The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox ~ 384 pages ~ published on 9/15/2020 by Graydon House
Goodreads Synopsis:
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.
What I Thought:
*I’m so excited to be part of the blog tour for this book! Thank you so much to the folks over at HarperCollins, Harlequin and Graydon House for asking me to be part of it!*
*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
I have been a huge fan of both of Hester Fox’s previous books (find my reviews for them here and here!), so I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to be part of her blog tour for her latest book. Fox writes with a delightfully Gothic style that brings to mind the Bronte sisters, but with American heroines.
The heroine of this novel, Tabby, is just as much a delight as the ladies from her previous works. She is an intriguing character in that she is clairvoyant and can speak to the spirits of the dead. This is a gift she has hidden from the world, much as she has hidden herself. Getting to see Tabby blossom into a confident young woman is one of the great joys of this novel.
Our other main character, Caleb, was a little harder for me to fall for. He is rich, privileged, and a bit of a rake. As the story progresses he becomes more and more endearing, but I had a bit of a hard time seeing why Tabby was so head over heels for him from the start.
The story was riveting and kept me guessing the entire time. I loved the mystery of the grave robberies and how all of the strange goings-on of the novel were connected. I thought Fox did a fantastic job keeping the plot moving without giving too much away.
I also wish we had gotten a little more of Mary Ruth and Alice in the story. They were both such interesting characters, and I really wanted to know more about both of them.
Overall, this is a fantastic story that will keep you guessing until the end. It has a bit of the paranormal in there, but it is largely a Gothic romance with an interesting mystery. I highly recommend it!
My Rating:
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2
I gave The Orphan of Cemetery Hill 4.5 STARS!
Are you interested in learning more about this book? Check out the links below!
The Orphan of Cemetery Hill on Goodreads
Purchase The Orphan of Cemetery Hill on BN.com
Are you a fan of Gothic novels? How about slightly spooky love stories? What are some of your favorites? Have you read any of Hester Fox’s other novels? Let’s chat in the comments!
Love and happy reading,
Whit Reads Lit 
Oh I love the sound of this one! I like most things that are mysterious and Gothic. Fantastic review!
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Thanks! She writes great books – you should check out all of them!
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