I read the prologue and thought it was promising, but it actually wasn’t. The narrative is boring—too much telling and not enough showing. There is also too much redundancy. I kept waiting for the writing to get better, but it didn’t.

The most annoying part is the characters. The female lead has a classic “woman written by a man” characterization, and the male characters are overly focused on the classic stereotypes. They just turned me off.

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review
I was so into this for the first quarter or so, but then it became repetitive. A lot of grammar and punctuation mistakes and the increasing feeling that this was not, in fact, actual horror, but rather just a thriller. And I do enjoy thrillers, but I had wanted to read this because I was in the mood for horror and was pretty disappointed. The narrative felt incredibly repetitive and it bordered on boring at the end. I kept waiting for there to be some massive twist, but everything I had assumed were red herons were actually just exactly what was happening. Or close to it. This book left me disappointed and, frankly, annoyed. There’s been.a new trend in horror.thrillers where they give a ton of hints and then end up with “yeah it was actually literally nothing!” Truly one of my biggest pet peeves

I’m not really sure how to rate the book. Welcome to Cemetary was pretty fast paced and it seemed like there was always something happening. There weren’t many lulls in the story and it was easy to read.

It reminded me of an SVU, Criminal Minds-type TV show. And for some reason, it also reminded me of Dexter. Not the serial killer part, but just the police. Maybe it was the names. There was an Officer Doakes, and there’s someone with that same name in the series, Dexter. All the police officer and detective names sounded like names from different TV shows put into one book.

I didn’t dislike the book, but it’s not memorable to me. The ending seemed very rushed, and it technically did make sense…I guess, but I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t really what I thought it was going to be, maybe? It was classified as horror, mystery and thriller. I wouldn’t really classify it as horror at all. Maybe police true crime.

I guess I am just kind of neutral about it. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC.

This book is right in my wheelhouse. Or at least it should be. Crime, creepy stuff, pretty believable characters, a queer romance, I’m all in on all of these things.

It took me about 40% of my way through this book to figure out what was bothering me about it.

As quickly as this should have read for the interesting ideas, it just didn’t. I finally figured out that it doesn’t feel like it’s written to be read. It feels like it’s written to become a movie, or a series. And it would be great for that. But it lends to a rough read at times. As a novel, a solid 1/3 of the words could be edited out and it would probably help. But if it ever ends up on HBO I can’t wait to watch it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Abby Williams is a detective in Cemetery, New York, investigating a string of murders that has plagued her town since the start of October. No matter what she or her partner do, they can't seem to make headway on an investigation that is becoming increasingly strange. Victims are found drained of their blood, oddly decomposed for how long they've been dead, and often missing organs. Stranger still, all the victims have had two small wounds around their collar bones, almost like needle pricks... or bite marks?

Okay, this book is extremely fast paced and easy to read. It keeps you captivated from the get go. The characters are all flawed and complicated making it difficult to figure out who you think is guilty when everyone has something to hide. I also loved how this book felt spooky and Halloweeny, often playing with classic horror tropes. Finally, this book contains a queer romance which is always a plus for me.

That being said, the dialog in this book was often overwritten, unnatural, or cringy. If you don't mind something like a Marvel movie, I don't think you'll mind this either--it's heavy on the snarky one liners. There were multiple times that I would stop reading and think "people don't talk like this in real life". Again, this may not be a problem for you, but I found it super distracting. My other qualm was that the police work and the capacity for the human body to tolerate injuries described in this book was a little fantastical. This is another issue that I found really distracting but might be fine for other readers. But there were multiple times when I thought someone was way too strong, or when I thought that everything they were doing was horribly illegal.

Overall this book was a miss for me, but with how fast and entertaining it was, I'm not mad about having read it.

I truly am one of those people that judges a book by its cover. But I’ve definitely learned recently that I need to be more careful. I was not impressed with this cover, but I enjoyed the idea of the plot. It sucked me in quickly, and I felt it was going somewhere good. Until it really didn’t. The book had the setup to be a lot bettt than it was. The suspects were too easily guessed early on, which made it feel like a longer read than necessary. My other recommendation would b to stop using long titles of people. Once we were introduced to “Super Senior Detective Ed Reyes”, he could have just been referred to as Reyes. On a good note, tho author has the ability to be even better than they currently are.

I'll start with the admission Welcome to Cemetery did NOT go in the direction I thought it would after the first few chapters. Then, as I realized the direction of the investigation had turned, there were parts of the eventual climax I saw coming well before the end. That's not a bad thing. It's certainly action packed. There are moments when you will have to suspend disbelief. Detectives Williams and Reyes were an interesting pair. To be honest, I liked the latter more than the former. A lot more. Their recuperative powers had me raising an eye brow more than once. But, hey, it's a work of fiction. Cemetery is one messed up town. Every reader will agree upon that. Thank you to BestGhost Books and NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

On the whole I enjoyed this book. I don’t agree with the categorisation as a horror. - crime and mystery for sure but there were no horror aspects.

In early chapters I thought it was going to be a horror, predicting vampires, but then nothing came of this. The storyline around this felt a little confused. It didn’t have the x files feel of attempting to explain away all supernatural ideas as mundane, but rather just had an underdeveloped plot. Perhaps this is to be a book of a series where the storyline will develop.

