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Living in Cemeteries
Dave Gallagher is a cemetery worker charged with the care of historical graveyards around Harwich, Massachusetts. He mows lawns, digs graves, and tries to keep the peace between ghosts living among the headstones. With tension mounting in his relationship and the recent passing of his best friend on the horns of a bull, Dave is stuck between living a more fulfilling life or one of monotonous familiarity. Dave’s girlfriend, Jessica, knows she is going to die at the age of eighty-five, a love-letter from a long forgotten beau stopping her heart on her front step. Their playboy roommate, Lenny, will barely make it into his thirties. Uncertain of his own death, Dave travels the New England countryside on a quest to learn his fate. Along the way, Lenny pushes Dave to follow in his own footsteps of nonstop debauchery, even at the risk of his future descendants. Jessica tries to get Dave to evict Lenny, sick of his disgusting morals and even more disturbing nightly habits.
Living in Cemeteries is set in a world slightly different from our own. Wrongdoing is atoned for by a person’s descendants. Murder and cruelty does not go unpunished. Spirits decapitate relatives of serial killers. They lay pox blankets over men whose distant relations were responsible for the Trail of Tears. As death can only be determined by visiting ghostly relatives, and prompted by Jessica’s desire to map out their lives together, Dave visits graves, asking the dearly departed about the dirty deeds of his predecessors. Since his father has refused to speak with him since passing, Dave wonders how the terrible things he might have done could determine his own demise. As the arguments between Lenny and Jessica escalate, Dave visits his father’s grave, a shovel in hand, ready to dig up his remains and finally hear what his father has to say.
Living in Cemeteries is set in a world slightly different from our own. Wrongdoing is atoned for by a person’s descendants. Murder and cruelty does not go unpunished. Spirits decapitate relatives of serial killers. They lay pox blankets over men whose distant relations were responsible for the Trail of Tears. As death can only be determined by visiting ghostly relatives, and prompted by Jessica’s desire to map out their lives together, Dave visits graves, asking the dearly departed about the dirty deeds of his predecessors. Since his father has refused to speak with him since passing, Dave wonders how the terrible things he might have done could determine his own demise. As the arguments between Lenny and Jessica escalate, Dave visits his father’s grave, a shovel in hand, ready to dig up his remains and finally hear what his father has to say.
224 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2024
15 people are currently reading
452 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
March 25, 2024
I was super lucky to read an early copy of this so thankyou so much Corey, I thought this was an extremely unique concept and one word that summed up my reading experience was charming, this book charmed me! It would of been easy to take this plot and make it all about the creepy/supernatural horror (which there is plenty of) but this however, focuses on the emotional impact of death, Corey delivers an unsettling read that feasts on the fears and ruminating thoughts we all experience from time to time, the characters and world building were exceptionally well developed and I was invested in the outcome, the writing was wonderfully immersive, with chewy prose that really makes you stop and think for a second, incredibly thought provoking, would you live your life differently if you knew how and when you where going to die? The eventual outcome (no spoilers) is an emotional one that only further drives home the narrative of living in the present moment, this gave me dark academia vibes in some parts too, overall I loved it and can't wait to see what this author writes next :)
March 1, 2024
Review in the March 1, 2024 Issue of Booklist and on the blog: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2024/03/...
Three Words That Describe This Book: unsettling, effortless world building, immersive
Dave works in a historic cemetery on Cape Cod, but this graveyard is slightly askew from what readers know, as the unsettling open to Farrenkopf’s debut novel makes apparent when a ghost bull charges mourners at a funeral and impales his best friend. No one is surprised however, because here ghosts are not only real, but they are linked to a living adult relative, destined to die as a payment for that ancestor's misdeeds. Dave loves his girlfriend, Jessica, but has put off a career in botany for her. And unlike Jessica, who got answers from visits to her ancestor’s graves, Dave is struggling because he has no idea what fate awaits him. The effortless world building, buoyed by Dave’s confident narration, immediately immerses readers in the intense unease, carrying them to its emotional conclusion. A character-centered and thought provoking tale that is as much about embracing life as it is about death, this title will appeal to fans of Elizabeth McCracken and Neil Gaiman as well as grief horror like This Thing Between Us by Moreno and Ghost Eaters by Chapman.
Further Appeal: This is a great story. Dave will hook people immediately and guide them through this compelling plot with stellar world building. It is hard to build a convincing setting that is similar to our world and yet slightly askew, but Farrenkopf pulls it off perfectly.
The entire book is also about those years in your life, after college, that time when you are figuring out what your adult life is going to look like. It is the anxiety and uncertainty explored in a depth you don't often see. The idea that the world in this novel is a place where you can learn how you are going to die and when, adds to the anxiety of that time without trivializing it. It serves to heighten the unease.
This book is truly immersive. I believed this world was possible while reading it. It is also character centered. These two appeals make it seem like the book would be more methodically paced, but it is not. This is a story that will keep you turning the pages as well.
And I mentioned it above, but the ending is very emotional, in a way that serves to enhance the entire novel. Also it is believable in response to my comments about how the book is ultimately about that fear of taking those first steps into adulthood.
Readalikes: I gave many above but I need to point out a book that Corey was a part of that got a star in Booklist and I gave a glowing review to in LJ: Tiny Nightmares. I point this out because Farrenkopf might be an author you haven't heard of, but he has been lurking alongside some HUGE names for a bit now.
