(73) The Kingdom

Title: The Kingdom (Graveyard Queen) by Amanda Stevens
Publisher: Mira Publishing
384 pages
Genre: Mystery, paranormal

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I got hooked on this series when I read the first one which I received as an advanced readers copy. This installment of the series delves into Amelia's past and adds even more supernatural aspects to this story.  Amelia has always seen ghosts but was warned about interacting with them.  She followed those rules until recently and now it seems like she is drawing them to her.

Amelia accepts a job to help restore a cemetery on a remote island, that seems to be calling her.  But is the island really calling or is it her trying to escape the ghosts that haunt her most recent romance with a police officer?

I really liked the story, the ghostly tension, and the romantic tension but I think it pushed the envelope with some of the unknown supernatural aspects. The information you discover about Amelia and her past from her trip to this remote location gives you enough chills without adding anything to it. While I don't want to disclose it for fear of spoilers I just felt that some of the added fantasy detracted from the story instead of adding to it.