I think the final chapters are a bit messy, but I did enjoy the character development.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this ebook.
I really enjoyed this book until about the last 20% where the ending was completely rushed and left a lot of unanswered questions. The plot was very fast paced and kept me very engaged. I would have given it 5 stars, except I’m really unsatisfied with the ending. I believe the author wanted to give some mystery surrounding it, intentionally leaving some questions unanswered, but there were some plot lines with no resolution.

.William and reyes are the detective of cemetery. When a one accident investigation leads to finding the a crime leads to many crimes in the city. This book will make you sit at the edge whole time till the last chapter while reading it. Every time they are closer to finding the suspect it will again go the starting point. One of the best mystery horror book read it in a while. It's worth the amount time I spend reading this book

I enjoyed this book from the moment I started reading it. I like the characters and how the story unfolds. I did get a little lost at times but found my way back.

As a NYer I am always thrilled to find books that take place here. When I saw Welcome to Cemetery was set in the Hudson Valley I was excited and requested a copy right away. The book is categorized as horror, thriller, mystery and crime. I would not agree that it is a horror novel nor a thriller. It would definitely be a mystery and crime novel. Some things in the novel suggest that the author did not know where they were completely going with the book. There is a lot of action in the novel and the author explores many possible suspects of who was behind the chaos of this small town. Several times the author even hints at the supernatural (vampires was my biggest guess), but nothing ever comes of it. The book overall does not stand out and will not be comparable to an author such as Stephen King or Joe Hill. The story line needs to be cleaned up and polished.

Thank you NetGalley and C. J. Daley for this ARC. This read was a first for me by this author and it was well written. I could definitely see the small town/spooky/mystery vibes and visually found myself in "Cemetery" The relationship between Abby and Reyes was so special, and you could tell by the banter they had that it felt almost like father/daughter special. While I did enjoy the read something was missing for me, I kept finding myself losing translation sometimes. I may not have been in the right mind set to read this at the time and will be re-reading in the future. For anyone who enjoys a good small town, mystery with some dark tones this is a read for you.

I was conflicted in how to rate this book. On the one hand, it is an action packed bloody novel with a good premise and a high body count. But I don't think it's really a horror novel. It's more of an action mystery thriller.

I didn't hate it. But I can't say I loved it either. Set in a small town, a series of mutilated bodies are found drained of blood and missing various organs and body parts. The two detectives in town are confounded as are the police and pathologist.

It soon becomes apparent that there's a wide spread conspiracy at foot and everyone might be a suspect. And that's all fine and good. But I struggled with suspending my disbelief as there are scenes which defy any kind of reality.

The ending especially. Once a reveal of the mastermind behind the murders happens, the reason given just doesn't make sense. Given that most of the police force and townfolk are all in on it, it just felt like a stretch that this would happen as it did.

This novel is not horrible by any means but it doesn't stand out either. And the lack of anything resembling a horror book disappointed. But if you're looking for a detective mystery thriller, you'll likely enjoy it.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

WELCOME TO CEMETERY is set in an ODD small community in Upstate New York, a town suffused with inexplicable disappearances and Supernatural overtones, where a jaded, grieving, police detective of two decades and his idealistic, much younger, partner confront one bizarre event after another while being manipulated from behind-the-scenes. Convoluted and puzzling, nonetheless a strong and ultimately determined female protagonist strives to win the day and secure justice for the community.

If king wrote the x files , but also if xfiles was creepy camp stories you would get the exact vibe of welcome to cemetery. I can’t remember the last time I needed more of the same writing style immediately after finishing. .

Contains spoilers

I enjoyed this - I liked that it was misleading ; I was looking for a supernatural twist that never came. Could have used more detail about Abby’s childhood trauma and it was hard to suspend disbelief over Abby and Reyes’s continual beatings and injuries. The pacing was fast and the scares were good.

Stephen King has Castle Rock. Josh Malerman has Goblin. E. Reyes has Devil’s Hill. Now C. J. Daley welcomes you to Cemetery.

A strange town with a strange name, Cemetery, NY is filled with crime and secrets.

When a car accident one fateful night leads to a search for two missing bodies, detectives Abby Williams – an almost-thirty year old with something to prove – and Ed Reyes – a jaded, senior officer with a career as long as his partner is old – set out to solve the latest mystery.

Before long, a string of missing persons becomes a collection of bloodless bodies that has even the police pathologist stumped.

As the bloodshed continues, it becomes clear that the gruesome killings plaguing the town of Cemetery may not be the handiwork of some shadowy figure but of something even more sinister.

As detectives Williams and Reyes start to question the world around them, can they learn to put their differences aside? Or will the investigation of a lifetime be the end of their lives?

In this fast-paced small town horror, nothing is as it seems.


“Beneath a web of lies and secrets, exists a small town plagued by masked figures and a growing body count. Daley shoves the reader headfirst into a nightmarish investigation where the deeper you dig, the more you realize some stories should stay buried. Welcome to Cemetery.”
—Nick Roberts, best-selling author of MEAN SPIRITED and THE EXORCIST’S HOUSE
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I really enjoyed this book. I was engaged throughout the reading to the point I didn’t want to put it down until I knew what was going on. The action of the book reminded me of an episode of Criminal Minds. The book went into a totally different direction than what I thought and the twist is nice at the end. The book definitely gave it is more to come with Abby and Reyes at the end and I am here for it.