I would also suggest The Insatiable Volt Sisters by Moulton as a great readalike as well.
Three Words That Describe This Book: unsettling, effortless world building, immersive
Dave works in a historic cemetery on Cape Cod, but this graveyard is slightly askew from what readers know, as the unsettling open to Farrenkopf’s debut novel makes apparent when a ghost bull charges mourners at a funeral and impales his best friend. No one is surprised however, because here ghosts are not only real, but they are linked to a living adult relative, destined to die as a payment for that ancestor's misdeeds. Dave loves his girlfriend, Jessica, but has put off a career in botany for her. And unlike Jessica, who got answers from visits to her ancestor’s graves, Dave is struggling because he has no idea what fate awaits him. The effortless world building, buoyed by Dave’s confident narration, immediately immerses readers in the intense unease, carrying them to its emotional conclusion. A character-centered and thought provoking tale that is as much about embracing life as it is about death, this title will appeal to fans of Elizabeth McCracken and Neil Gaiman as well as grief horror like This Thing Between Us by Moreno and Ghost Eaters by Chapman.
Further Appeal: This is a great story. Dave will hook people immediately and guide them through this compelling plot with stellar world building. It is hard to build a convincing setting that is similar to our world and yet slightly askew, but Farrenkopf pulls it off perfectly.
The entire book is also about those years in your life, after college, that time when you are figuring out what your adult life is going to look like. It is the anxiety and uncertainty explored in a depth you don't often see. The idea that the world in this novel is a place where you can learn how you are going to die and when, adds to the anxiety of that time without trivializing it. It serves to heighten the unease.
This book is truly immersive. I believed this world was possible while reading it. It is also character centered. These two appeals make it seem like the book would be more methodically paced, but it is not. This is a story that will keep you turning the pages as well.
And I mentioned it above, but the ending is very emotional, in a way that serves to enhance the entire novel. Also it is believable in response to my comments about how the book is ultimately about that fear of taking those first steps into adulthood.
Readalikes: I gave many above but I need to point out a book that Corey was a part of that got a star in Booklist and I gave a glowing review to in LJ: Tiny Nightmares. I point this out because Farrenkopf might be an author you haven't heard of, but he has been lurking alongside some HUGE names for a bit now.
I would also suggest The Insatiable Volt Sisters by Moulton as a great readalike as well.
April 4, 2024
Right away, I'm going to tell you I loved this book. It's incredibly immersive. The style reminds me a bit of Nina Kiriki Hoffman or Micah Dean Hicks. I'm thinking of stories that have this fog of horror layered over the story -- it may not have terrifying things happen immediately, but the possibility is so strong that you stay tense waiting for it.
In this case, Farrenkopf has created a world where the dead connect with the living in two very important ways. Firstly, their sins will be redeemed upon a hapless relative. This may be horrific or relatively benign, but no one wants their life cut shorter because of things someone else did, obviously. Perhaps it's a heart attack, perhaps ghostly tentacles drag you into the sea and drown you, perhaps something much more prolonged and/or painful. It all depends what you uncle or grandmother or parent and great-great-great aunt did. And the spirits are especially harsh on certain cruelties. The second way people connect to the dead is that their spirits don't rest. They can be visited at their graves and may have clues -- or outright knowledge -- of who will pay for their actions and how.
So our protagonist is hoping to move on to the next stage of life. Grow up. Get married. Start a family. Maybe decide on a new career. But, unlike his girlfriend, he doesn't know how he's going to die and doesn't know if it is fair to get married if he could die tomorrow. The novel is, in many ways, an exploration of him and that liminal period of life where you don't quite know who to be or how to get there. There's tragedy all around him as he interviews his deceased relatives to get a hint of what to expect, but there's also a dangerous legend of resurrection, promises to friends living and dead, and a fractured relationship to his deceased father complicating everything.
It sounds busy for such a short novel, but it isn't. Every plot thread twines perfectly to the central premise and his character arc as the looming dread sinks closer.
In this case, Farrenkopf has created a world where the dead connect with the living in two very important ways. Firstly, their sins will be redeemed upon a hapless relative. This may be horrific or relatively benign, but no one wants their life cut shorter because of things someone else did, obviously. Perhaps it's a heart attack, perhaps ghostly tentacles drag you into the sea and drown you, perhaps something much more prolonged and/or painful. It all depends what you uncle or grandmother or parent and great-great-great aunt did. And the spirits are especially harsh on certain cruelties. The second way people connect to the dead is that their spirits don't rest. They can be visited at their graves and may have clues -- or outright knowledge -- of who will pay for their actions and how.
So our protagonist is hoping to move on to the next stage of life. Grow up. Get married. Start a family. Maybe decide on a new career. But, unlike his girlfriend, he doesn't know how he's going to die and doesn't know if it is fair to get married if he could die tomorrow. The novel is, in many ways, an exploration of him and that liminal period of life where you don't quite know who to be or how to get there. There's tragedy all around him as he interviews his deceased relatives to get a hint of what to expect, but there's also a dangerous legend of resurrection, promises to friends living and dead, and a fractured relationship to his deceased father complicating everything.
It sounds busy for such a short novel, but it isn't. Every plot thread twines perfectly to the central premise and his character arc as the looming dread sinks closer.
