Back of Book: 

In Gold Creek, Michigan, legend has that the ghost of a local grave digger still walks the cemetery, swinging his shovel, looking for his next victim to bury. But when the town’s wealthy undertaker dies, his estranged daughter must contend with the ghosts that haunt her own family... 

After she left home at seventeen, River Gold swore she would never return to Gold Creek. Growing up at the Gold Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens was a nightmare. Classmates constantly teased her for being part of the “Ghoul” family, while her own family denied that she was actually a Gold. Her father, undertaker Gregory Gold, certainly never acted like a father. He was far more interested in profiting off other people’s tragedies. But now Gregory has died. And River has surrendered to her mother, Fiona’s, pleas that she come back for his funeral.

But the mourning period is cut short when it’s revealed that Gregory died of poisoning—and Fiona is arrested for his murder. Clearly, Fiona, his third wife and the funeral home’s cosmetologist, is being framed. There are plenty of more likely suspects, and River is determined to prove her mother’s innocence. That she’ll have to work with the sheriff—her high school enemy—is a small price to pay.

With a fortune at stake, River is sure the killer lies among Gregory’s first two wives, their children, and grandchildren. Yet soon, other discoveries will be made, and longstanding secrets unearthed. But when teenagers start disappearing from the cemetery, the danger hits closer to home than River imagined possible. Drawn back into the lives—and lies—of the Golds—she’ll have to use her every resource to keep herself, and her loved ones, safe.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Adult | Horror | Mystery | Thriller 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟 

A spooky thriller set in a small Michigan town featuring a crematorium, a mysterious grave digger, and the murder of a the leader of a dynasty that deals in death. 

Sixteen years ago, River swore that she would never return to her hometown or the Gold Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens in which she was raised. But when Gregory Gold I, the head of the household and her father, dies from mysterious causes, River has no choice but to return to Gold Creek to support her mother. With Gregory's massive amount of wealth at stake, River is convinced that one of the members of the Gold family is to blame for Gregory's murder. The longer she stays in Gold Creek, the more deadly secrets that come to light. Inside the Gold Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, no member of the Gold family is safe when the family business is up for grabs. 

I found the beginning of this book to be pretty interesting. It took a bit of time to wrap my head around the entire family (I am really grateful for the family tree that was included in the front of this novel), but I eventually got it down. The set up of the funeral home and the family estate was extremely suspicious from the start, but I found it very entertaining trying to figure out who would benefit the most from Gregory I's death. There was so many characters that for the longest time it was near impossible to even warrant a guess, but things become more clear with time and I was pretty much set on the fact that certain characters were guilty. 

The subplot that follows River and her ex-boyfriend, Michael, was pretty interesting. The cop who is investigating the murder is River's estranged boyfriend's brother, which made for a very interesting dynamic. River's daughter, Sarah, and Luke's son, Jackson, also have a bit of a thing, which is a tad weird due to the close relations of their families, but I did really enjoy how those two interacted with one another. Jackson has went through many traumatic events, and seeing Sarah help him through all the new turmoil was sweet. 

The reveals in this one weren't super shocking when it comes to who was doing certain things, but it was quite alarming the lengths that some of the Golds were willing to take. Many of the scenarios that pan out in this book are very close to incest, which I found greatly disturbing, especially due to the fact that literally three different incidents occur throughout this book that are waaaaay too close to family members sleeping with each other. I don't think any of them are technically related, but man is the Gold family messed up. All these incidents most definitely soured this book a bit for me, but it added a shock factor that I didn't see coming. I feel like I would be remiss not to warn about this in the review though. 

Also, the epilogue was super confusing. I'm not sure exactly what seeing this scene did to add to the story except I guess reveal a certain character's dark secret. I'm almost positive I know who the Gravedigger is, but the book didn't make it one hundred percent clear. The epilogue was certainly creepy as heck, so I guess it did a good job of not letting the reader down easy at the end of this book. Still, why? 

Overall, "The House by the Cemetery" was a decent horror read that had pretty typical thriller vibes with some shocking reveals that had me greatly disturbed. It reads very much like a dark family drama, so if you like juicy secrets and family members having dirt on each other, I'm sure that would enhance the entertainment value of this book. I didn't love this book, but I found it oddly hard to stop reading about the messed up antics of the Gold family. Not a book I would typically read, but an interesting dive into adult horror nonetheless. 

Back of Book: 

Between mysterious missing persons cases, unsolved murders, and the menacing specter of an eternally blood-thirsty grave digger’s ghost, the town of Gold Creek, Michigan, has a grim reputation, and so does the wealthy, ruthless Gold family, who run the local funeral home and cemetery—and may be behind it all...

Yet another teen has gone missing from the Gold Memorial Gardens, and Child Protective Services Investigator Claire Underwood isn't giving up until she finds him. For Claire, solving the case is more than business. Years ago, she lost a friend in that cemetery.

Over time, the authorities deemed all the disappeared teens runaways, while local legend blamed the ghost of the murderous grave digger—much to the satisfaction of the Golds, also known as the “Ghouls.” Claire has always suspected the Golds were involved, including in some recent murders among their own. She went to high school with Noah Gold. He was very quiet, and very intense. Like someone with something to hide.

Noah is sick of being cast in the same light as his conniving, money-hungry family. He’s still a bit anti-social, but he’s just as determined as Clare to unearth the truth—and finally bury the legend of the grave digger. With a common goal, he and Claire join forces, but it’s a quest that puts them in mortal danger. Only with the help of the local sheriff—whose own brother vanished years ago—do they have a chance of surviving. Yet, the truth that awaits them is more terrifying than any ghost...

Book Number: Two 

Genre: Adult | Horror | Mystery | Thriller 

Review: ?