The Secrets of Lily Graves

Gr 9 Up—Lily Graves is aptly named, living as she does in her mother's funeral parlor and working with her Aunt Boo to prepare bodies for burial. Erin, a fellow high school senior, rudely confronts Lily in a cemetery to remind her to stay away from Matt, Erin's on-again-off-again boyfriend. Though nothing more than chaste tutoring has happened between Lily and Matt so far, Erin is right to suspect they have a degree of mutual attraction. Complications emerge the next day when Erin is found with her wrists slit, and what was originally thought to be suicide begins to seem more like murder. Further difficulties arise since Lily's mom is dating the local chief of police and Matt is a prime suspect. Lily, her best friend Sara (a fan of television crime investigation shows), and Matt begin to investigate on their own, and find that Erin's virginal "good girl" reputation hides some darker activities. The overall tone of the book is that of a murder mystery/romance, and the occasional humorous parts (her mother's health-food obsession, a lighthearted exchange in the kitchen after the wake) feel out of place among the possible drug deals and death by embalming fluid. A secret about Matt's brother distracts from the main story without an appreciable payoff. Lily's gothic-style funeral home and her descriptions of how bodies are prepared for burial are interesting and seldom the topic of teen novels. Readers looking for something new and slightly macabre may be drawn in. Consider for larger collections.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX