The House by the Cemetery is the first non-cozy mystery/thriller that I have read by Lisa Childs---I can't wait for more! An multi-generational family saga with a creepy, ghostly element and thriller vibes. I can hardly wait for the book 2 follow up.

The funeral home setting works well for this thriller with a gothic atmosphere, and the decidedly creepy extended family who occupy it. Built on the edge of a large cemetery, the family mansion looks out on the gravestones. At night it a ghostly lantern light is seen while the scraping of a shovel is heard. The town citizens keep their distance from the peculiar Gold family, who own and operate the funeral home.

When the patriarch is found dead the mystery begins---why is Gregory Gold I dead? Natural causes? Poison? The new sheriff is called to investigate, though he would rather be anywhere else. The runaway daughter is brought back by the family lawyers---not many are happy to see her. I liked the plethora of suspects as they added to the suspense and spookiness. The book ends on a minor cliff hanger that increased my desire for book 2.

A hearty thank you to #NetGalley #KensingtonPublishing #LisaChilds for allowing me an advanced e-copy to read in consideration of review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This is a great book for readers who like a darkish mystery/thriller to enjoy during Autumnal months.

#TheHousebytheCemetery #NetGalley #KensintonPublishing #LisaChilds
#Creepy #Halloween

River Gold left home as a pregnant teenager, desperate to raise her child away from the presence of the Gold family. As the namesake behind the highly successful Gold Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens in Gold Creek, Michigan, the Gold family’s influence was felt everywhere, and she needed to escape it- even if the Gold family refused to accept her as one of their own. Now, River is called back to Gold Creek when her father, the elder Gregory Gold the first, dies in mysterious circumstances. The local sheriff is convinced that someone in the Gold family was behind the murder and his investigation reaches a new high when other bodies start piling up. Then, of course, there’s the old urban legend about the gravedigger who haunts the cemetery on the property. Would the Gold family actually kill one of their own? Or is there more truth behind the urban legend then everyone has been led to believe?
Lisa Childs is a multi-genre, bestselling author of over eighty novels. From contemporary romance, to women’s fiction to stories on the paranormal, there seems to be nothing that Lisa Childs can’t do. Her newest novel, “The House by the Cemetery” is part paranormal, part mystery, part family drama and completely engaging.
The Gold family is quite large, with the wives and ex-wives of the patriarch, as well as all of their combined children and grandchildren, so expect a large cast of characters. As powerful and rich owners of the only funeral home and cemetery in town, the Gold’s (most of them anyway) are shallow, vain and utterly intolerable, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to know who was killing them off, one by one. River is the protagonist, of course, but the novel also shares the perspective of Sarah (River’s daughter) and the local sheriff, as well as a few small passages from the unidentified murderer.
Due to the large cast of characters, there are infinite possibilities as to who (or what) is killing the Gold family members. After a constant journey of twists and turns, Childs delivers an ending that I didn’t see coming.
Toward the end of the novel, a second plotline is introduced, which has been hinted at throughout the novel, which surrounds the mystery of Sarah’s father and what caused his disappearance seventeen years ago. This plot angle is cleverly interwoven with the Gold family mystery, and Childs gives just enough of this one in the final pages to hint at another story with River and Sarah at the helm. I hope this is the case, as I enjoyed the mother-daughter dynamic and I would love to see more from them.
Lisa Childs “Cemetery” has exactly the right amount of intrigue, suspense, family dysfunction and murder, set in a large estate on a creepy cemetery. If you’re looking for a locked-in mystery with an extra dose of creepiness, “The House by the Cemetery” is the perfect choice!

I really should have DNF’ed this book but I was hoping it would get better.

This was a really chaotic book. There are 16 characters and that is just counting the Gold family and not the outside characters. It was so hard to keep them all apart, definitely when three of them are called Gregory Gold.

The writing also felt chaotic. Half the time I did know when people entered the scene in the chapter as they just showed up.

There was so much going on my head was spinning but it also was not keeping my attention. I had to really make myself read this book until the last 80%. The last 80% finally felt put together and interesting.

This book did leave on a 16 year old cliff hanger and I really can’t decide if I want to read more to find out what happened to Michael.

