The Restorer

The premise of the Restorer immediately intrigued me, a heroine who works to repair graveyards, scary ghosts and serial murder, a combination I find almost irresistible. From the first I found Amelia Gray engaging. As the story is told in the first person it creates an immediate intimacy as we are privy to her thoughts and emotions. She is reserved and self contained, a product of her father's rules of protection from the ghosts that linger behind the veil. Her occupation as a graveyard restorer is something unusual and Stevens weaves Amelia's knowledge seamlessly into the storyline. While I have always been fascinated by gravestone epitaph's I had never given much thought to the symbolism that permeates old cemeteries. Amelia's show more unconventional relationship with Devlin offers elements of romance without overwhelming the plot. Devlin is handsome, aloof and enigmatic as hero's tend to be but his mysterious background gives him some depth that I expect will be explored in further installments.Stevens plays up the stereotypes of southern eccentrics and the old monied privileged with several characters but also includes a lesbian colleague and Gullah mystic. The varied cast allows for a wide pool of suspects in the murders.One of the particular strengths of this book lies in the atmosphere that Steven's creates with lyrical description and a menacing undertone that builds to the climax as Amelia is stalked by both human and ghost. There are moments that gave me goosebumps as I imagined the ghost child swaying slowly on the backyard swing.Despite a majority of wonderfully well written scenes I was regularly jarred out of the narrative when some desperately melodramatic sentences slipped into the prose. Since I have read a galley I will not quote them, but I found them disruptive.The Restorer is a solid debut for the Graveyard Queen southern gothic mystery/urban fantasy series. I look forward to continuing the series with [b:The Kingdom|11162228|The Kingdom (Graveyard Queen, #2)|Amanda Stevens|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|16086233] due to be released later this year (2011) show less

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.

This was another one of those books with such an awesome premise; a book I should have loved if not for the fact that it was so incredibly… dull.

I mean, seriously, it had all show more the things that draw me in to a book: first-person narrative, ghosts, paranormal activity, and a murder investigation. I was super excited to see how Stevens brought all these elements together, and in the end I was super disappointed.

Amelia Gray has all the personality of a dishrag. She’s bland, boring, and completely uninteresting. She’s also not terribly bright. When her car gets broken into, she confesses it never occurred to her the break-in could be connected to the murder investigation she’s just gotten pulled into. And when she meets Devlin’s ghosts - a woman and a child who are very clearly quite attached to him, she doesn’t even begin to speculate that maybe she’s dealing with the ghosts of his wife and child. Instead she goes on ad infinitum about how she wishes she knew who those two ghosts were, when it would be pretty apparent with anyone with a couple of brain cells to rub together.

The supporting characters are no better. Their personalities meld together, making them pretty much interchangeable. And Amelia and Devlin’s attraction seems to hinge on a magical magnetic pull and literal (!) sparks that happen when they touch.

The murder mystery was lackluster at best, especially since Amelia spent very little time thinking about the mystery at all. And all the 4th wall breaking really got on my nerves. It was a poor attempt at foreshadowing - i.e. “But a tidy ending was not meant to be. Everything in my world was about to change forever.”

Yeah. I think I’ve said enough. Definitely not a series I’ll be continuing. show less

Amelia can see dead people - okay, not exactly like the movie The 6th Sense, but it still gave me chills like that movie did. Amelia restores graves and graveyards that have been neglected over the years. While restoring one that has been particularly overgrown, a dead body (or actually a series of them) are discovered there and she is drawn into the murder investigation. And, of course, her safety is also challenged. Her ability to see ghosts (something that her father has told her to keep secret and never acknowledge to the ghosts themselves) both poses challenges to her ability to help the lead investigator (Devlin), who just happens to be haunted by his dearly departed wife and daughter. But, these ghosts also surprise her when they show more do something she doesn't expect.

Amanda Stevens is a new author to me, and I must say that I will definitely be reading more from her. The easy, natural way in which she writes allows you to read quickly while still feeling like you are getting a lot of depth of character and background into the setting. I enjoyed the dialogue - it didn't seem forced or simply unnecessary. The beginning of the book was a little slow for me - I don't need a big bang to start off, but I haven't read anything like a ghost story in a while and I wasn't sure my heart was in it. But, then the mystery and the fear and the tension and her love interest all sucked me into the story. While it was a slow start, the middle and ending (for me) was a non-stop enjoyable ride and I stayed up WAY too late last night to finish it. I will be looking for the second book in this series as well as others she has published. show less

Holy cow! Let me first say that I am absolutely gobsmacked by how much I enjoyed this book. I came across the author, Amanda Stevens, during Women in Horror month. She wasn't one of the main authors I was looking for, but she was one of the few I could find in my local libraries. I'm not much of a paranormal romance girl, but I decided to go with it. This is a reminder to myself that I WAS SO WRONG TO JUDGE.

This book gets a lot of stuff right for me. It's genuinely creepy, it's got the right level of romance (or non-romance), it's got a plot that is compelling and complex, and the paranormal stuff is just a shade off of reality enough to be believable (which is how I like it, thank you very much). The only minor annoying bits were the show more gobs of foreshadowing in the first half of the book (like, yeah, okay, I get it; you're going to tell me you have these rules, then break every one of them, and something bad will happen; that's why I'm here, stop telling me about it and show me already) and the fact that I have to wait for my library hold to come in to read the second one.