April 10, 2024
I couldn’t put this down and finished the ARC in one sitting (thank you Corey!). I’ve been seeing a lot of comparisons to Gaiman come up in reviews and they’re not misplaced - Farrenkopf’s unique world building & dark humor contribute to a story that was at times both brutal and surprisingly hopeful. This was an excellent debut novel and I’m looking forward to what comes next
March 4, 2025
I just finished Farrenkopf's short story collection "Haunted ecologies" and decided to invite him to an interview in my Podcast/YouTube-Channel "Literatunnat".
Not a bad idea to read the novel before talking to the author, isn't it?
Definitely not and I had fun. My yearly reading is about 70% Science Fiction, 20% Horror and 10% the rest of the genres out there. Usually, the worldbuilding in a Horror novel is much less developed (and usually not necessary), it's about this world and then a monster or a phantastical spooky element is added.
Not so here. Worldbuilding is complex, because of what happens after death (or at least, a couple of decades or maybe even a couple of hundred years after one's death): the human being becomes a ghost and lives near its grave. In the clothes it was buried (or cremated) in and looking like the last day in its life. For example, there is a ghost couple and the woman seems to be like forty years older than her husband, because she died much, much later.
You can talk to the ghosts and share memories and knowledge, but you cannot touch them. As a Ghost, you lose your senses, but not your emotions. You're able to move only if your grave (and your human remains) move as well. Otherwise, you're stuck in the cemetery.
There's another important thing: Each human being is connected to some ancestor. It could be an aunt, uncle or parent, or some long-ago ancestor you don't even know. And you have to pay for their sins. Depending on how bad the sin was, you pay with a gruesome and early death, but it's also possible that you will live a long life and then a peaceful death. (There are other possibilities, which will spoil too much and I doubt they were mentioned towards the beginning of the novel.)
Usually, the ghost of the ancestor knows to whom they are connected, but some aren't sure (or won't admit their sins) or sometimes it's not yet fixed to whom they are connected.
So you might know when (and how) you'll die, but there's no guarantee.
Dave, the narrator of the novel, wants to know the time of his death, because he wants to propose to his girlfriend Jessica (with whom he had already spent seven years) and maybe start a family. But he does not want to leave her alone after a too short time and that's while he starts researching his family ghosts to find out about his own ending.
There's a lot in here. First, the relationship between Jessica and Dave. Then, the relationship with their flatmate Lenny, a friend of Dave, who behaves like Don Juan de Marco since he knows he has only five years left. Dave struggles with Lenny's behaviour, for Jessica it's unbearable.
Also, the friendship to Dave's recently passed (in a quite brutal and original way) friend Clint ist interesting and his developing friendship to the young Lenore. I also especially liked some side figures (mostly ghosts) and side plots.
About the premise I have to think a bit, but not, because the novel is too ambiguous. It seems more to be the kind of novel which opens lots of thinking rooms for us readers. For one thing, it reminds me of the novel The Measure from Nikki Erlick, where everybody learns about their life span and some kind of discrimination against the "will die young" begins in society. It's not that bad here, but there are scenes between people who fear a brutal ending in the not-so-far-away-future and other ones, who can feel secure for decades. People do get influenced by this knowledge.
The "Do I would want to know?"-question comes to mind (although I already have all the kids I wanted to have and have proposed to the man I wanted to marry).
Also, some other ideas come up while reading: Just take as much pleasure and kindness from the life you do have. No matter how long it might be (same rings true for relationships, either romantical or friendships).
Like any good novel, it's not really about the horror or the fantastical elements in it. It tells me as a reader something about myself. And that might be different from reader to reader.
Not a bad idea to read the novel before talking to the author, isn't it?
Definitely not and I had fun. My yearly reading is about 70% Science Fiction, 20% Horror and 10% the rest of the genres out there. Usually, the worldbuilding in a Horror novel is much less developed (and usually not necessary), it's about this world and then a monster or a phantastical spooky element is added.
Not so here. Worldbuilding is complex, because of what happens after death (or at least, a couple of decades or maybe even a couple of hundred years after one's death): the human being becomes a ghost and lives near its grave. In the clothes it was buried (or cremated) in and looking like the last day in its life. For example, there is a ghost couple and the woman seems to be like forty years older than her husband, because she died much, much later.
You can talk to the ghosts and share memories and knowledge, but you cannot touch them. As a Ghost, you lose your senses, but not your emotions. You're able to move only if your grave (and your human remains) move as well. Otherwise, you're stuck in the cemetery.
There's another important thing: Each human being is connected to some ancestor. It could be an aunt, uncle or parent, or some long-ago ancestor you don't even know. And you have to pay for their sins. Depending on how bad the sin was, you pay with a gruesome and early death, but it's also possible that you will live a long life and then a peaceful death. (There are other possibilities, which will spoil too much and I doubt they were mentioned towards the beginning of the novel.)
Usually, the ghost of the ancestor knows to whom they are connected, but some aren't sure (or won't admit their sins) or sometimes it's not yet fixed to whom they are connected.
So you might know when (and how) you'll die, but there's no guarantee.
Dave, the narrator of the novel, wants to know the time of his death, because he wants to propose to his girlfriend Jessica (with whom he had already spent seven years) and maybe start a family. But he does not want to leave her alone after a too short time and that's while he starts researching his family ghosts to find out about his own ending.
