This is my 2nd read by Darcy Coates (the first being Craven Manor which I loved!) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has a ‘cozy mystery with a twist’ type of feel to it. The twist being the paranormal ghosts that the MC can see and feel.

I love the concept of not super scary ghost stories or stories where ghosts are part of the story but not the central focus. The Whispering Dead had a couple of creepy moments for me, which of course, I love! Beyond that it also had some pretty interesting characters. As this is book 1 in a series, I’m eager to see how these characters develop in the upcoming books and will definitely be reading them. In fact, I am eager to get my hands on many, many more books by Darcy Coates.

I had a lot of guesses as to what was going to happen in this story and I will say that I questioned every characters intentions at least once. There are some big questions that are left open at the end of this book so I hope Coates can write really, really fast!!

Roller coaster of ghosts, mystery, and suspicion! Coates does a great job of quickly developing characters and making them believable and immediately interesting. I have yet to read one where I am not rooting for the main character and others, while being pulled through a mixture of reality and fantasy. This appears to be the making of a new series, and I'd love to see that - love to keep on this one!

First in the GRAVEKEEPER Series, THE WHISPERING DEAD begins with a scary reader's hook, as a young woman becomes aware in a rain-soaked wood, injured and hunted. If you're confused, you're not nearly as bewildered as this person, who knows only that her name is Keira, and nothing before that, other than a sort of subconscious sense and muscle memory, an ingrained survival instinct. So Keira sets out to do what she seems best skilled for: to survive. For Keira, this means making her way anew, hiding her amnesia, making friends, avoiding whoever hunts her; and coping with supernatural infestations with the aid of a lovely, possibly sentient, feline.

Keira is on the run, desperate and drenched from the storm when she finds the church in the woods. The kind preacher offers her food and a place to stay, in the grounds keeper's cottage by the cemetery. Finally given a chance to breath, Keira settles in. Peace doesn't last long.
Spirits are whispering to her from their graves, just outside her window. One spirit is speaking to her the loudest, begging for help. Keira knows the spirit won't rest until she figures out why she hasn't passed on. What Keira finds is a sad story of love and murder.

This is my first time reading Darcy Coates. I have heard wonderful things about her horror fiction, and couldn't wait to be scared by her. Luckily, The Whispering Dead is the first book of a series, so I could jump right in.
The Whispering Dead reads a lot like a YA horror book. There is a lot going on with friendship development, and team work. I do think this was essential to the plot direction, but it was all a little to cheery and fun for a horror book. I did love Zoe's character, she is quite funny and essentric.
The horror aspect of the story is very tame. Its more ghosty and spiritual then what I like for horror. I would definitely feel comfortable with my thirteen year old reading this as a beginner horror book.
Though the book leaves you with some questions, the end was good. I did enjoy the story and the characters, and look forward to the next book. I hope Coates goes a little darker in the next one.

This book was more suspenseful and unsettling than scary, but I really enjoyed the eerie, atmospheric writing. The story is set up for a sequel, as some major questions went unanswered by the end. It was a quick, engaging read overall. The story was familiar but not too predictable. The protagonist starts (and ends) the story not remembering who she is or how she ended up hunted in the forest by armed men. The story evolves into a ghost story in a small, quaint, friendly town where she begins to lay down roots while she tries and fails to piece things together. The primary question that the reader thinks will drive the novel is the true identity of Keira, as she begins the novel remembering and knowing nothing. Unfortunately, the detours the story takes as Keira learns about the ghosts of the town and how she can help them feel more like distractions from that primary question. These detours also were not as interesting to me. I wanted to know who she was, how she ended up being hunted in the woods. The book started off strong, and while it remained engaging I felt as though the story turned into another book entirely. To put it simply, I cared far less about the happenings that made up most of the book than I did about figuring out how Keira ended up there.

Like the fog in our main characters mind, our story starts out seemingly half way through. Keira running through dark woods, through cemeteries, all while a raging storm is happening. The fog begins to clear as you step into this wonderfuly, creepily crafted novel about the Whispering dead.

I just loved our MC Keira, she was kick ass, kind to the core and funny. The cast of characters we meet are most likeable. The ones who are not are written so clearly we know their character and will dislike them. I love when authors can make that clear in their personality because we all know you need contrasting characters! I loved how kind most people in the town were, it makes you want to go there and stay.

The plot was good, I found myself trying to guess where it would go, highlighting things I thought were clues along the way. I did not find this too scary, but there are moments where it's not on the light side either.

I give this four stars. I would recommend it, I will buy the book for my own little collection.

This is our May the 4th!! So go pre-order!! It's not long to wait at all.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Net Galley and poison pen press.

I don’t think this was the proper Darcy Coates book to start with. The Whispering Dead was definitely entertaining, but it also felt kind of hollow and weird. Maybe this is because it’s going to be a series and there’s a lot to be fleshed out through the upcoming books? It’s kind of hard to say honestly.

