I was so excited to take an early peek at the latest installment!! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for ARC of this book! This was a bittersweet experience knowing it’s a finale but of course still great read! What an amazing way to finish the series!

This is the 5th book in a series and was a great follow up from the first four. Not to give anything away, but Darcy Coates does paranormal/horror/thrillers like no other and is one of my absolute favorites. This is already my second DC book in 2025 and it was fantastic! This entire series will keep you engaged throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC!

I'm a big fan of Darcy's books and I love the Gravekeeper series. This was a great continuation of the last book and I enjoyed how it jumped straight into the events of The Hollow Dead. Darcy has created a collection of wonderful characters that you can't help but love! This book didn't feel quite as spooky as the last 4 books, but still had its moments of suspense.

I'd read another one of these books, especially with how The Vengeful Dead ended and I think this series would also make a great TV show

This was a fun paranormal story. A little love and a little laughs along the way. Spooky too. A fun read.

I love this series so much. I did not want to finish it for the simple fact that I knew the series would be over when I did. What a fantastic ending to Kiera's story. I love how her and Mason's relationship grew throughout this series and their ending was lovely. I am so happy Daisy is thriving because I truly fell in love with that little cat. Zoe remains a spit fire and fun character and I am so glad she never changed. This book had me on the edge of my seat not only with the defeat of Artec but also with the side story of the home. The final twist with that was so well done and allowed for the continuation of Kiera's story with her spiritual advisement business. This was such a great book and I absolutely love this series. Darcy has done it again and I can't wait to continue reading her stories.

The spooky nature of the book is enticing and the terrifying ghosts throughout the story just add to the overall vibe. Darcy Coates is an incredibly horror author who has the ability to both increase the tension in a story but to also remain spooky, not horrifying. Awesome addition to an already great series.

What happens when Keira’s ability to help ghosts makes her a threat to powerful Artec, a corporation intent on trapping the dead for profit? You get a paranormal suspense story full of action, emotion, danger, and even a little romance.

Artec will do everything they can to stop Keira, including sending armed men after her and everyone she loves. As she works to sharpen her skills, she searches for a way to put Artec out of business for good. Her friends offer to help, but will that be enough?

Keira can see ghosts and interact with them. She can also free them. With sigils, she can enhance her abilities, but is still learning new ones and what they can do. Her key friends are Zoe, a conspiracy advocate with an extensive network of contacts, and Mason, her boyfriend, who is one year from completing his medical degree. Daisy, the cat, is an unusual character that adds another dimension to the story and Keira.

This is the fifth book in the Gravekeeper series and contains references to events in prior books. Readers who plan to read the entire series should start with book one to get the full picture of what is happening and the backgrounds of the characters.

The author invoked a sense of urgency from the beginning of the novel. Although the book starts with a side story that is a subplot, it immediately pulled me into the novel. Readers learn more about the current situation with Artec as the storyline progresses and the pace increases as well as the danger and action. Zoe provides some humor sprinkled throughout the plot to provide some relief from the tense and dangerous situations the main characters experience.

Overall, this engrossing, tense, and entertaining novel is an excellent addition to the series and brings it to a satisfying end. Featuring a strong, flawed, and capable protagonist, excellent pacing, and a solid plot, the story kept me turning the pages rapidly. I’m looking forward to reading my next novel by this author.

Poisoned Pen Press and Darcy Coates provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for February 18, 2025.

The Vengeful Dead is the fifth and final instalment in this series that I personally loved since book 1.
In this final book, Keira and her friends finally get face to face with the big villain of the organization called Artec, and they must fight them, once and for all, so Keira can freely move on with her life.
I don't wanna say more because, after all, this is book 5 in a series, so anything I might say here could be spoilery.

As usual, in my opinion, the side characters are more interesting and fun to follow other than the protagonist's journey. It was nice having everything wrapped up nicely in this final book. Maybe...a little 'too nicely' wrapped up. I wish the author would have been a bit bolder at the end. To me, this entire book felt like watching a classic Disney movie. And even though the entire series has been more cozy horror than anything else, I still wished the ending would be bolder.
My personal favourite part was the 'ghost case of the week', about a mysterious haunting at an old place called The Home. Unfortunately, it was too short. And I get it. The focus of this final book was on the ultimate battle between Artec and Keira and her friends. Yet, I wish The Home subplot was longer.

I've had fun with this book, but it is now easily my least favourite. My top favourites of this series still are books 1 and 3.
Obviously, I'd recommend this book to anyone who has started reading this series, but also to any 'cozy horror' fans out there who have never read a book by this author - I believe this series is a nice start.