There's a lot in here. First, the relationship between Jessica and Dave. Then, the relationship with their flatmate Lenny, a friend of Dave, who behaves like Don Juan de Marco since he knows he has only five years left. Dave struggles with Lenny's behaviour, for Jessica it's unbearable.
Also, the friendship to Dave's recently passed (in a quite brutal and original way) friend Clint ist interesting and his developing friendship to the young Lenore. I also especially liked some side figures (mostly ghosts) and side plots.
About the premise I have to think a bit, but not, because the novel is too ambiguous. It seems more to be the kind of novel which opens lots of thinking rooms for us readers. For one thing, it reminds me of the novel The Measure from Nikki Erlick, where everybody learns about their life span and some kind of discrimination against the "will die young" begins in society. It's not that bad here, but there are scenes between people who fear a brutal ending in the not-so-far-away-future and other ones, who can feel secure for decades. People do get influenced by this knowledge.
The "Do I would want to know?"-question comes to mind (although I already have all the kids I wanted to have and have proposed to the man I wanted to marry).
Also, some other ideas come up while reading: Just take as much pleasure and kindness from the life you do have. No matter how long it might be (same rings true for relationships, either romantical or friendships).
Like any good novel, it's not really about the horror or the fantastical elements in it. It tells me as a reader something about myself. And that might be different from reader to reader.
April 4, 2024
I love books that search for deeper meaning and express the full range of human emotion: grief, sadness, humor, joy, fear, love, confusion, peace. Living in Cemeteries dives beneath the surface of human identity and relationships by exploring greater existential questions. Farrenkopf does this through beautifully imagined characters: cemetery workers, artists, botanists, psychics, doctors, lost teens, and ghosts with their unique challenges and identities. Asking the question: if you knew how you are going to die, would it change the way you live? This question is at the heart of Living Cemeteries, and explored through richly developed characters in themes of love, friendship, and family. Despite the macabre setting, the humor and relationships in this story, including the eccentric personalities of many, many ghosts, makes it so there is never a dull moment on the main character's quest. Farrenkopf makes us consider our moral responsibility to future generations, by making people atone for their ancestors wrongdoings, quite literally, in the form of spirits. Searching for answers to make the "best" decisions raises the question of personal authenticity - of the interaction between heart and logic, of knowing, and not knowing... deeply human experiences fully explored through Living in Cemeteries.
March 1, 2024
With echoes of Karen Russell and Ray Bradbury, Farrenkopf paints a world in which one can come to know the manner of their death, the how and why, all of it, but asks if the pursuit of such knowledge is the best use of our dwindling time. Reading this made me want to live more in the present, and was a reminder that we have neither the past or the future, but only the current inhale…exhale.—Scott J. Moses, author of Our Own Unique Affliction
December 10, 2024
Farrenkopf creates a world in which we literally pay for the sins of our ancestors, meted out by masked entities. But instead of settling for a simple slasher story, he crafts something much deeper and emotional. This one will rip your heart out.
June 15, 2024
This is a beautiful book, poetic & funny, thrilling & melancholy. Farrenkopf grounds the story of Dave Gallagher--groundskeeper of cemeteries and ghost whisperer--in realistic emotional detail, but with one brilliant and fantastical conceit: What if you could talk to your dead family members and find out how you, the living, will die? Plus, if your descendants committed wrongdoings in their life--guess what? You're paying the price for their sins.
Farrenkopf's world building is consistently inventive, and Dave's quest to discover his own fate is fraught with narrative twists that are, to use a cliche, both surprising and inevitable. The conversations with the ghosts are comic set pieces of the first order, but also carry the weight of sadness and desperation you might expect if you could talk to the dead. The book taps into that universal fear of death that we all have (even if we don't admit it) and the unpredictability of life itself.
Living in Cemeteries is as much a dark fantasy as it is a horror novel, and it is a philosophical, character driven narrative that is honest and truthful about humanity, both living and dead.
Highly recommend.
Farrenkopf's world building is consistently inventive, and Dave's quest to discover his own fate is fraught with narrative twists that are, to use a cliche, both surprising and inevitable. The conversations with the ghosts are comic set pieces of the first order, but also carry the weight of sadness and desperation you might expect if you could talk to the dead. The book taps into that universal fear of death that we all have (even if we don't admit it) and the unpredictability of life itself.
Living in Cemeteries is as much a dark fantasy as it is a horror novel, and it is a philosophical, character driven narrative that is honest and truthful about humanity, both living and dead.
Highly recommend.
May 12, 2024
Ghosts are real. They remain tethered to their corporal bodies until they disintegrate and leave this realm. Most inhabit graveyards, talking with their neighbors and waiting for their families to visit. Dave sees them often. He’s the groundskeeper at the local cemetery where his father and best friend are buried. He’s torn between his responsibilities to his job, his girlfriend, his friends, and ultimately to himself. How far do you go for the people you love? This is a story of the commitments that we make, the uncertain fate we sometimes fear, and the peace we try to find. Corey Farrenkopf weaves a tale and offers characters that are familiar and easy to believe. He manages to blend spookiness with hope, the uncomfortable and the sweet, in this dark fantasy. It’s a quaint and almost cozy book with relatively low stakes: after all, it’s only life and death.