That being said, I really did enjoy my first foray into Coates’ work and I am super excited to venture into her other novels. Just go into this knowing that there are a lot of unanswered questions/several dangling threads of this story. Overall, it was worth the read. At no point was I bored or considered marking this a DNF. This will be more of a middle rating at 3 stars.

Thanks so much to NetGalley. Source Books, and Poisoned Pen Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have been anxiously awaiting this book from Darcy Coates since I read in her newsletter that it was being released.

Keira awakes in the forest being pursued by men with guns. She is unsure of why she is being chased and of who she is. All she knows is that she needs to run to get away from the men who wish to harm her. She finally sees a building and makes her way toward it. She knocks on the door and Pastor Adage invites her in and hides her from one of the men who comes searching for her.

Pastor Adage provides a caretaker cottage surrounded by grave stones for Keira to stay in after she chooses to not stay in the parsonage with him. She is afraid for his safety. Her first night, she sees a woman moving around outside the cottage and realizes that it is a ghost. She is scared but she does realize that the ghost is asking for help. Keira now tries to learn all she can about the woman buried in cemetery. She finds out the name of the ghost, her cause of murder and tries her best to help Emma so she can rest in peace. Keira meets some friends during her time in Blighty. Mason, the man who dropped out of medical school not long before he would have completed his studies. Zoe, the lovable conspiracy nut who becomes Keira's first friend. Gavin, the spoiled doctors son and some other residents of Blighty.

I'm not always fond of a series of books but I'm so happy that this will be one. I can't wait to find out who Keira really is and why she was being hunted. The characters are well written and made me care about what happens to them as well as some of the ghosts still roaming the cemetery and the old mill.

If you like ghost stories without graphic descriptions of blood and guts and no sex scenes, you will love this book. As well as all of Ms. Coates other books.

I think I found myself mostly confused for the entirety of my time reading this book.

I'm super into horror and I love all things spooky and ghostly, but the plot here just didn't hook me like other horrors typically do. I found Keira extremely grating as a character and thus, my sympathy for her was virtually nonexistent. Her amnesia was a plotline that felt more convenient than anything else, and to be honest, her constant insults regarding her potential past (i.e. homeless, druggie, etc.) didn't sit well with me. It felt like the author was projecting her views of these people through Keira's own feelings regarding that population, and I wasn't here for it. It was basically just insulting a group without coming right out and saying that's what you were doing.

Overall, not something I'd be inclined to recommend.

A ghost story! When Keira wakes in a wood, she has no idea where she's been or what's coming. She's taken in by a kindly (or is he) pastor who kets her stay in the groundskeeper's cottage next to- wait for it- the graveyard. There she meets the ghost of Emma, who was murdered, and decides to solve the crime. This one lost me- no fault of Coates because it just wasn't my cup of tea. I DNF. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is a quirky little tale about a woman with no memory who turns up in a graveyard one night during a thunderstorm, wet, and beaten and running for her life. The story is rather lightweight and is about as scary as Scooby-Doo but the characters are interesting and well drawn and the town of Blighty with its haunted graveyard has plenty of atmosphere. A promising start to a new series with plenty of threads for expansion and loose ends to tie up in the next instalment.

3.5 stars for The Whispering Dead!

Kiara, lost in woods and being followed, finds refuge in a small cottage at the edge of cemetery. She soon discovers the she can hear and see the spirits that lay rest in the cemetery. Determined to help put the spirits to rest, Kiara follows a woman who makes herself known to Kiara. On her quest to help the spirit, she digs into the past, meets unlikely allies, and discoverers the shocking history of the spirit and town. As the mystery continues to spiral, Kiara has to find the truth before the past catches up with her.

The Whispering Dead was different from what I've read by Darcy Coates in the past. I have always loved her haunted house books (especially The Carrow Haunt) and the Whispering Dead was no exception. I really liked the concept and idea for this book but after reading felt that there were some unanswered questions. Now seeing on Goodreads that this is the first book in a series (Gravekeeper #1), I can see these questions being answered in future books. The ending of the book did elude to a sequel which was exciting! Can't wait to see where Kiara"s story goes next!

I have enjoyed reading Darcy Coate books since she first came to my attention because of Netgalley. By the end of the story you realize this first book is the start of a new series about Darcy who can see ghosts, feel their emotions, and by touching people can see into their soul. Being chased in the forest by strange men, Darcy stumbles into a cemetery, the vicar hides her, then gives her a cottage to sleep in for the night. But she can’t remember why they’re after her or anything else as her memory is completely gone. When a ghost appears to her she quickly realizes she can see them, but she’s not sure how' or why. Not half as scary as her other books.
It was an enjoyable read with likable characters, even Zoe, who is too over the top with her behavior and conspiracy theories. I think the next book really has to fill in all the open holes of the plot, or I won’t be interested in reading the third book at all.

