With a great premise and a short length, Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio seemed right up my alley. However, in the end we felt the book fell a bit short for us, mainly due to it’s length.
Every night, in the college’s ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.
One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn’t there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom? Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realize he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks―and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought.
Graveyard Shift has an interesting and intriguing premise, a group of diverse characters coming together in a spooky setting. The book has a very atmospheric and eerie feeling created by Rio that draws you into to start, but an ending that felt lackluster. The individual chapters are well-written and kept us going as we follow the story. However, there simply isn’t enough material to fully flesh out the story.
The highlight of the novella is the interesting and diverse characters that each bring their own unique perspectives. This is even more present with the audiobook version as it provides different narration for each character bringing them to life. Additionally, the audiobook enhances the atmosphere of the story and is a quick listen.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio offers an eerie, creepy and atmospheric quick read. While it fell short of a fully developed story, the characters and overall plot were worth the listen. The novella still manages to give us a quick mysterious read to break up longer novels. While not my favorite book, the Graveyard Shift is far from the worst book.
Graveyard Shift hits bookstores everywhere on September 24, 2024 from Flatiron Books. The audiobook is available at Libro.fm narrated by Jess Nahikian, M. L. Rio, Max Meyers, Si Chen, Susan Dalian and Tim Campbell.