May 4, 2024
The key to immersive dark fantasy is atmosphere, and it is everywhere in this book: in the curling Cape Cod fog over moonlit headstones, in the main character's earthy, eerie greenhouse, in the sense of the mordant and macabre that pervades the narrative, tempered with elements of real human love and compassion and glints of dark humor. Living in Cemeteries is a love story wrapped in a ghost story, prompting the reader to consider the big questions--what do we owe to our descendants? to our ancestors? to one another?--while racing through the pages to find out if Dave and his friends can make it out alive. Spooky, sweet, and an altogether delightful read!
June 1, 2024
I finished this moments ago and the emotion is still very raw…. But WOW. This hooked me from the first page and kept me engaged every step of the way. The prose is so crisp, the characters so real and relatable. My heart broke so many times, and that’s what I need from a story- to really feel it.
This world Corey created is so vivid and unique. I want more of it.
This book is something I haven’t encountered before but I hope I get to again. 5 out of 5 stars. Easily.
This world Corey created is so vivid and unique. I want more of it.
This book is something I haven’t encountered before but I hope I get to again. 5 out of 5 stars. Easily.
December 29, 2024
Interesting story...what would you do if you knew when you would die? And what if you found out it was wrong...
February 20, 2025
I really wanted to love this book but it just wasn’t for me. Unlikable characters that were always fighting, really made it a chore to read this. The writing was fantastic but the story just wasn’t interesting to me. I’ll definitely read this author again, I hope the next time will be more my speed.
April 3, 2024
This book had such a unique world system. The fantastical elements could place this book in the horror realm but ‘dark fantasy’ is the perfect genre description.
I LOVE the idea of the deceased showing up to their own funeral. Our world and overall grief process would be much different if that was the case.
Our MC Dave went through an extreme character-building revolution over the course of this book too. He started out as such a weak pushover. It was starting to aggravate me how often he would put the wishes of the supposed “love of his life” aside for his jack-off of a roommate.
Speaking of, Lenny was insufferable and had no redeeming qualities.
Dave ends up in a really good spot, goes through so many life-altering events, and comes out a better person.
This all really got me thinking that I do not know ANYTHING about my ancestors. I have absolutely 0 idea how I would be dying.
There were a few things that could have been done to help the storyline flow a bit better. I would have liked a back story on why we were so focused on botany. There were so many random tidbits-bits about flowers and plants and I wanted to dive into that more. The nightshade seemed to be a bit of a side-story and could have used more details.
Overall, this is a standout book for a debut author. Thank you to Corey for sending me this book directly! I loved it.
I LOVE the idea of the deceased showing up to their own funeral. Our world and overall grief process would be much different if that was the case.
Our MC Dave went through an extreme character-building revolution over the course of this book too. He started out as such a weak pushover. It was starting to aggravate me how often he would put the wishes of the supposed “love of his life” aside for his jack-off of a roommate.
Speaking of, Lenny was insufferable and had no redeeming qualities.
Dave ends up in a really good spot, goes through so many life-altering events, and comes out a better person.
This all really got me thinking that I do not know ANYTHING about my ancestors. I have absolutely 0 idea how I would be dying.
There were a few things that could have been done to help the storyline flow a bit better. I would have liked a back story on why we were so focused on botany. There were so many random tidbits-bits about flowers and plants and I wanted to dive into that more. The nightshade seemed to be a bit of a side-story and could have used more details.
Overall, this is a standout book for a debut author. Thank you to Corey for sending me this book directly! I loved it.
March 31, 2024
So much of modern horror embraces the weird. Often it's weird for the sake of weird, and when a story loses its tenuous grip on reality, it often loses me. For an author to create a world where the abnormal (paranormal?) is accepted and a part of everyday life rooted in authenticity, that's something special.
And it's exactly what Corey Farrenkopf pulls off in his debut novel, Living in Cemeteries.
To know too much about the story going in is to deprive yourself of the best parts of the experience, but it's a story where death walks hand-in-hand with life, full of darkly funny moments and unafraid to take the reader to unpredictable places and stare headlong at tragedy when the moment calls for it. And maybe that's the novel's greatest strength. For a story that immerses itself so deeply in the supernatural, it never loses its sense of relatability. We don't have to agree with every character choice, but innately we understand.
Living in Cemeteries feels like a thoughtful and carefully-plotted novel. Whether or not that's the truth, I don't know, but that's sense readers will take away. Every character beat, every plot point, every word choice is painstakingly crafted, and the end result is stronger for it.
And it's exactly what Corey Farrenkopf pulls off in his debut novel, Living in Cemeteries.
To know too much about the story going in is to deprive yourself of the best parts of the experience, but it's a story where death walks hand-in-hand with life, full of darkly funny moments and unafraid to take the reader to unpredictable places and stare headlong at tragedy when the moment calls for it. And maybe that's the novel's greatest strength. For a story that immerses itself so deeply in the supernatural, it never loses its sense of relatability. We don't have to agree with every character choice, but innately we understand.
Living in Cemeteries feels like a thoughtful and carefully-plotted novel. Whether or not that's the truth, I don't know, but that's sense readers will take away. Every character beat, every plot point, every word choice is painstakingly crafted, and the end result is stronger for it.
