Book Jacket

 

rank 1497
word count 11785
date submitted 21.09.2011
date updated 21.09.2011
genres: Horror
classification: adult
incomplete

A Stranger's Grave

Craig Saunders

The dead rise, and only the dead can rock them back to sleep...but sometimes it falls to the living to do what the dead cannot.

 

Elton Burlock's done his time. Twenty-six years for a terrible murder. Some of those years were hard, some easy.


On the outside, he takes the only job he can find - the custodian of a local cemetery.


A simple job, keeping the grass tidy...giving the dead a haircut.


But there are three black angels in the cemetery: a little girl's ghost that roams the night...and two women, one a vision in white, one a nightmare in black.


When the killing starts, who can rock the restless dead back to sleep? Who but Elton? Elton, custodian of the dead, but the gatekeeper, too. The keeper of this world and the next.


And the dead are awake. The little girl is free of the earth.


But there are no lullabies for the dead and if he's going to live, he's going to have to give her what she wants.


Then, maybe, he can find peace for them both - in the grave or out.

 
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Peony wrote 140 days ago

So, this is the first book I have read on here and the first comment I am writing! Only read up to chapter 12 but I will continue with it!
I love your writing style. Clean and clear. Although, I prefer my books to get to the point a bit quicker....to grab me from the start. Even though I like your writing I was thinking 'come on...come on'. Great character building though, I really felt an emotion towards Elton.
Thanks for the great read and good luck with this.

Peony x

Aesop wrote 141 days ago

I’m astonished this hasn’t had more comments and backing. I was hooked from the start. Your style is clean, clear and involving. You are a writer—no doubt about it. How quickly you made me feel for Elton in his lacking self-pity and his need to simply get on with life. You did a great job putting me right there in the job centre with him and his frustration at the hopelessness of the system. The character I’ve felt the most for of all the reading I’ve done since being on this site.

Why aren’t people reading this? I can only think they see you’ve posted just the one chapter and aren’t bothering to give it a read, since most find it hard to judge something on one chapter. You might want to consider posting a couple more chapters or breaking this one up into two chapters.

As you already know from my comment on ‘Home by the Sea’, I’m not a fan of horror, but both the calibre of writing here and how surely the story drew me in makes it worthy of shelving. Starred too. I’d have like to read more than what you had posted.

Cheers

Jake Barton wrote 190 days ago

Craig, I'm not a fan of the Horror genre, but I've admired your talent as a writer for quite some time. You have the gift of finding the right word, the right phrase and you certainly know how to tell a story. Brilliant pitches; an object lesson in how to write an effective pitch. Short, snappy sentences, clearly spaced, perfectly constructed for optimum effect - oh yes!
The nature of the book restricts its appeal, which is a shame as the gentler souls out there don't ever realise what they're missing. This deserves success. On my shelf with pleasure and admiration.
Jake

JackWracker wrote 199 days ago

Up to chapter 12. Those hags are sexy. I like the pace, the characters are padded enough for horror Elton being particularly well drawn. If you painted mist at the start then that atmosphere lingered all the way through which was great. One reservation would be don't make all the cops twat shit fuck cynics. I kind of have a yearning for a Sherlock Holmesy type character to drift in and do some proper sleuthing. Maybe you have that later but it's your story so it doesn't matter. Lots of little side track clues already. I particularly like the setting - Elton living in the cottage beside the cemetery and the cemetery being the gateway etc. Solid stuff. The hardest thing to do is describe a horrific killing. Give it just a little more thought maybe. Other than that gladly backed and it would be a great read on a winter's night. Jack

LittleDevil wrote 205 days ago

Dammit. I've just finished reading everything you loaded. I wanna know what happens to Elton! Hope you post some more, I'm getting right into this.

LittleDevil wrote 206 days ago

How did I miss this one?
Craig Saunders, you are, and will remain one of my all time authonomy favourites, you deliver great material each and every time. And even though it seems impossible, your writing gets better all the time. You so deserve success!

mstj wrote 242 days ago

Read to chapter 7 - phenominal writing, Mate. I was lost in it - I'm suppose to be somewhere now and I'm late because of you!

Some great lines:

"People thought maybe the most beautiful sound in the world was the deep roar of an expensive sports car, or a woman's orgasm, or a symphony. It wasn't. It was the sound of a baby's snore".

"All the technology, miniature, was shocking, but none of it pleased him as much as a shopping trolley that ran true".

I like the way you give us Elton's thoughts and feelings. I like the way you filter in the back story and I'm jealous of how you intersperse with humour to off set the melancholic tone.

Really good stuff. I'll be back to finish what's here.

Jon

LizX wrote 243 days ago

Just one word will do to sum up this, but which one? How I hate indecision. Tell you what... you choose from the following list, they're ones which came to mind:-

Brilliant
Fantastic
Incredible
Sublime
A cut above average
Superior
Better than mine (that's the bit where I poked at your profile photo with the point of my pencil, because I'm jealous of your talent - bet you didn't feel a thing!)
Excellent

I've run out now. Thanks for the entertaining read.

billysunday wrote 243 days ago

Read the first 6 chapters. What a tale you weave. Got lots of sub-plots going. i'm thinking the ex-con was innocent, but got screwed. Not sure. Like the weird tombstone/swastika thing-creepy. Overall, this was enjoyable to read. You set up your story in a nicely paced, coherent, and fun way to read. Like the short chapters and how they change subplots. Makes it easier to read. Great job. Good luck with this one.
Dina of Halo of the Damned and The Last Degree

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