The Visitor

Amanda Stevens is one of my favorite authors. March 29, her new book in the Graveyard Queen series, The Visitor,  is due for release. Because of devastating circumstances, it has been a long time between books. So I’m re-reading the first three books in the series before the release date.

The main character, Amelia Gray, is a graveyard restorer in the South, mostly the Charleston area. The ambiance of the series is creepy, charming, mysterious, filled with Southern well-mannered gentility, laced with suspense and Spanish moss, with an underlying core of something rotten. Very evocative of  Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. At the heart, this series is a Gothic era ghost story set in present day. Also, think of Turn of the Screw or  Woman in Black.

For maximum effect, I turn out the lights and read on my Kindle Paperwhite. I love the downlight feature!

So, if the series is so amazing, why am I re-reading? Don’t I remember what has already occurred?

It’s not that I don’t remember the overall plot to this point. The “problem” is the author has an amazing talent for subtlety. I’m afraid I’ll have forgotten tidbits in the first three books and be at a disadvantage for this fourth. I want to transition into the The Visitor as seamlessly as possible. I want to be right there with Amelia every step of the way!

The Sinner is due out September 27 — what would have been Dan’s birthday. The irony of that is not lost on me. And I’m thrilled not to have to wait years between books. My reading life is good!