Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, the author and NetGalley for this ARC copy of The Ravenous Dead!

What a fun, but also creepy adventure! I’ve heard of this author’s work in the past, but had yet to carve out time, but I am so glad to finally be introduced to her writing. I was so excited by the premise of the story, that I didn’t even realize it was the second in a series; don’t let that deter you though as I didn’t feel completely out of the loop starting here and, if anything, will go back to the first tale to fill in any missing gaps before continuing on with the series as it comes out.

It is such a natural question in the world to find out if people believe in ghosts and the afterlife. You have people who are more sensitive to supernatural and paranormal activity as well, so to have a tale that weaves together someone with the ability trusting and creating a friendship and team bond with people who don’t, but believe in her fully, was fun to experience.

There are so many “What if?” situations in this book: what if you could talk to the dead? What if you could help them move on? What if you couldn’t? What would you do?

This story brought out such an empathy and sympathy to characters you didn’t personally know, but wanted to know more about and see that they are able to move on peacefully. Obviously, there are so many characters who are grounded in a cemetery and only so many pages to tell a story; it does tie together the story of many individuals as well as the history of the town quite well.

Not to give any spoilers away, but, as a reader, you must become a sort of detective like the protagonist. Pay attention to the little details to help find out the history of what happened to each of the ghosts and how to help them move on. There are some twists and turns, which make it even more fun!

A mystery wrapped in a ghost story with beautiful small-town vibes.

Keira has found a home in Blighty. She's made the greatest of best friends that she could ask for. The eccentric Zoe and the sweet and caring Mason. Both accept her as is and care for her deeply. And Adage, the man who saved her when she was on the run that first night with no knowledge of anything except that her name was Keira. He saved her life and keeps her secret. Keira can see ghosts. Now all Keira wants is her lovely new life with her friends, her cat Daisy, and to help these trapped spirits move on. But the men from that night are still out there and still searching for her, and now there is a new spirit, it is angry and dangerous, to both the living and dead.

Oh man I loved this book. After how much I fell in love with the first book in the series. I was both looking forward to this one and also a bit scared to read it. I was truly scared it wasn't going to be able to live up to the first book. Boy was I wrong. I loved it just as much as the previous one. Darcy Coates sure is the queen of ghost stories.

I love the character too. Keira is brave and kind, Zoe is a little crazy, Mason is sweet and caring, Adage is the caring grandfatherly type. But despite all that, my favorite character is Harry. He's a side character, but his contrast to both his mother and Keira makes him the funniest character in the book. Plus I'm suspecting he cares far more than he puts on, especially after reading this book.

I don't know how many books are expected to be made in this series. But it has great potential to be a decent-sized one, and at this level of reading quality, you can bet I'm going to read every single one. Absolutely recommend. It was a great read.

Recommended age 14+
It was a little scary and had some violence, but nothing I thought was too extreme for the above age range.

I want to thank Netgalley, the publisher, and author for this chance to read and review this arc. However, this did not in any way affect my opinion or review.

<b>ARC provided by NetGalley for an Honest Review</b>

It became clear really early on that this series was not a duet like I had expected. Rather (as of now) a series that is just charging up to be something epic. Personally I think readers should read book one prior to this and in the same order to more easily make sense of things, I don’t think they work as standalones. The story once again follows heroine Kiera as she makes good on her promise, also her undisclosed job assisting ghosts to peacefully move on. Kiera still has no memory of her past aside from her name but something about communicating and assisting spirits feels right to her. The pull to the spirits is strong and she can’t resist the call to help. Kiera stays in a cabin on church grounds located directly in the cemetery and often spends her nights amongst the gravestones with ghosts needing help. Her days are spent in the library researching the town and it’s past inhabitants. In a way Kiera becomes a historical detective along with her two friendly sidekicks. It was nice that Kiera let them in on her abilities and not only did they believe her but insisted on helping. The trio have to take on the towns dirty little secret-ironically enough a serial killer whom was loved by the town and only found out after his death.

