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A review by cathybruce208
The Restorer by Amanda Stevens
4.0
Amelia Gray is a cemetery restorer. What is that? You've seen crumbling, moss-covered tombstones in old graveyards, right? It's Amelia's job to clean them up or, ideally, keep that damage from happening in the first place. She is a one-woman archaeological whirlwind. She's more comfortable around gravestones than people. She's wound pretty tight and lives her life by a strict set of rules (given to her by her father.) Why? Because Amelia can also see ghosts. And if those ghosts see her, she's in big trouble. And then a (fresh) dead body is found in one of the graveyards she's working in...
I think this book did a great job of introducing Amelia and the "love interest." More on him later. Amelia is smart, resourceful, slightly obsessive, and more than a little repressed. She says she's "quietly pretty" in a don't-look-at-me way. She's the sort of quirky heroine that you want to spend time with, slowly getting to know (which bodes well for the future of the series). The book needs to convince us that this woman has seen ghosts her whole life, and I think the writer does a good job with Amelia's personality.
The object of Amelia's affections is John Devlin: cop, widower, smoldering hottie with a tragic past. Devlin didn't float my boat, but I can see why Amelia becomes obsessed with him. Some women like a fixer-upper. Personally, the whole "haunted by the ghosts of my ex-wife and child" thing would send me running in the other direction, but some girls like a challenge.
The book also did a great job of describing the setting. I've lived in the South, but only visited Charleston a few times. It's a beautiful city with an old-world charm. This book conjures the smells, sights and sounds of the city. It makes me want to move there (even with all the ghosts, killers and back-stabbing Steel Magnolias).
BTW, did I mention this is a murder mystery? It is. It's a good story and I won't give any of it away. I will say that the answer is in front of you the whole time. It doesn't come out of nowhere the way some do. I missed some clues, but then, so did Amelia. She's not perfect, but she is someone you'll root for.
I'll be reading the sequel to see what Amelia does next.
I think this book did a great job of introducing Amelia and the "love interest." More on him later. Amelia is smart, resourceful, slightly obsessive, and more than a little repressed. She says she's "quietly pretty" in a don't-look-at-me way. She's the sort of quirky heroine that you want to spend time with, slowly getting to know (which bodes well for the future of the series). The book needs to convince us that this woman has seen ghosts her whole life, and I think the writer does a good job with Amelia's personality.
The object of Amelia's affections is John Devlin: cop, widower, smoldering hottie with a tragic past. Devlin didn't float my boat, but I can see why Amelia becomes obsessed with him. Some women like a fixer-upper. Personally, the whole "haunted by the ghosts of my ex-wife and child" thing would send me running in the other direction, but some girls like a challenge.
The book also did a great job of describing the setting. I've lived in the South, but only visited Charleston a few times. It's a beautiful city with an old-world charm. This book conjures the smells, sights and sounds of the city. It makes me want to move there (even with all the ghosts, killers and back-stabbing Steel Magnolias).
BTW, did I mention this is a murder mystery? It is. It's a good story and I won't give any of it away. I will say that the answer is in front of you the whole time. It doesn't come out of nowhere the way some do. I missed some clues, but then, so did Amelia. She's not perfect, but she is someone you'll root for.
I'll be reading the sequel to see what Amelia does next.