April 27, 2024
Delving into the complexities of life, death, and the consequences of our actions, "Living in Cemeteries' is a captivating and unique tale. Farrenkopf uses a blend of humor, romance, and supernatural elements that keep readers hooked from start finish.
The characters are well-developed and relatable, with Dave's struggle to find the answers to his questions being particularly captivating. The supporting cast, including Jessica and Lenny, add depth and tension to the story.
The world-building is impressive, with a clever and thought-provoking concept of how wrongdoing is atoned for by descendants. The author's imagination and creativity shine through in the way they weave together historical events and supernatural elements.
Overall, "Living in Cemeteries" is a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys a mix of humor, drama, and supernatural mystery.
The characters are well-developed and relatable, with Dave's struggle to find the answers to his questions being particularly captivating. The supporting cast, including Jessica and Lenny, add depth and tension to the story.
The world-building is impressive, with a clever and thought-provoking concept of how wrongdoing is atoned for by descendants. The author's imagination and creativity shine through in the way they weave together historical events and supernatural elements.
Overall, "Living in Cemeteries" is a fantastic read for anyone who enjoys a mix of humor, drama, and supernatural mystery.
December 4, 2024
Solid, fine book with a lot of great ideas. I just did not connect with the main character. No spoilies, but I did not understand his relationship or deep love for his girlfriend because she kinda seemed like she sucked. I was not overly endured to any of the characters.
August 8, 2025
When I was in my mid-20s, I lived across the lane from a graveyard on a hill; this fast-paced, immersive, finely-wrought debut novel made me recall all the picnics I had there, chatting away to the stones of strangers, looking across the miles at Manhattan.
I even fell asleep there once, and woke to a sad (living) soul missing their family, talking and crying. I was afraid I would give them a heart attack if I rose up from behind a stone, so I lay still until they had wrung their grief out for the time being. I earned a ridiculous sunburn for my increasingly painful, if unintentional, eavesdropping. I even watched the Twin Towers burn from there.
A friend who grew up in the Caribbean would never stay the night because she was convinced we would have unwelcome visitors from down the lane. I completely understand her reaction, although what I believe to be true about death is a combo of the first law of thermodynamics plus a lot of my Catholic upbringing.
And what we think death means is at the center of this book.
Corey conjures up a fully-realized world where the “sins of the father are visited unto the 4th generation”—ghosts remain tethered to where they are buried (one lonely soul is even on a tiny island), while Spirits—a kind of Susan-Cooper-esque-Dark Rider bony-carapaced spectacle—come to slaughter the living based on the crimes of the dead.
The opening scene of retribution will knock your socks off, and it just keeps moving swiftly on from there. The world the author creates is completely believable—what an achievement!
As a person who finds horror/dark fantasy comforting (this is not really a horror novel, btw—it is dark, but also fairly bursts at its seams with love), I was particularly moved by this book.
When my mother died, I would have given anything—ANYTHING—to be able to speak with her once again (and we talked every day of her life). Thank goodness Ol’ Scratch was busy, because even though I still miss my mom every day—14 years after she passed—I am able to exist without her. But I exist in a new way.
What Corey does so well here is to consider how death changes both the bodies and the spirits of the living and the dead, while raising the question of what we truly owe one another.
I was reminded of AC Wise’s “The Ghost Sequences,” Anne Sexton’s poem “The Truth the Dead Know,” and any number of Miyazaki films while reading. Truly excellent work from a rising name in “dark literature.”
I even fell asleep there once, and woke to a sad (living) soul missing their family, talking and crying. I was afraid I would give them a heart attack if I rose up from behind a stone, so I lay still until they had wrung their grief out for the time being. I earned a ridiculous sunburn for my increasingly painful, if unintentional, eavesdropping. I even watched the Twin Towers burn from there.
A friend who grew up in the Caribbean would never stay the night because she was convinced we would have unwelcome visitors from down the lane. I completely understand her reaction, although what I believe to be true about death is a combo of the first law of thermodynamics plus a lot of my Catholic upbringing.
And what we think death means is at the center of this book.
Corey conjures up a fully-realized world where the “sins of the father are visited unto the 4th generation”—ghosts remain tethered to where they are buried (one lonely soul is even on a tiny island), while Spirits—a kind of Susan-Cooper-esque-Dark Rider bony-carapaced spectacle—come to slaughter the living based on the crimes of the dead.
The opening scene of retribution will knock your socks off, and it just keeps moving swiftly on from there. The world the author creates is completely believable—what an achievement!
As a person who finds horror/dark fantasy comforting (this is not really a horror novel, btw—it is dark, but also fairly bursts at its seams with love), I was particularly moved by this book.
When my mother died, I would have given anything—ANYTHING—to be able to speak with her once again (and we talked every day of her life). Thank goodness Ol’ Scratch was busy, because even though I still miss my mom every day—14 years after she passed—I am able to exist without her. But I exist in a new way.
What Corey does so well here is to consider how death changes both the bodies and the spirits of the living and the dead, while raising the question of what we truly owe one another.
I was reminded of AC Wise’s “The Ghost Sequences,” Anne Sexton’s poem “The Truth the Dead Know,” and any number of Miyazaki films while reading. Truly excellent work from a rising name in “dark literature.”