While this side story was fun I really wanted more details or answers on Kiera’s past. Kiera has a brief run in with some ‘flaky skin men’ which only led to more questions. And I’m sorry but flaky skin men?.?.? 🤮🤢🤮 Just all kinds of wrong and creepy but makes me wonder what other things are alive in Kiera’s reality that she’s forgotten about. Are these men human? So far Kiera only sees ghosts but these men chasing her also had a questionable creature with them so it makes me wonder if I’m thinking too much or Kiera’s past is going to quite literally blow her mind. As this is clearly not the final book, in some ways the story did have that filler feeling as if it was just a placeholder to drop hints and keep the main storyline slowly trickling along. Because I was expecting a different story and an ending I think my expectations were off when I dove into this. Not saying I didn’t enjoy it, things just did not go as expected and I’m a little bummed by that. Kiera has a lot of people now who truly care for her and it’s rather foreboding not knowing what secrets her past holds and how it will come to affect and endanger them all! 😱😵😱😓😵😱 Looking forward to answers and more ghost rescuing missions from Kiera and her friends.

For this being a second book in the series and me not realizing it until I had begun reading, this book was great! It referenced the first book a little bit, but it was a pretty good standalone story. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot. They kept me interested in reading more of the story, and I got to a point where I couldn't put the book down. This story also sets itself up for more books, I'm definitely interested in reading more of this story line! I recommend this to anyone who likes supernatural stories with a mix of mystery and friendship.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

Amazing continuation of the first book and continued development of the story and unexpected turns. Improved the series and look forward to the next one

3.75

Thankyou to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 3rd Darcy Coates book I have read and probably the best one! Continuing on from the first book Keira and her friends are faced with an evil entity which was foreshadowed in the first book.
I really loved the plot of this one, much like the first one but in this one I felt there was more build up and a better climax with better action and resolution for the ending than the first one where it felt it was too easily resolved.

I really hope there is going to be a third book in this series as there is still the unanswered question of who Keira really is and who is the organisation after her. I would be really excited to see where this goes. :)

I was unable to read this book due to it being in a series. I had not read the first book - I am starting with it. I was really disappointed because I love Darcy's books. I will read this one later after reading the first book.

I didn't realize previously that this was the second of two books. It mostly works on its own, although it is obvious that it picks up just as the previous book left off. Keira has no memory of her life prior to several days earlier when she woke in the woods (I guess this is where the first book begins). Because she has the ability to see and interact with the dead, she has since taken a "job" as a caretaker at the cemetery in the hopes of being able to help some of the "residents" move on. This wasn't bad. I don't think I would go out of my way to read the first one, but if I saw more of this series pop up, I'd give it a try. 3.5 stars rounded to 3.

This was such a fun book, I was completely addicted while reading it. I'd never read a Darcy Coates book before but had heard her described as "cozy horror" which intrigued me.

The Ravenous Dead is the story of Keira, a young woman with amnesia who learns that she can see and communicate with ghosts. At the start of the novel, she's settling in a small town and helping their ghosts complete unfinished business to move on.

I read a lot of fairly dark, intense horror and so this was such a nice break. The Ravenous Dead reads like a small-town mystery novel with ghosts. The characters are quirky and fun -- the dialogue completely sparkled and I laughed out loud multiple times. I immediately fell in love with the town and Keira and her friends (Zoe and Harry in particular are a blast). The overall tone was warm rather than scary, despite lots of good horror imagery (ghosts, serial killers).

I didn't realize The Ravenous Dead was book 2 in a series, but it worked just fine starting with this one. Coates did a lovely job introducing the premise and the characters organically so that it worked as a standalone. I'm excited to go back and read the first one and I hope this series continues. There's also an ongoing mystery of people hunting Keira that I assume will come back in future books (I'm slightly less interested in this plotline, personally).

Wow. Great book with a really exciting original premise. Imagine being able to see the dead who have not been able to move on either because they have unfinished business or they are confused about what to do when they have just died.
My only complaint is that there were some loose ends that didn’t get tied up but that might mean there is another book on the horizon? If so count me in on that one too.

I see Darcy Coates and I know I can settle into a cozy, creepy read. And The Ravenous Dead once again reaffirmed my beliefs. Unfortunately, I was unaware that this was a sequel in a series so I was a bit confused at the end. So much left unresolved that I will have to pick up the next one.

Keira, our protagonist, is a young woman settled into the role of groundskeeper in a small village. She can also see and convene with ghosts, and likes to help them. Keira, is also suffering from amnesia and cannot recall who she is. And she's being chased by a mysterious group of men with flaky skin. Also, there's a serial killer's ghost that may be up to absolutely no good.

