Graveminder

By: Melissa Marr

Narrated by: Emma Galvin

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

When Rebekkah returns to her small-town home for her beloved Grandmother’s funeral, little does she suspect that she is about to inherit a darkly dangerous family duty on behalf of Claysville’s most demanding residents – the dead. Everyone in Claysville knows that the Barrows are no ordinary family, but no one can really explain why. When respected matriarch Maylene Barrow dies suddenly her granddaughter Rebekkah returns to the small town she grew up in, where she must face the demons of her past – the suicide of her half-sister Ella, the person she was closest to in the world, and the subsequent break-up of her parents’ marriage.

And she also re-encounters Byron, Ella’s old boyfriend, someone to whom she has always felt a deep and mysterious connection. But the demons of the past are nothing compared with what the future has in store for Rebekkah. Her grandmother has left her an inheritance both wonderful and terrible. An onerous responsibility now rests on her shoulders – one for which she is ill-prepared to say the least. For behind Claysville’s community-spirited, small-town facade lies a dark secret. One that ties Rebekkah and Byron together in an inextricable bond and that will require them both to sacrifice everything to keep their friends and neighbours from harm.

©2011 Melissa Marr (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"This is a magical novel… the first book in a trilogy that will guarantee to have you itching for the next installment." ( Bliss)

Enchanting and Mesmorising

What made the experience of listening to Graveminder the most enjoyable?

The story line is so different from the norm, the words created so believable and detailed, it allowed me to slip into the book and be immersed in the story

Who was your favorite character and why?

The two young one, coming to terms with their new lives and relationship were my favourite, their interaction was honest and interesting

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely, it was one of those that intruded into every part of my day as I raced to hear what would happen next

Disappointing book that wastes a good idea

I downloaded “Graveminder” because it was read by Emma Galvin (I fell in love with her voice when I listened to “Divergent”) and because the premise seemed promising – a town with restless dead who can only be quieted by a Graveminder and where the last Graveminder has just been killed. There was enough there to pique my interest.

Emma Galvin did the best job she could with the material at hand but the book dragged and dragged. The “reveals” were so slow that I became impatient with them. The book seemed to start several times. There was no narrative thrust to the tale.

“Graveminder” is peppered with good ideas and potentially interesting characters but none of them go anywhere.

I was left with the impression that Melissa Marr had come up with a great pitch for a book and then been unable to move it from idea to fully realized novel.

There was enough there to get me to think that other books by Melissa Marr might be worth a read but my recommendation for “Graveminder” is: don’t bother.