AND, finally (!), someone gets the South right. The Charleston in this book didn't come off as a non-Southerner's vision of the South. It is the South, right down to the moon garden and iced tea on the porch. Hallelujah. show less

THE RESTORER is a chilling ghost story/murder mystery. It was “now I have to sleep with all the lights on” spooky, and I devoured it! This is the story of Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer. She’s become a minor celebrity as “The Graveyard Queen” among taphophiles (cemetery enthusiasts). What most people don’t know about her is that she can see ghosts. When she was a young child, her father gave her strict rules for dealing with ghosts: Don’t acknowledge them; stay close to hallowed ground; avoid people who are haunted; and, never tempt fate. Sounds like excellent advice to me! Unfortunately for Amelia, she becomes entangled in a murder mystery that has her breaking all the rules and paying the price for it.

Amelia is hired show more to restore Oak Grove Cemetery situated on Emerson University property. Soon after she arrives, the body of a woman very recently killed is found dumped in one of the graves. This disturbing event brings her together with Detective John Devlin of the Charleston PD. There’s something about Devlin that draws Amelia to him, which is most unfortunate because…he’s haunted. It’s not long before another murder victim is discovered, and both crimes may or may not tie in with a murder that occured 15 years ago under similar circumstances. And, is the secret organization at Emerson known as the Order of the Coffin and the Claw somehow involved? The police need Amelia’s expertise in cemetery symbolism to help crack the case. So here she is, breaking the rules her father set, and most definitely tempting fate.

THE RESTORER was a very well crafted paranormal murder mystery. It was so creepy and so good. I enjoyed the author’s descriptive writing style. I loved the cemetery setting, the spooky ghosts and the sense of foreboding I felt when I knew twilight was approaching. I loved Amelia. She was a smart and tough heroine with a very unique job. I think it would be fascinating to research the history of old cemeteries and analyze gravestone carvings. I’m a bit of a taphophile too, so I was really pulled into this story.

The Amelia/Devlin attraction was a bit unbelievable. He was so pained and withdrawn, yet she wanted him the whole book. But why? Considering his history and who his ghosts were? Eek. Personally, I would not want to open that can of worms. But then there would be moments where we’d get a fleeting glimpse of the man he used to be, and I’d think, “Is he redeemable?” Maybe. I’m very curious to see where the author takes their relationship in the next book.

While the main mystery in THE RESTORER is wrapped up nicely, we’re left with many unanswered questions. Are the members of the Order of the Coffin and the Claw good or evil? Who was the private investigator giving Amelia tips, and what does he want from her? Will Devlin ever be free of his spectral burdens? I’m looking forward to finding out some answers in the second book, THE KINGDOM.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

This review first appeared on my blog: http://www.knittingandsundries.com/2011/06/egalley-wednesday-june-8-2011-restore...

FIRST SENTENCE: I was nine when I saw my first ghost.

Amanda Stevens is a 27-year-old cemetery restorer who can see ghosts. Her father, a cemetery caretaker who also sees ghosts, gave her rules to follow. One rule is to never acknowledge the ghost. Another is to keep your distance from those who are haunted.

While restoring Oak Grove Cemetery at Emerson University, Amanda receives a call that a body has been unearthed. A murder has been committed, and someone used Oak Grove as their dumping ground. The police detective on the case, John Devlin, is not only handsome, but has an odd magnetism that makes Amanda want to show more know more about him. Too bad he is accompanied by his own ghosts - a woman and a child.

Amanda finds out that this is not the first murder victim discovered at the cemetery, and when another body shows up, Amanda is drawn into a plot involving secret societies and people in the highest social circles, a private detective who really isn't, and a child ghost that won't leave her alone.

This is a great, kind of creepy, mystery mixed with a touch of romance. Amanda is my kind of girl - feisty and strong, but smart enough to be creeped out when she encounters a new breed of ghosts called the Others - black and malignant. And the ending pretty much rocks .. really .. it's weird, but not TOO. This is the first in a series, and I look forward to seeing what Amanda gets up to next.

Sensitive Reader: Read the quote below; that's as steamy as it gets.

QUOTE (from a galley; may be different in final copy):

They were all around us. Drawn by the heat and energy of our lovemaking. Drawn to the most elemental act of life . . . of what they could never experience again.
Hungry and covetous, they watched us. Leering from the darkest corners. Crouching like gargoyles atop the bedpost. Touching diaphanous body parts in grotesque parody.

Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars show less

Review originally appeared at www.libriago.blogspot.com/2011/08/restorer.html

★★★¾

As I've mentioned before, I'm a sucker for a good ghost story, even when it scares the schnikeys out of me. The Restorer is one of those creepily good stories that goes for the perfect chilling factor.

Book one in the Graveyard Queen series (doesn't that just sound so awesome?) introduces us to Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. These aren't Casper-friendly ghosts, either. These are scary, wet-the-bed nightmarish ghosts, so Amelia has held to her father's edict to never let ghosts know she can see them. She's done a good job—until now.

How could a ghost story get even better? Add in genteel Southerns entrenched in secret societies and show more sacrificial murders, plus a handsome potential love interest with a mysterious past, and you've got a realistically fright-worthy read.

While this book is published by Harlequin, it focuses more on the mystery than the romance, which I really appreciated in this story. I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy. show less