April 13, 2024
Living in Cemeteries is Corey Farrenkopf's debut, and it's a stunner. The first chapter drops you into this world of spirits, and what he does cleverly is explain the rules while entertaining the reader. It's easy to see from the opening why I read this book in two sittings. It draws you in and you can't stop until the end. The protagonist, Dave Gallagher, is such a fully-developed character that you can't help but empathize with his journey. Loyal, loving, and of course anxious over what to do with the little time alloted him on this earth, his questioning and searching for meaning is told expertly by Farrenkopf. Whether it's reconciling with his deceased father, helping his newly-transitioned to spirit best friend, or deciding if love is worth all the hurt, all the risk, Dave Gallagher's journey is a journey we all undertake at some point in our lives.
The word that kept coming to me while reading this is HONESTY. Farrenkopf writes from the heart and it shows. This is a story with supernatural elements, but it never loses its grounding. The characters all stay to true to their natures, and like all good books, when it comes to an end, it feels like saying goodbye to friends.
I already mentioned the world-building, which is flawless, and an example for author's on how to sustain a reader's attention and give them a guide as to how to navigate a story. There's so much in this novel to contemplate, including how to live one's life knowing we are only alive for so little time, what makes a life worth living, and how do we go on without those we love. A terrific debut and I highly recommend it.
The word that kept coming to me while reading this is HONESTY. Farrenkopf writes from the heart and it shows. This is a story with supernatural elements, but it never loses its grounding. The characters all stay to true to their natures, and like all good books, when it comes to an end, it feels like saying goodbye to friends.
I already mentioned the world-building, which is flawless, and an example for author's on how to sustain a reader's attention and give them a guide as to how to navigate a story. There's so much in this novel to contemplate, including how to live one's life knowing we are only alive for so little time, what makes a life worth living, and how do we go on without those we love. A terrific debut and I highly recommend it.
May 27, 2024
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5
Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️
Corey Farrenkopf's debut novel, Living in Cemeteries, contemplates the best and worst parts of life and humanity through horrors portrayed in a dark, fantastical world.
In this world, people's ancestors pay for their wrongdoings. As a cemetery worker, Dave quite literally lives in cemeteries, and every person who is buried becomes a ghost who is tethered to their cemetery. Most people constantly worry about how they are going to die in atonement for their ancestors' sins. Because people can speak to ghosts, they try and find out who is going to pay for which wrongdoing and when. Unfortunately, Dave hasn't gotten any answers from his ancestors, and that is holding him back from starting a life with his girlfriend, Jessica, so Dave goes on a quest to find out how much time he has left.
This world is so similar to our own, but it has this overarching anxiety and layer of horror following the characters. It made me contemplate how much I'm living in the moment and how precious life truly is. Living in Cemeteries is wonderfully introspective and gives readers a chance to think about what they would do in Dave's situation. I highly recommend it to those who love speculative fiction and horror.
Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️
Corey Farrenkopf's debut novel, Living in Cemeteries, contemplates the best and worst parts of life and humanity through horrors portrayed in a dark, fantastical world.
In this world, people's ancestors pay for their wrongdoings. As a cemetery worker, Dave quite literally lives in cemeteries, and every person who is buried becomes a ghost who is tethered to their cemetery. Most people constantly worry about how they are going to die in atonement for their ancestors' sins. Because people can speak to ghosts, they try and find out who is going to pay for which wrongdoing and when. Unfortunately, Dave hasn't gotten any answers from his ancestors, and that is holding him back from starting a life with his girlfriend, Jessica, so Dave goes on a quest to find out how much time he has left.
This world is so similar to our own, but it has this overarching anxiety and layer of horror following the characters. It made me contemplate how much I'm living in the moment and how precious life truly is. Living in Cemeteries is wonderfully introspective and gives readers a chance to think about what they would do in Dave's situation. I highly recommend it to those who love speculative fiction and horror.
August 13, 2024
My late grandmother once asked me if I would want to know the date, time, and cause of my own death. She explored the philosophical question two ways. The first is that knowing that information would cause you to run away from your own death, living life in a downward spiral. On the other hand, she would offer, you would know exactly how much time you had left to make the most of your life.
Living in Cemeteries is 220+ pages of exploring what living in that philosophical conundrum would look like. Through seamless world-building and an incredibly relatable first-person narrator, we learn the rules of a world where ghosts can tell you how and when you die and spirits that punish the living for the misdeeds of the dead.
Beautifully written and un-put-downable, Living in Cemeteries is a ghost story with soul. The story lulls you in just in time to rip your heart out and put grief at the forefront of your thoughts.
The ending gutted me, leaving me asking myself if I could be as strong as Dave and go on living my life in the face of what he had to endure.
Living in Cemeteries is 220+ pages of exploring what living in that philosophical conundrum would look like. Through seamless world-building and an incredibly relatable first-person narrator, we learn the rules of a world where ghosts can tell you how and when you die and spirits that punish the living for the misdeeds of the dead.
Beautifully written and un-put-downable, Living in Cemeteries is a ghost story with soul. The story lulls you in just in time to rip your heart out and put grief at the forefront of your thoughts.
The ending gutted me, leaving me asking myself if I could be as strong as Dave and go on living my life in the face of what he had to endure.
