‘Graveminder’ makes sure dead stay put

Someone has to watch over the dead: feed them, console them, make sure they stay put.

For decades, Rebekkah Barrow’s stepgrandmother, Maylene, did just that for the folks in Clayville. Maylene went to every funeral, where she would take three sips from a silver flask and say, “Sleep well, and stay where I put you.”

But Rebekkah, an outsider who only lived in Clayville for a short time, never knew why the tradition was performed, just that it was important. Now that her grandmother is dead, the duty to mind the dead falls to her.

Melissa Marr’s book “Graveminder” is an intriguing, twisted Southern Gothic mystery that will have readers wondering if people really do have a choice about who they love.

Rebekkah is torn with indecision and guilt over her destined role in Clayville, a town full of locals leading quiet and happy lives. But the price for those lives has been paid for with a pact that dictates that a Graveminder, always a descendant of the Barrow family, and the town’s Undertaker, always a Montgomery man, work together to make sure the dead of Clayville are buried properly. And if they aren’t, it’s up to the pair to track the dead and lead them to the other side, a place ruled by the mysterious Charles, also known as Mr. D.

Helping Rebekkah is the new Undertaker, Byron Montgomery, an old flame with whom Rebekkah has had a tumultuous acquaintance. Neither Rebekkah nor Byron learn of their roles in Clayville until the last minute. And when a dead girl begins feeding on unsuspecting prey, it falls upon Rebekkah and Byron to sift through old journals and records and visit the land of Mr. D to find the clues they need to bring peace back to Clayville.

Marr, who is well known for her young adult series “Wicked Lovely,” does a wonderful job mixing romance and intrigue with the right amount of spine-tingling spookiness. This novel will definitely have readers wanting more.