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

That you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this early review copy.
So I want to start by stating that I have loved this entire series, it has been fun, spooky, and mysterious. However, this one was not my favorite. I give it 3.5 stars as opposed to the 5 stars I gave the rest. The side ghost story in this one seemed very forced, rushed, and boring. A lot of the main storyline also sort of had that feeling to it for me. I am happy that the series got wrapped up nicely in the end. The community and friends Keira built up around her was great. The series overall was fantastic, this one just kind of left me feeling... meh.

👏🏻I was so excited to be approved for this Netgalley. I love Darcy Coates’ writing style. The first chapter immediately pulls you into the story and the momentum keeps going. I love that it has easily paced chapters too. Keira is right at the beginning of this installment, and anyone who has read the series has become quite attached!

I don’t know what I am going to do without these characters in my life anymore. This feels like the final book in the series but I am not ready for it to end.

This is the final conclusion to Kiera and her friends fight to destroy Artec.

This series is so bingeable. No where in this book it feel bland or rush through out the storyline. I was engaged through out the entire storyline.

Between the FMC and the side characters they brought life through out the action packed plot line. I also loved that it wasn’t just focused on the destroying of Artec but had some side plots through out the storyline.

I am going to miss these characters 😫

Genre: Horror
POV: Third Person
APK: Ebook
Pages: 358
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Book 5 in the Grave Keeper Series

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for a free copy of The Vengeful Dead

This is the 5th book in the series. It should be read in order to fully understand it, but I missed reading the 4th book, and this one was still good. Artec continues to be a problem. Keira and her friends are getting closer to stopping them. Darcy Coates knows how to write a good ghost story. There's fun, action, humor, and romance. I will admit the romance is a side note. It's definitely a fun book to read.

I didn't realize that this was book 5 in a series when I requested this ARC. I like to go in blind, and that cover art drew me right in. I was expecting some horror, but this one reads more YA. The characters are wholesome and the story was more fun than scary; it was the classic battle between good and evil with some supernatural perks along the way.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Darcy Coates continues to impress! This offers a satisfying conclusion to the Artec storyline while also giving us a spooky haunting to solve with Keira. The characters’ teamwork shines and all unique quirks dazzle through this story. I love that Keira is embraced by the community she started out hiding from, and I love the relationships we built along the way.

A satisfying ending to the Gravekeeper series.
I am a Darcy Coates fan through and through. I love her writing style. The way she writes her characters is refreshing. This whole series is one big cozy vibe. Ghost hunting, a small town. But the main plot that starts out as a huge mystery, keeps thing interesting and tense.

I'm glad I got to go along for the ride on this one. Thank you netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and the author for the e-arc to review.

"Never be ashamed of what you do."

With her friends & even her cat Daisy in tow, Kiera's battle with Artec comes to a final conclusion. But Kiera will need to act quick before Artec close in & stop her first.

This was the ending I was hoping for !!

Still has the cozy horror atmosphere that kept me on the edge of my seat or holding my breath. Everything from book one comes full circle with a satisfying conclusion. Love how Kiera has become a part of the small towns community, that people are happy to help her or seek out her help.

But now that Kiera has her memories back I wish we had got more of her backstory. We only seemed to have gotten the small bits of who she was before Artec, but feels like theres so much of who Kiera was that would have loved to explore.

Zoe is still my favourite character, with many laugh out loud moments. Not matter how dire a situation may seem, you can always count on Zoe to bring the levity.

Its bittersweet this series has come to an end, but cannot wait to re-read now the series is complete. Look forward to what Darcy Coates gives us next.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read & review an ARC.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind following Kyra, Mason, and Zoe while they just do regular chores because they are an absolutely fabulous trio! Zoe has the most interesting ideas, and talent for shenanigans, plus the best contacts into the wild and wierd and Mason is so caring and really good at patching people up and the voice of reason, and now that Kyra has her memories back, she is super powerful and can fully utilize her special connection with Daisy (totally awesome cat!). They are at the top of their game for the last book and it pulls no punches! Artec needs to go down, plus there also are other ghosts that need help. So much action, so much friendship and people that Kyra can rely on so she no longer needs to fight alone. Everything was ramped up, including an exploding ending and sweetness between Mason and Kyra! It is so wonderful and I enjoyed every minute, even as I knew it was going to be the last book in the series. So 5 stars and a crying face for the sadness that it is over.

Love this whole series and highly recommend it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this wonderfully amazing book!

The Artec stuff just did not interest me. When it was first introduced I was somewhat intrigued but it became very corporate in book 5 and not at all scary. I enjoyed the non-Artec content with Agnes and The Home. There needed to be more Harry but Zoe was still a delight. I’m very happy about the situation with Mason and the ending was satisfying. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

I absolutely loved this! It was a great way to wrap up the main story though I hope it’s not the last we see of Keira

Another great Darcy book and another great addition to the gravekeepers series.

I enjoyed every moment and can not get enough of these characters