Also I thought this was a spooky horror and it’s a thriller.

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 289
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Book 1 in the Grave Diggers Series

Thank you Kensingtons Books for a free copy of The House by The Cemetery for an honest review

This is one of those messy, toxic family books.

I did like our plot and, toxic or not, loved some of our family members. These people were bold and held nothing back.

I was definitely kept guessing about the truth, but found myself a little more into the family dynamics than solving our mystery.

A good read!

• ARC via Publisher

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Truthfully, I had to force myself into reading this book. It started off very slow. I didn’t enjoy the third person narration. It got confusing trying to remember whose point of view I was reading.

They don’t actually solve the murder mystery. We don’t actually find out what really happened. So the ending was a little unsatisfying.

I will say, about half way through the book, it did hook me in. Usually I would have already made a few guesses about who did what. But the way it was written, it was hard to guess. Maybe that’s a good thing??

Overall, a fun quick read. Not the best. But entertaining none the least.

Obsessed! Fully enjoyed this book, gave a wonderful vibe and I could not put it down once I got to reading! 10/10 would recommend.

The House by the Cemetery takes place in Gold Creek Michigan and is about River Gold who swore that she would never return to Gold Creek but when she receives a call from her mom that her dad who is the undertaker for the Gold Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens was found dead she comes back for the funeral. What happens when it's revealed he is murdered and River's mom Fiona is arrested for his murder? This is a page turning book from beginning to end and will have you guessing until the very end. The author was new to me and I can not wait to read more books by her. This author wrote an amazing book with great characters and the plot was so good. I loved all the secrets in the Gold family but also all the twist and turns as well. The book has jaw dropping moments, murder, mystery, family drama, it's suspenseful and so much more. This book had an ending that was so terrifying and well done. I highly enjoyed reading this one and would recommend this to anyone but especially to any reader who loves a good thriller. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this one in exchange of my review of The House by the Cemetery.

The Gold family is very well known in their town of Gold Creek, MI. The patriarch dies and even though he's 85 his family is suspicious that someone poisoned him or killed him for the inheritance. No one knows who to trust. This book keeps you intrigued until the end to find out who exactly is to blame and why. The family tree in the beginning is very helpful as there are a ton of players in this novel. I would definitely read more by this author in the future.

Talk about creepy never guess the ending mystery suspense. Yep this is it.
That ending makes me wonder if this is a stand alone or if this is going to be a series because OMG!!
There were a lot of characters. So many that it’s overwhelming with suspects everywhere.
This was an outstanding story. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Absolutely loved this book. The Golds are a family that will do anything for money and power. River left as a teen and vowed never to return. Now her mom calls saying her dad died. Or was he murdered. One family member will do whatever it takes to be the heir of the Gold Empire.
Can River with the help of an unlikely ally figure this out before she winds up dead?
This one had me entranced from the very beginning. I loved all the suspense and trying to figure out who the bad guy was.
But that ending had me sayin “no, no, no” out loud. How could Lisa leave me hanging like this. I must know who the Grave Digger is.
Many thanks to Netgalley, Kensington and Lisa Childs for the opportunity to read and review this one.

Gregory Gold dies under mysterious circumstances and someone is after a hefty inheritance. I absolutely loved this book! I truly had no idea who could be trusted until the end. The twists were totally unexpected. All in all a great read that I will happily recommend! Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

Five stars! I adored this one. The characters made this story. A ghost legend and a family in turmoil. The atmosphere was so well done it brought you into the story. You have no idea until the very end whom you can trust. Suspense and a really solid story line make this one a sure bet for a great read. I did not want this one to end I was so invested in these amazing characters

In Gold Creek people believe that the ghost of the old grave digger still walks the cemetery, looking for someone to bury. When the town's undertaker dies, his daughter must return and face the ghosts of her past. When it comes to light that her father died of poisoning, her mother is arrested for his murder. Now she must work to prove her mother's innocence. I absolutely loved this story and would recommend to other readers!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ family drama/suspense/romance. There are so many characters that you definitely need the family tree at the beginning of the book.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am obsessed with books set in funeral homes. I worked at one back in the day while finishing my degree and it was the most fun job I've ever had. Seriously. I mean, sure, it's a little creepy when you're working late and everyone else has gone home for the night and you start thinking about all of the potential zombies downstairs in the cooler, but mostly it was just a riot. Who knew that funeral directors could be so much fun?? But anyway, I was super excited to read The House by the Cemetery not only because of the nostalgia, but also because it's compared to Six Feet Under in its blurb, which is one of the best TV shows ever.

