37) The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

The Blurb :

Deep in the shadowy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies a dying town...

My name is Amelia Gray. They call me The Graveyard Queen. I’ve been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I’m coming to think I have another purpose here.

Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I’ve discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town—this withering kingdom—and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth.

My Review :

When I read The Restorer by Amanda Stevens last year I was left with mixed feelings. The whole ghosts, graveyards and mystery was definitely cool but the writing style and plot somehow lost me towards the end and the story ended in a bundle of fast-paced confusion. Despite this I was eager to read more about Amelia and find out what where the writer would take her next. Bell Lake was not what I was expecting.

The Kingdom starts out with a nice spooky tale about a strange little town. There are always myths and legends surrounding places like Bell Lake and Amelia needs to know these kinds of details in her field of work. The town becomes stranger and stranger by the minute and I am sure I would left way before Amelia did. Curiosity and the mystery of it all keeps Amelia from leaving and what she uncovers definitely has a lot of wow factor to it.

This was a good strong sequel that can hold its own without having read the first part. I didn't need to remember much about the previous book and it was nice to have Amelia fill in some little gaps here and there. The developments surrounding Amelia's personal life made for great reading and I admire the author for not dragging that part out for a few more books. It was pretty surprising to have everything come out into the light already but it certainly was a welcome change.

All in all this was another ghostly delight of a mystery. However my previous problem with this author and her writing style reared its ugly head again in this sequel. Everything was great until the last few chapters. Then everything got so quick and action packed that I found it hard to comprehend everything that was happening and who was who. It was so thrilling and I needed to know what everything meant but I have to admit having to reading some parts twice over to understand what happened. Oh but on saying that I was quite spooked at times and had to turn on an extra light. It kind of all balances itself out into a great read.

The Graveyard Queen series is worth checking out if you like your cozy paranormal mystery a bit darker and spookier. This second book releases at the end of March and book three, The Prophet, releases just a month later in April. I will definitely be following Amelia's story to see what happens next. I am a sucker for a good mystery and ghosts!