A review by booksjenrecs
Falling for the Gravekeeper by Gena Showalter, Jill Monroe

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

Just when I thought I couldn't love the Jane Ladling books any more, Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe had to go and give us Conrad's point of view. 

A retelling of Romancing the Gravestone, Falling For the Gravekeeper gives readers a different perspective of what happened when Jane finds a body where it doesn't belong. With his skills as a special agent, Conrad brought an air of authority and gravitas to the case that Jane definitely couldn't. 

(I love Jane, but let's be honest - a trained detective, she is not. And that's part of why I love her.)

Conrad's story is everything I had hoped it would be. I loved seeing the investigation through his eyes and learning bits of information that we didn't originally get in Jane's POV. But what I loved most of all about Conrad's side of things is how quickly this pensive, stoic character fell for Jane after meeting her. As it turns out, Conrad was internally shipping himself with Jane since day one and I loved that for them. 

The Jane Ladling series is all around fun to read, and getting the story from Conrad's perspective doesn't change that. We do get details about Conrad's personal life that Jane doesn't get until further along in her relationship with him, so even though this is a retelling of the first book it really should be read in publishing order. 

With Conrad's dry humor and Showalter and Monroe's fantastic writing style, fans of Jane Ladling will not want to miss this new perspective. The mystery itself might not be a surprise, but there's a whole lot more to the story left to tell. 

*A huge thank you to both Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe for sharing an early copy of Falling For the Gravekeeper*