Death Watch

Gr 10 Up—Silas's father is an Undertaker. When he suddenly disappears, Silas's uncles take him and his alcoholic mother back to the family home in Lichport, where the teen begins to learn of his peculiar heritage. For men of the Umber family, the dead and the dead-but-not-quite-gone hover closely, and it is their responsibility to help the lost and wandering spirits find rest. Lichport is isolated from the rest of the world in more ways than one. Virtually cut off from the mainland, it is visited by very few people, and those that leave tend to come back if not in life, then in death. Consequently, the population consists more of the dead than the living. Berk's writing style and language are reminiscent of the classic gothic works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Shirley Jackson. The plot and pacing have a haunting, dreamlike quality—the type of dream that morphs into nightmares that jolt sleepers awake with a pounding heart and shaking hands. Readers who enjoyed Melissa Marr's Graveminder (William Morrow, 2011) should find this book intriguing.—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK