[Skye’s Review]: The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox

The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
by Hester Fox
Pages: 384
Published by Graydon House
Release Date: September 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Suspense
Source: Publisher
Format Read: ARC
Goodreads

The dead won’t bother you if you don’t give them permission.

Boston, 1844.

Tabby has a peculiar gift: she can communicate with the recently departed. It makes her special, but it also makes her dangerous.

As an orphaned child, she fled with her sister, Alice, from their charlatan aunt Bellefonte, who wanted only to exploit Tabby’s gift so she could profit from the recent craze for seances.

Now a young woman and tragically separated from Alice, Tabby works with her adopted father, Eli, the kind caretaker of a large Boston cemetery. When a series of macabre grave robberies begins to plague the city, Tabby is ensnared in a deadly plot by the perpetrators, known only as the “Resurrection Men.”

In the end, Tabby’s gift will either save both her and the cemetery—or bring about her own destruction.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for stories about necromancers and ghosts. I’m not sure why, but I am. As soon as I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to read it. Now before you start thinking I’m an easy sell, let me enlighten you. No matter how enticing or interesting a blurb is, it’s up to the story and the characters to win me over. If anything, I’m probably a tad pickier when it comes to stories with necromancy involved. I’ve read too many books where it was executed poorly. 

Luckily, I can say that Hester Fox did not let me down. I was ensnared from the first chapter. Tabby wormed her way into my heart almost immediately.  I couldn’t help but feel for her. I can’t imagine being on my own at the age of 12. I really admire her strength and resilience. Caleb, our love interest, was also an interesting character. I really like how the author wrote his character arc. He grew a lot from the first time we met him. 

I don’t want to spoil the plot. All I’ll say is that this book will sneak up on you. You don’t realize how mesmerized you are by it until you’ve turned the last page. I’ll definitely be checking out more of Hester Fox’s books now.