A review by naomilane
Falling for the Gravekeeper by Gena Showalter, Gena Showalter, Jill Monroe

5.0

Focus on the dead body, not the brunette.

I really enjoyed this book. Falling for the Gravekeeper tells the story of Romancing the Gravestone (the first book in the series) exclusively from Conrad's point on view, and I think that Gena & Jill did a brilliant job with it.

I don't believe it's easy to rewrite the same story from a completely different POV. You have to create new scenes, but also revisit scenes we've read about from a different angle, and honestly just thinking about it gives me a headache, but Gena & Jill nailed it!

I loved being in Conrad's head, he was—and still is—a pretty mysterious character so it was so fun to hear what he had to say and see his reaction to Jane. Falling for the Gravekeeper is much more romance-centered than Romancing the Gravestone in my opinion, just because Conrad has his sights on Jane almost from the start and knows what he wants. I also really enjoyed seeing his relationship with Beau, it gives us a new perpective on that character as well.

Another thing I really liked was the fact that, unlike the infamous Jane Ladling, Conrad is actually a real detective/special agent, so it was fun to follow his thought process while trying to solve the murder and seeing the other side of things. Don't get me wrong, I love Jane's terrible (but effective) ways of solving a case, but again, I think the authors did a great job in showing a different take on the whole case and how he managed to solve it.

Can you read this book if you haven't read the others? Yes, you can! This is the first book told from a different perspective, so you can absolutely read it first. I think having read Jane's first makes it more fun because you know her reactions to certain things already and it makes reading this one even better, but if you want to start with this one, you totally can.

All in all, I think this is another big win for the Showalter & Monroe duo. I wouldn't mind reading more books from Conrad's POV. I really enjoy this fun cozy mystery series. The books are easy to read and make for a super enjoyable time. Plus, I think everyone should experience the chaos that is Jane Ladling at least once.

Disclaimer: I was able to read an early copy of this book as I work for the author.