August 6, 2024
Well done Corey!! This book absolutely blew me away. From your whit and humor and punchy writing style to the absolutely fascinating way that ghosts and the fates interact, well done. Dave is such a great character and his arc is well worth every page. Lenore is such a sweetheart and I wish nothing but the best for her. I'd like to imagine she and Dave met up at some point down the road and traded stories for a long time. The dynamics between Dave and Clint, Dave and Jessica and Lenny, all are so human and raw. You made the characters really come to life! (Which yes, is funny, considering the book is about death). The book starts off with a bang and leads you on twists and turns like you wouldn't believe and the ending is just *such* a perfect send off for the book. Again well done my friend, I can't wait to read what you write next.
August 20, 2024
Wow! I will never get over novels about death. They are so rife for emotion, gallows humor, and existential wonder. Whether that's Lincoln in the Bardo, Odd Thomas, or in this newest addition to the pantheon, Corey Farrenkopf's Living in Cemeteries.
Farrenkopf introduces us to a protagonist that feels like he wandered right out of The Catcher in the Rye. He's a little dissolutioned with the world of ghosts in which he lives, held back from his true dreams by the nebulous future and possibility of his own demise. He's got a lot of love in his heart, but Farrenkopf does an excellent job of keeping it under the surface, not explicitly verbalized. You feel it though, that's for sure.
The ending really took me by surprise, too. I thought I knew where the story was going, but just when I thought we were on solid rails, the whole track was blown up by dynamite. Spectres will do that to you, I guess!
If you loved Living In Cemeteries, check out Beulah by Christi Nogle and Linghun by Ai Jiang! These three could be a trilogy, I swear.
Farrenkopf introduces us to a protagonist that feels like he wandered right out of The Catcher in the Rye. He's a little dissolutioned with the world of ghosts in which he lives, held back from his true dreams by the nebulous future and possibility of his own demise. He's got a lot of love in his heart, but Farrenkopf does an excellent job of keeping it under the surface, not explicitly verbalized. You feel it though, that's for sure.
The ending really took me by surprise, too. I thought I knew where the story was going, but just when I thought we were on solid rails, the whole track was blown up by dynamite. Spectres will do that to you, I guess!
If you loved Living In Cemeteries, check out Beulah by Christi Nogle and Linghun by Ai Jiang! These three could be a trilogy, I swear.
September 12, 2024
Living in Cemeteries is a deeply engrossing novel that takes place in a secondary world where people have an even stranger relationship to death than we do. Everyone knows about ghosts in this reality, and they carry important secrets about how and when their heirs will die. It's an interesting thought experiment, how would society be different if we knew when we were going to die? Another horrifying feature of this reality are "the Spirits," enigmatic and angry supernatural beings who inflict punishment on people based on the crimes of their ancestors. I really appreciated the complexity of the relationships depicted in the story, the exploration of the depths of grief and love, and the philosophical questions hovering in the air. And I loved the intricate writing style. Farrenkopf has a keen eye for detail and description. A thought-provoking and emotional story!
August 23, 2024
Delightful read. The premise of the story is original and really got me hooked. I will not write any spoilers, so please rush and read it, and explore this strange, yet familiar world and the curious relations between the livings and their ghosts. It is also very well written and a joy to read.
A 4-star for me is a book I love, but I couldn't just get to that 5-star because I felt the ending was maybe not as strong. I enjoyed the twist, but I was expecting something more from the final pages. It seemed to me that some paths were left unexplored (what about this girl living in the cemetary for instance). The only thing I could say to the author: maybe another one in this world? Please?
May 13, 2024
For lovers of fantasy, horror and even humor, Living in Cemeteries is set in a world where descendants pay for their ancestors' bad deeds, whether the descendent was a bull fighter, a serial killer or one of the men responsible for the genocide of native peoples. David is a man who works in a cemetery, mowing the grass, digging graves, maintaining grave sites. While he is used to seeing the spirits of dead people around him, his greatest wish is to find the ancestor who can tell him what his future holds. Filled with humor and gore, this book made me wonder about whether we are better off knowing or not knowing when or how our end will come.
January 25, 2025
This book had a really interesting premise but definitely fell short of greatness. Both Dave and his girlfriend were relatively flat characters and border on unlikable at times. I did enjoy a few things about this book, mainly the twist as it upped the stakes and made the book more interesting, but it ultimately goes nowhere, which is disappointing. I also could not understand why there is so much importance placed on Dave’s father and his silence just to reveal that he has nothing to say. Overall, I feel like this book had a lot of potential, but didn’t quite do it for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2024
This is truly a unique and wonderfully weird story here. The style, the lore, there's nothing quite like Living in Cemeteries, at least compared to what I've read before.
The characters are both charming and flawed. There is a good sense of humor baked into this book which I also quite enjoyed.
Overall, this was a great read, very thought provoking. It packages deep questions in a palatable way.
The characters are both charming and flawed. There is a good sense of humor baked into this book which I also quite enjoyed.
Overall, this was a great read, very thought provoking. It packages deep questions in a palatable way.
December 27, 2024
A beautiful, haunting and heartfelt Bradbury-esque horror/fantasy meditation on death and life, filled with achingly real characters and evocative imagery. Loved how big - and original! - the ideas were, and yet how grounded it felt in its characters and emotions. A very special book, and an incredible debut by Farrenkopf. Highly recommended!
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