when spotting a ghost, and this talent often carries over into her everyday life when trying to hide her reactions and emotions. There is a distance between Amelia and her friends and family. She keeps this horrible secret to herself with only her father knowing about it.

The Restorer reads like a murder mystery, with Amelia spending most of the plot following clues and trying to help the police find the murderer who keeps leaving bodies in the cemetery she is currently working on. Amelia is a great character and is perfectly written for this role. She's strong when she should be strong and terrified when she should be terrified. Her partner in solving the grisly murders is John Devlin, who I imagined as a typical, old-school cop. Devlin is tough and gruff, but something about him attracts Amelia right away. Don't be too excited about the promise of romance, however. Although this book says paranormal romance on the spine, I would not describe it so. The attraction between Amelia and Devlin is tension filled and has a few great moments, but it doesn't really amount to much in this one. I would call this book more of a paranormal mystery, with a splash of romance.

And speaking of paranormal - whew! Stevens ghosts are not of the Casper variety. They are spooky and scary. The idea that a ghost could attach itself to you and slowly suck away your happiness, your energy, and your life force is simply terrifying. There weren't many 'jump out and grab you moments', rather the scariness comes more from the constant feeling of creepiness throughout the novel.

An awesome series starter that combines mystery with paranormal and leaves the reader guessing 'whodunnit' till the very last chapter, The Restorer will both frighten and excite you!

   



8 comments:

  1. Nice review! I like that you alerted readers to the fact that it's not really paranormal romance. The cover is very intriguing. Although I do appreciate witnessing love blossom in books, it sounds like the storyline and characters are enough to pull you through the novel without it. Pretty cool that you had a feeling of creepiness throughout. The author did her job!
    -Jenna @ Fans of Fiction

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  2. I love this series!! During The Kingdom I had to put on Dora the Explorer while reading it. I was a little scared.lol Oh and out of nowhere my daughters doll house lights up and starts talking, I almost had a heart attack! It was spooky but oh so good. I usually don't like to be scared but these books are totally worth it.

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  3. I haven't heard of this book before but I will make sure to check it out soon, great review :)

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  4. I have been wondering about this series for awhile. Great review! Even if it's not paranormal romance it still sounds like a great read. The ghosts do sound terrifying though!

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  5. Wow, what a great review. I would not have been drawn to this book at all. The cover just doesn't reach out and grab me. Likewise the blurb wouldn't have sucked me in, but your review; that did it for me. One more book added to the wishlist pile.

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  6. I love a good mystery, especially one with thrills! This sounds like an excellent series to put on my list when I am not in the mood for hot sex and love...
    Stephanie Christensen

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  7. What a unique job Amanda has! I love sexual/romantic tension between characters...maybe it will grow in upcoming books! Overall sounds like a great book. Thank you for an honest review!

    books4me

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  8. Amanda is an author that is new to me. I look forward to learning more about her. This books sounds very intriguing.
    Mel

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