Review: The Restorer by Amanda Stevens

Title: The Restorer
Author: Amanda Stevens
Publisher: Mira
Pub. Date: February 21, 2012
Format: Paperback
Source: Library

Never acknowledge the dead.

Never stray far from hallowed ground.

Never get close to the haunted.

Never, ever tempt fate.

My name is Amelia Gray. I'm a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I've always held fast to these rules passed down from my father…until now.

Detective John Devlin needs my help to find a killer, but he is haunted by ghosts who shadow his every move. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I've vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the headstone symbols lead me closer to truth and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.

Review

I had very high hopes when picking up this book. The description sounded right up my alley - a series of murders in an abandoned graveyard? Awesome! This plot sounded fresh and really interesting - tons of potential. The main line of the story is what kept me reading. It was something new and the twists were good - they had me guessing until the end. The main character, Amelia Gray, was a well done heroine. She had the normal struggles in life with the added problems that seeing ghosts brings to the table. Aside from the solid characters and strong story line, my love for this book stopped there. Of course there was some romance, as to be expected, but what could have been an intriguing relationship or at least the start of one, turned out to be overly predictable and boring. Parts of the story, mostly about the background of some of the characters and the stories surrounding Charleston's history really bogged the book down. There were good twists and secrets throughout the book, which I was hoping would be given answers at the end, but I was left hanging - and not in a good way. I see how leaving questions unanswered leaves an open ending for the next book, but these questions left me feeling frustrated instead of intrigued. I have already received the next two books in this series, and I'm hoping that they will rekindle my love for this Gothic romance.