Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and Luna Evans know there are the dead, and then there are the restless dead. The Evans' funeral parlor is the only one in town. So it seems sooner or later they all come through there. But the general population of this small southeastern Texas town know nothing about the restless dead. That includes the Deputy Roger Taylor who is lead investigator on a string of murders and disappearances. The coroner has said that it may be some kind of rabid animal. Deputy Taylor has his doubts. And he thinks the Evans have something to do with it. He just isn't sure what.
I loved the cover and title. But, I thought the cover was a little misleading. It looks like it's going to be a vampire book, but it really isn't. The monsters they face, the strigoi, are for the most part zombie-ish in nature. In fact, Ducey refers to them as ghouls.
The main plot is about the ghouls and what's going on with them in terms of the townspeople and the Evans family. There is a subplot about Luna finding out about her heritage since she is only half Evans. Plus she needs to find out more about the family business.
The story is told from alternating points of views. This includes all of the Evans women, the sheriff, Deputy Taylor and at least one more. It's a lot, but it works. It's coherent and easy to follow as each chapter starts with the name of whose viewpoint it is from.
Lighter moments are juxtaposed with horrific deaths. There[s a mystery as to who the master strigoi is. There is a dog, Belle, and she doesn't die in the end. There are more deaths than I expected. The ending did surprise me. I did not guess in advance who the master strigoi was.
I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It's generally well written. The world building in terms of how the restless dead work was interesting. I liked the Evans women. And I find I am looking forward to the next book in the series. If you like your horror with just a dash of lighter moments, then this could be a good book for you.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my review.
No comments:
Post a Comment