Shannon's Library

LET’S GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK!

The year is 1867, and Verity Boone is returning to her birthplace, Catawissa, Pennsylvania. She knows that this small farm town will be a big change from Worcester, Massachusetts, where she’s spent most of her seventeen years, and she’s ready to face the challenge. She looks forward to a joyful reunion with her father and, of course, to meeting Nate, her future husband, face-to-face for the first time. But her homecoming isn’t all she expected. Verity’s father is awkward and distant. Even Nate disappoints – their strained conversations are so unlike the easy exchange of letters that convinced Verity to accept his proposal. And a horrifying surprise awaits her. There are two graves enclosed in iron cages just outside the local cemetery’s walls, and Verity is determined to find out why. She hears rumors of grave robbers, hidden treasure, and even witchcraft. Were the cages built to keep others out – or the dead in? Verity’s search for the truth exposes the town’s closely guarded secrets, sheds light on some disturbing family history, and leads her into mortal danger.

Shannon’s Rating — PG

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LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK!

Can we discuss book covers for a minute? I TOTALLY judge a book by its cover. Don’t you? But book covers are more than that. They help set the tone for what you can expect in a book you’ve picked up, opened and started reading. Based solely on what the book cover presents to us – we usually know what kind of a book we’re getting into.

Now, let’s look at the two available book cover options for “The Caged Graves,” by Dianne K. Salerni.

I originally read the paperback version of this book that I checked out from the library. Based on the cover…I was expecting a pretty spooky, Halloweeny story. My teenager daughter was just here in the room with me while I’m writing this. I asked her if she saw this paperback cover – what would she think the book was about. She said zombies. Or vampires. Definitely something creepy. So, I don’t think I was alone in thinking that this would be the basic vibe of the story. Also – the title. “The Caged Graves.” Yep. Most assuredly this will be a scary book.

I think you know where I’m going with this! No! This is NOT a super scary book with all kinds of monsters creeping out of the ground from caged graves. This book will NOT give you bad dreams or keep you from sleeping at night -no matter what the paperback cover leads you to think.

When I ordered the hardcover version to keep in my personal library, I realized this cover more correctly fits the vibe of the story. Which is…A romance with a bit of a mystery. Yes, I said that right. A romance!

So, this Halloween season, if you’re burned out of scary stories…or if scary stories aren’t your thing…then give “The Caged Graves” a try. It’s a sweet romance tale with enough of a mystery to keep things interesting. I kind of guessed where things were going pretty early on, so the mystery wasn’t much of a surprise to me. But that didn’t really matter. I thoroughly enjoyed the book!

(Although, to be totally honest…I wouldn’t have minded if a monster or two had made an appearance! I’m always down for a zombie plotline!)