And, well, it's definitely a quick and suspenseful read. I finished it in just over 24 hours and that's without even really trying. The “main character returns to the hometown that they swore they'd left for good” trope is one of my favorites, and I was immediately invested in finding out who had killed Gregory Gold. Most of the characters are completely unlikeable, but they're unlikeable in an entertaining (but exasperating) way. And, of course, the setting is great – a big creepy funeral home on the edge of a cemetery!

I did have two issues with this book, however, and the first is with the narrative. One minute you're reading from the perspective of one of the main characters, and then all of a sudden it shifts to the murderer's point of view, where attempts are made to conceal the sex and identity of the killer in a completely awkward way. It totally pulled me out of the story every time. And the bits from Fiona's point of view are grating – they're just so dramatically vague that I couldn't help but to roll my eyes whenever they popped up. Also, the dialogue is stilted at times – what exactly does the Gold family have against using contractions??

The other issue I had is that THE MAIN CHARACTERS DON'T ACTUALLY SOLVE THE MURDER. They're searching for clues and interrogating suspects and such, and then the murderer just kind of reveals him/herself in a dramatic way without Luke or River having ever really figured out anything on their own, other than that (view spoiler).

But still, The House by the Cemetery is a suspenseful and decently entertaining read despite its flaws. It's not an Agatha Christie-tier murder mystery, but it'll still keep you guessing right up until the end. And speaking of endings, this book definitely has a surprising one. I mean, I kind of expected the plot twist, but I expected it to happen much earlier in the story, not in the last couple of pages. I'm guessing that there's maybe a sequel in the works? If so, I'll be more than willing to give it a read when it's released.

My overall rating: 3.45 stars, rounded down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is August 20, 2024.

If you love family drama with a thriller spin this is the one for you. The cast of characters was large....very large and this was a little confusing at first. The story itself quickly focused on a handful of the family members and following along became easier. The plot was fun in an almost spooky way and I think this would be the ideal spooky season read for readers who are not into true horror. The best part of the book for me was the ending. I absolutely loved it!

I really enjoyed the Gothic elements to this novel, it had everything that I wanted in this type of book. It uses the legend of a ghost perfectly and had that Gothic element in a way that I was hoping for. Lisa Childs has a great writing style and can’t wait for more from them.

Very fun and interesting read! I loved the family tree since there were so many characters and I had trouble remembering who was who!

A million thanks to Lisa Childs for including a family tree because I would have been so lost without it! The Gold family is a huge family, with many secrets and lots of drama, and I loved every second of it!
Gregory Gold runs Gold Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, a funeral home and cemetery in Gold Creek, Michigan. He is the undertaker there and has earned himself quite the life. Then, he suddenly dies. Even at the age of 85, his family knows it's not due to natural causes. Someone is after the inheritance. Gregory's 3 wives, 5 children, 5 grandchildren,  and 2 great grandchildren all come together to grieve their family patriarch and also find out what happened. There are many secrets within this family, and when more Gold members start dying, it becomes obvious that someone is trying to their hardest to keep them hidden. And as if an unknown killer in the house isn't enough, the cemetery is home to the ghost of a past grave digger, one who still walks the cemetery at night, digging holes for his next victim.
I really enjoyed reading this book! There are quite a few characters to keep up with, but everyone plays their part by the end. No character is unnecessary. The extensive family just adds to the family drama, and boy is it great in this book! There are many suspenseful parts, many jaw-dropping parts, and the epilogue is as spine-chilling as it gets! 4.5 stars!
Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, and Lisa Childs for such a captivating read!

A mystery that keeps you guessing to the end. I am a fan of Lisa Childs . I enjoyed the main characters. I am hoping that this is the beginning of a series.