Hi all!
Welcome back to the bookclub! In April, we read The Ravenous Dead by Darcy Coates for The You’ll Read Too Bookclub! If you wish to access all of the latest updates/information, click here. Bookclub members were also invited to read The Whispering Dead. Spoilers ahead!
Quick Reminder: This month we are reading ‘The Book of Cold Cases’ by Simone St. James!
Today I’m going to discuss the book in the same way I normally do the IGTV videos. You can find the IGTV video for this talk on my bookclub Instagram page. I’ll give a quick plot summary plus my overall star/scare-factor ratings. Then I will share the discussion topics and trivia questions. Please include all of your answers and opinions down below. I want to know exactly what you thought. I’ll also leave the answers to the trivia questions at the very bottom of the post, so if you wish to guess without being spoiled, do not scroll to the end until you’re ready. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
THE RAVENOUS DEAD by DARCY COATES – APRIL 2022
PLOT SUMMARY
Keira, hired as Blighty Graveyard’s new groundskeeper, lives surrounded by the dead. They watch her through the fog. They wordlessly cry out. They’ve been desperately waiting for help moving on – and only Keira can hear them. But not every restless spirit wants to be saved.
Sometimes the dead hate the living too much to find peace.
As Keira struggles to uncover the tangled histories of some of the graveyard’s oldest denizens, danger seeps from the darkest edges of the forest. A vicious serial killer was interred among the trees decades before, his spirit twisted by his violent nature. He’s furious. Ravenous. And when Keira unwittingly answers his call, she may just seal her fate as his final intended victim.
OVERALL STAR RATING
I gave this 5/5 stars! Darcy doesn’t seem to disappoint. In fact, I think I liked The Ravenous Dead better than The Whispering Dead. The friendships were so wholesome and the scares, on point. In the sequel, we learned some new information about Keira’s past but not enough to fully wrap things up just yet. It’s always a plus, in my opinion, when the details are staggered. Not only that, there was a nice little twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.
OVERALL SCARE-FACTOR RATING
I gave this a scare-factor rating of 3/5 stars. The gruesome visions and malevolent spirits definitely made an impact. Furthermore, there was a chapter set in a hospital that had me biting my fingernails!
DISCUSSION TOPICS
1.) What are your theories about the organisation after Keira?
It is implied (in the second book) that the organisation targeting Keira are after her for her abilities. Whether they are competing with her as ghost hunters remains to be seen but I believe there are much darker undertones. Why would they be trying to kill her? The photograph she carries with her has a lot more story to tell. It may have to do with her family?
2.) Do you think the Victorian woman in the graveyard holds any significance in the story? If so, what?
Yes. She is almost watching over Keira and at the end, when she’s asked her name, the woman shakes her head as if to imply it doesn’t matter. Why include that moment if it wasn’t of importance? I believe she might be related to Keira. A long, lost ancestor perhaps?
3.) Is Keira’s gift more of a blessing or a curse?
Personally, I would say a curse. It seems to wreak havoc on her emotionally and physically. She’s also being hunted for it. It doesn’t seem to lend her any sort of normal life. On the other hand, she is helping tortured souls move on – which is nice – but still not something I would envy.
TRIVIA QUESTIONS
Easy: What is the nickname of Keira’s cat?
Medium: What was the condition Gerald put forward before meeting his lovers?
Hard: What does Mason’s mother do for a living?
I hope you enjoyed the book club discussion in this post and on Instagram. As mentioned above, share all of your thoughts in the comments below! If you have any feedback/suggestions to improve the bookclub, please let me know. I look forward to talking to you all next month! Thanks for reading!
Peace & Love xoxo
TRIVIA ANSWERS: Easy: Daze. Medium: Meet his sisters. Hard: Botanist.