I've been waiting to read The Whispering Dead since it was announced in the fall. My excitement grew when I started getting emails from the Darcy Coates mailing list about this exciting book she had kept a secret from her readers. I was intrigued for sure. Just a few pages in and I was already feeling disappointed but remained hopeful. I suppose this happens with all authors, but The Whispering Dead is the first Darcy Coates book I have not enjoyed. In fact, I downright disliked The Whispering Dead. It pains me to do this - but, here we go...

We start with Keira, she "awakens" in the woods during a storm. She has no memories except for her name, but quickly realizes she is being chased and shot at by a group of men. She runs to a nearby church and is taken in by the pastor who allows her to stay in the groundkeeper's cottage. Strong start that quickly went off the rails when a whole other plot line was immediately brought in.

Her first night in the cottage, Kiera starts seeing ghosts using a new "muscle" she has discovered. (Note about the ridiculous overuse of this muscle at end of review) The local townspeople offer to help Kiera figure out who she is or take her to the police. She wants nothing to do with either option, insisting she is probably a criminal. If you were being chased through the woods by men with guns, who definitely are not the police, would your first response be "I must be a criminal!"? Hmm.

Kiera spends the rest of the book attempting to solve a mystery she has uncovered about one of the ghosts. She never once tries to uncover who she was, why people were chasing and attacking her, or anything about her prior life. We do find out she is apparently quite the brawler when she takes down the town bully. So, there's that. I think the idea she has no interest in her prior life is absurd and unrealistic. Zoe and Mason, Kiera's sidekicks, felt out of place. Their relationship to one another and constant banter felt trite.

Lots of plot holes throughout but I am guessing these will be wrapped up in future installments, this is essentially a novel broken into five parts. According to Darcy, this book has sat completed on her hard drive for years. Reading The Whispering Dead, I felt this was the work of a younger and less experienced author. The Whispering Dead is not up to par with other books by Darcy.

Muscle?
For some reason, the way the Kiera-can-see-and-communicate-with-ghosts plot line was portrayed did not sit well with me. It felt generic and corny. I also felt beat over the head with the idea that she had discovered a special muscle. Over a dozen uses in a book that's barely 250 pages. Here's a few examples:
"It was as though she had a muscle just behind her eyes that made the ghost visible."
"...focusing on using the muscle she hadn't even known existed."
"Kiera felt for the muscle behind her eyes and strained it."
"The headache flared when she flexed the muscle behind her eyes."
"Kiera strained the muscle more, but the pain shot deep into her head."
"She found the aching muscle and pulled on it to open her second sight." Sigh.
There's many more, but here is one final example, "She was certain the graveyard would be full if she used her second sight. She touched the muscle and felt it ache. It was still sore from the previous night, so she didn't pull on it." I thought the so called muscle was deep inside her head? How exactly is she touching it?

Thanks to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC to read and review, I'm truly sorry I did not enjoy it more!

I absolutely adored this book! I fell in love with the characters and the setting! I loved the paranormal aspects of this novel and all of the mysteries which have yet to be solved! I look forward to reading more books in this wonderful series!

“If my old life was this messy, it’s no wonder my brain refuses to remember it.”

I was provided an ARC by NetGalley-all opinions are my own. This book was such an easy mystery to get swept away in. Keira has lost her memory and stumbled into the small town of Blightly, which has plenty of local mysteries to get swept up in, in addition to her own. Between working to uncover the root of her past and why a resident ghost is unable pass on-Darcy has created a narrative full of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The end left more loose ends untied than cleaned up, creating the perfect setup as the first chapter in a new series. InThe cast of characters are easy to love (Adage being my personal favorite) and the book has an easy to read flow to it, I had no problem finishing it in a day. I look forward to reading the next Gravekeeper novel to see where Keira’s future (and discovery of her past) take her next!

This is a good horror story for those who are generally too scared to pick up horror books. It's creepy, but in a quirky way. It's a quick read and definitely on the lighter side of things.

My main problem was with all of the plot holes and loose ends. I understand that this is the first book in a series, but there is wayyy too much left unresolved for a first installment. I get thats it's supposed to leave the reader wanting more, but this actually had the opposite effect for me - I don't know enough to be bothered to pick up the next book.

I didn't realize this was the start of a new series. ::sigh::

This had so many plot holes and unanswered questions. It was frustrating as heck to read. Beyond that, it just wasn't a terribly interesting story, especially since it's left so wide open. I will say that I enjoyed Zoe's over-the-top persona, and Daisy the Cat was certainly a stand-out; actually, now that I think about it, all the characters were pretty decent. The whole town of Blighty is quirky and full of secrets. I can definitely see how Darcy Coates was setting this up for future volumes.

Regardless, this wasn't a book I was excited to pick up, and for that reason, there will be no recommendation.

Available May 4, 2021
2.5 stars

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my review copy.

This wasn't what I thought it was going to be! This was actually really good! I enjoyed the writing! I just wished there was more to the plot! This was a good quick read.

This is such a good story and I can’t wait for the rest of the series to come out! It’s set in a small town with small town secrets and creepy things happening to the main character. The story is gripping and compels you to keep reading. It’s the perfect book to read late at night.