Synopsis
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 crime thriller, nothing is as it seems.
Review
Something strange is happening in Cemetery, upstate New York. When a car accident leads to an exsanguinated corpse, detectives Williams and Reyes pull on a thread that might unravel everything they thought they knew about their hometown.
This novel, and the author’s earlier novella, “Best Ghost”, are part of the same integrated universe of stories about Cemetery. I love when an author writes stories set in the same location. When I heard about Daley’s novel, I had to read it.
A crashed car abandoned at the side of the road. A bloodless corpse found in the woods. A shadowy figure stalking Detective Abby Williams. How are these things connected, and why are so many young people vanishing from the town of Cemetery?
Twenty something Abby Williams has lived all her life in Cemetery and joined the police force despite, or perhaps because of, a troubled history with law enforcement that involved her dad and a sting operation that went wrong when she was a child. Her partner, and mentor, Ed Reyes, is a veteran on the force who views police work in a different, but complimentary way to his young partner.
More people disappear in Cemetery than would be expected for such a small town. When missing teens turn up dead and ritualistically displayed, minus their blood, it seems that something particularly rotten lies at the heart of the town.
This is Abby Williams and Ed Reyes’s book. Abby has lived in Cemetery all her life and wants to help her town. She’s haunted by her past and determined to make up for the oversights of her father. She struggles to have a life beyond her all-consuming job but is slowly coming around to the possibility of romance. She’s tough, by the book, and emotionally closed off, to a degree.
Her partner on the other hand is a more stereotypical cop. He’s the chalk to her cheese, but they compliment each other well. Hard smoking and unhealthy, he obviously wears his heart on his sleeve and takes his job seriously, something he shares with his partner. He doesn’t shirk risking life and limb to chase down the perp and end the killings.
The writing style is straightforward and matter of fact, like the detectives investigating the cases.
Vampirism is the theme of this book, and while it is a thriller that’s horror coded, there are some wonderful creepy touches that fed my horror loving soul. The author incorporated the theme in a clever and entertaining way. There is the nod to paranormal vampires with the blood drained corpses of the victims. Other types of vampirism, such as the draining of life force through work, society and relationships, also appear within this book.
The town of Cemetery is the third main character in this novel. With vivid descriptions of the buildings and a pervasive atmosphere of a once nice town slowly falling into oblivion, Cemetery keeps its secrets close to its chest while keeping its chin up to preserve its dignity in a rapidly decaying area. Daley brings the town to life with little details that transform Cemetery into a realistic and relatable place.
The pacing is steady and comfortable, bordering on slow in the middle of the book, and slightly rushed at the end. The focus of this book are the two main characters, and to an extent the town, rather than the murders. It is important how the detectives react to the murders and how they change their lives rather than a straightforward serial killer story.
The horror aspects of the novel are where it shines. The scenes that play on the vampire theme are immersive, thrilling and very entertaining.
Overall, this book fits very well into the thriller genre. There are parts of the book that reminded me of “Silence of the Lambs”. The story is tense and dark and absorbing. The hints at paranormal occurrences, without committing to them, and the exploration of the character’s private lives, reminded me of books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
This book will appeal to anyone who likes thrillers and crime novels, but as a police procedural with a difference, it will also appeal to those with a taste for horror. However, while it plays with the trappings of horror, it doesn’t stray into paranormal territory, so be warned you will be disappointed if you are looking for a speculative horror novel.
Cemetery reminded me of the town where I grew up. The same feeling of a once nice place that had slowly been eroded by elements that weren’t so positive, but that still held the bones of a better place to live. The author captured the feeling of that kind of community well. Both its advantages and disadvantages.
I would recommend this book to people looking for a dark crime thriller. Fans of the author’s novella, “Best Ghost”, will also enjoy this book.
This is an ambitious novel and Daley pulls it off well, showing his growth as a writer since his earlier novella. I look forward to reading what he publishes next.
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