Title: The Whispering Dead
Author: Darcy Coates
Series: Gravekeeper, #1
Published: May 2021, Poisoned Pen Press
Format: ARC Paperback, 256 pages
Source: Publisher
Summary:
USA Today
bestseller and rising queen of atmospheric horror Darcy Coates returns with a ghost story that will haunt you long after the final page. She hears them whispering…Homeless, hunted, and desperate to escape a bitter storm, Keira takes refuge in an abandoned groundskeeper’s cottage. Her new home is tucked away at the edge of a cemetery, surrounded on all sides by gravestones: some recent, some hundreds of years old, all suffering from neglect.
And in the darkness, she can hear the unquiet dead whispering.
The cemetery is alive with faint, spectral shapes, led by a woman who died before her time… and Keira, the only person who can see her, has become her new target. Determined to help put the ghost to rest, Keira digs into the spirit’s past life with the help of unlikely new friends, and discovers a history of deception, ill-fated love, and murder.
But the past is not as simple as it seems, and Keira’s time is running out. Tangled in a dangerous web, she has to find a way to free the spirit… even if it means offering her own life in return.
My thoughts: This is the first book I’ve read by Darcy Coates and it will definitely not be the last. And I’m so excited that it also happens to be the first in a new series…what a homerun for me!
There is nothing I love more than stumbling onto new series, especially right at the beginning and I could not be happier with this one. While it is categorized as horror, which is a genre I don’t read a lot in, I felt that this was relatively light in that area, but still had some pretty spooky, creepy undertones just the same. Being set in a graveyard definitely makes for some eerie vibes and the ability of our main protagonist, Keira, to talk with and see ghosts definitely adds an extra element of creepiness.
I really liked Keira and am excited to explore more of her character. We are definitely left with a lot of questions about her, but being that this is just the beginning of a series, it makes sense that we aren’t given all the answers in this first book. I also hope that we see more of some of the characters that were introduced in this first installment.
I am glad I took a chance on this book…and am curious to see where the series goes next. As I wait for the next book to come out in this series, I will definitely be checking out her other books…she is quite a prolific writer and has some backlist! Have you read any of her books yet?