It's a lot. As is Zoe, Keira's friend, who has a pretty interesting personality. I did not like this character. Mason, the other friend made by Keira, is fine.

The characters lack an urgency or seem to dismiss the gravity of rather serious situations which made it harder to suspend disbelief.

But the cat was great.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

I have to say I enjoyed reading about the adventures of Keira, Mason & Zoe in Blighty, a good story, great character development and a bit of the supernatural too!
The pace started off slow but soon picked up, the atmosphere eerie but cosy sometimes at Keira’s cottage by the cemetery.
Because she has no memories of her life before Blighty, I’m looking forward to delving further into that arc so will be reading more of this series.

2022 is the year that every one of my followers is forced to read a Darcy book. She’s easily one of the most talented writers writing. But, y’all know that I feel that way. Let me say this: Happy New Year IFOUNDMYNEWFAVORITEDARCYCOATESBOOK. It really doesn’t get better than adventures with Zoe and Mason and Daze. Having Adage there for moral (and financial support) doesn’t hurt either. I just feel so at home with this group and Darcy’s writing is just so goddamn comforting that I could curl up and die happy in the cozy, fire-placed-warmed home she creates. I thought the first book in this series was wild enough…Darcy was just getting started. I am absolutely floored every time I pick up another Darcy piece. And I am so beyond honored to be able to check this one out a bit early.

A girl with an ability to talk to dead people, and help them to pass to the other side when they have unresolved business. However, this responsibility isn’t all it would seem it is cracked up to be. She definitely comes against some challenges - one being a serial killer who has since died and is now feeding on the life’s of ghosts. And is now after our main heroine herself. This started off slow but definitely picked up and I could not put it down!! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I've never not loved anything Darcy Coates writes. Her sheer talent for spooky stories is what makes my bookshelves ecstatic. I loved being able to read this early.

Following The Whispering Dead, Kiera continues to be not only the groundskeeper at a cemetery but a helper to the ghosts that linger there. She communicates with them and tries to help them move on. As she tries to help them by learning their past and move on, she finds the spirit of a vicious killer who is still hunting for new victims. Kiera must quickly figure out the spirits reason for lingering before it’s too late.

The Ravenous Dead was a quick read that kept me wanting more! Darcy does an amazing job creating the chilling vibes and sucking the reading into her novels. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

I think this is probably one of Coates' best. She is undeniably amazing at scene writing. Even the books I have rated the lowest have had awesome, terrifying individual scenes.

In the Ravenous Dead, Coates continues the story of Keira who has mysteriously shown up in the small town of Blighty with no memories of her past and an ability to see ghosts.

In the midst of the main conflict of this book, we were fed snippets about two sideplots that leave me ready for the next installment.

Other win for Darcy Coats, and a great second book to this series . It was the perfect read to read on a cold wet day .I loved how Spooky it was and loved seen the characters once again as well as the town. Every time I read one of her books I keep finding a new favorite one.

Thanks so much to Poison Press and Netgalley for my ARC copy. All thoughts are my own.

So I have a lot of thoughts about this book. I LOVED Whispering Dead and I thought Darcy really knocked it out of the park with her last continuous series. Essentially what I’m getting at is I had high expectations for Ravenous Dead because of all this. This book just didn’t click as well for me. I felt like we really progressed in learning more about Keira while still having an overarching story and that the author did a good job of leaving some loose ends loose, but not in a way that had me on the edge of my seat as I had been for Whispering Dead. However, the story contained in the book was good and thoroughly spooky. I love Blightly, I love the townsfolk, I love the gang of Daisy, Mason, Zoe, and Keira; I’m just hoping for more overarching plot development in the next book. All in all I will def keep reading the series and I’m exciting to see what happens in the next installment!

This is the second book in the Gravekeeper series. Our main character Keira is still on a journey to figure out who she is while making a new home and trying to stay hidden from a mysterious group that are hunting her. BUT THATS NOT ALL! 😂 in the first book we find out that Keira can see ghost that are left on earth, so she starts a mission to help these souls.

I loved the second book to this series. There are so many questions left unanswered still but they don’t bother me as much in this book, it just makes me more excited for the next.

I’m loving where this story is going.

Thank you so much @netgalley and @darcybooks for this ARC.