Title: The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
Author: Hester Fox
Publication: September 15, 2020
Publisher: Graydon House
Genre: Fantasy, Ghost Fiction
Pages: 253
SYNOPSIS: (From 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.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
When this book came across my email with a bunch of fall books up for review I knew that I needed to read it. It really piqued my interest. The cover was gorgeous it really caught my eye, it struck me as both spooky and beautiful at the same time. I couldn’t wait to start reading it.
Tabby has a special gift. She can talk with the dead. When she was younger she was hiding in the cemetery and saw people robbing a grave that same night she ran into Caleb who was running from people looking to cash in on his card debt. When she ran into him all those years later at his father’s funeral she remembered him and he remembered her. Their paths crossing sets in motion an adventure that neither of them saw coming. The book has everything clairvoyance, body snatching, adventure, and to top it all off a dash of romance. I really liked this book, except for the ending. I really felt like it was rushed and felt that the book really could have a sequel to go with it to help wrap up Tabby and Caleb’s story. That is why I gave it 4 stars. I felt it could have been ended in a different way. Don’t get me wrong I loved them getting together at the end or at least implied but I wanted more.
This book is well written. The book is very sweeping covering both England and America in the early to mid 1800’s. The characters are lovable and I found myself gasping with everything that happened to Tabby. From being farmed out by her aunt and uncle to make money to her getting kidnapped later in the book. I wanted her to get out of her problem or to be rescued by Caleb. I found it fascinating that the book delved into the art of body snatching and the experiments that people did to corpses to further the medical field. I haven’t looked to see if the author has written any more books but if they have I will certainly be looking into them. Certainly adding the author to my list of Historical Fiction authors!
STAR RATING: 4/4
Pick up your copy of The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and check your local bookstore. Also make sure to add it to your To Reads list on Goodreads and leave feedback for the author when you are finished. Check out more from Hester Fox on her website HERE.
