BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE
The Secret Keeper's Daughter
by Valerie Biel
March 3 - 28, 2025 Virtual Book Tour
Synopsis:
When the police rule her dad’s death an accidental overdose, 16-year-old Chloe refuses to believe it and vows to find his killer. Alone against a potentially corrupt, small-town police force, a persistent social worker seeking proof that she has adult supervision, and precariously low funds, Chloe learns that her dad’s life as a cemetery caretaker masked a web of family secrets that quite possibly led to his death—and are now putting her in mortal danger.
Needing freedom to investigate, Chloe pretends that her only surviving relative, a famous war correspondent, has returned from an overseas assignment to be her guardian. But living alone in the caretaker’s house in the middle of the cemetery, mere feet from the crime scene, puts Chloe’s nerves on edge even before she unearths clues about the shadowy side of her small town. Help comes from unlikely and surprising allies: the colorful owner of the local retro diner, the quiet new classmate with his near-perfect memory, and a spirit who visits in her moments of greatest need.
But as Chloe gets closer to the truth, someone else is getting closer to Chloe, watching her every move. And when her aunt turns up on international news reporting from a war zone, Chloe’s cover is blown. Now the race is on to reveal her dad’s killer—but perhaps—Chloe isn’t as alone as she thought.
Praise for Beyond the Cemetery Gate: The Secret Keeper's Daughter:
Recently voted Notable 100 Best Indie Book of 2024 (from Shelf Unbound) and a Semi-Finalist for the CIBA YA Fiction Book Award (Chanticleer International Book Awards)
"A stand-out mystery...offering readers an unforgettable journey." ★★★★★ 5-Stars
~ Readers' Favorite
"This taut, suspenseful mystery goes beyond the cemetery gate and settles, creaking, into our very bones."
~ Silvia Acevedo, author of the award-winning God Awful series
"A gripping mystery that succeeds due to a headstrong protagonist who's unwilling to fail."
~ Kirkus Reviews
"... a must-read and recommended for fans of mysteries looking for a gripping and compelling story."
~ 5-Stars - Reader Views Kids
"A haunting YA mystery. Touching on everything from police ineptitude and community solidarity to the endless frustration of being patronized as a young person, this paranormal thriller confidently combines timely and relatable themes within a page-turning storyline."
~ Self-Publishing Review
"Not all secrets are buried in the grave. Beyond the Cemetery Gate is a nonstop read through a dark, twisting plot and the dangerous world of shadows and sinister people that 16-year-old Chloe must outrun and outsmart."
~ Patricia Skalka, Author of the Dave Cubiak Door County Mysteries
Book Details:
Genre: Young Adult Mystery Suspense
Published by: Lost Lake Press
Publication Date: October 31, 2024
Number of Pages: 342
ISBN: 9780998173641 (ISBN10: 0998173649)
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
Chapter 1
CHLOE
In the space between sleep and wakefulness, a sound seeped into my consciousness. The sense that something wasn’t quite right pulled me fully awake. I listened beyond my own breathing for it to come again.
A wail pierced the silence. An animal in pain? Only it wasn’t. I knew it was human. I slipped from bed to stare out into the cemetery. The tombstones always made for fascinating or eerie shadows, depending on how you felt about graveyards. I never minded, which was a good thing, considering my house was smack dab in the middle of one.
The sound came again, more of a moan this time, followed by a murmur of voices. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but people were definitely in the cemetery. One of them was scared or maybe hurt. Dad wasn’t going to like this. He locked the gate tight every night. The only way in was to scale the tall, spiked iron fence or pick the lock. Either one was going to piss him off.
In the distance, a pinpoint of light moved away from where I perched. It was too small to be a flashlight . . . maybe a cell phone?
I padded down the hall to Dad’s bedroom, calling for him. His door was ajar, and the hall light was enough to show his empty bed, the covers rumpled and thrown back as though he’d gotten up quickly. He must have heard the same thing.
His boots weren’t in their usual spot by the back door, so I knew for sure he’d gone to investigate. I had to help because Dad and I were a team, small and mighty, he said. We always made it through everything together.
In my hurry I forgot to stop the screen door from slamming behind me when I stepped out onto the porch, cringing when the sound echoed through the night.
I waited a moment and then whispered, “Dad,” as loudly as I dared.
No answer.
I angled toward the part of the cemetery where the small light had been, thinking I’d find him corralling some kids from high school pulling a prank. It happened once in a while but usually in a few weeks—closer to Halloween. I knew more than a handful of idiots my age who would think this was funny.
I hadn’t heard the wailing or voices since I left the house. Maybe whoever it was had left? That hopeful thought disappeared as a weird combination of worry and fear crawled up the base of my spine. Just in case it was something more menacing than kids, I hid my approach behind the cemetery’s largest and oldest tombstones. Maxwell, Bell, Ludington . . . I touched their cold granite and the mossy green lichen growing up their sides as I slid between them. I expected to find Dad by now. Where was he?
A terrible thought pushed me into full fear mode. What if the person making that horrible scream was Dad? It hadn’t sounded like him, but … what if he was out here somewhere and hurt? I had to find him!
My breath quickened and a damp sheen of sweat prickled my skin.
I sped up, more concerned with finding him than being seen. The cemetery was big, but I had to be close to where I’d spotted the light. I calmed myself long enough to pivot in a slow circle, my bare feet sliding on the dewy grass. The main gate was open, obviously where the trespassers came in—and hopefully where they’d gone out.
It was quiet and dark.
The cemetery had no lights of its own, and the glow of streetlights reached only to the second row of graves. Here and there, solar decorations shimmered for dead loved ones as cheerfully as possible but didn’t shine far enough to be helpful. The darkness didn’t hinder me. The cemetery had been my playground since preschool, so even in the dark I was able to avoid every tree root, odd stone, or divot that might trip me up.
I decided to be systematic and jogged a grid pattern, snaking through the rows. I stopped short and gasped at the next turn. A body was slumped against the base of my favorite statue, a white marble angel holding a sword and shield.
“Dad!”
He didn’t move. In two quick strides, I was at his side. “Dad!”
I gave his shoulder a gentle shake, and his head tipped sideways.
“Oh my god! Wake up!”
I needed a better look and found the light on my phone. What I saw scared me even more. Dad’s face was pale, his eyes unfocused. I needed help—fast!
Dialing 911 seemed impossibly slow for three simple numbers.
“911. What’s your emergency?”
“It’s – it’s my dad. He won’t wake up.”
“What’s your location?”
“I’m in the city cemetery. My dad is the caretaker here.”
“What’s your name?”
“C-Chloe Cowyn.”
“Okay, Chloe, can you check whether your dad’s breathing?”
I bent low and placed my face close to Dad’s mouth. “I don’t think so. Please hurry!”
This didn’t make sense. Had someone hit him? I didn’t see any blood. I swept my eyes over his legs and arms—stopping abruptly at what I saw.
“Nooooo.”
At first, I thought the wailing had returned, until I realized that I was the one making the sound eerily like what woke me.
“Chloe, are you okay? I have help on the way. Stay on the line with me until they arrive.”
“No. No. No.” My cell phone dropped from my hand as I backed away.
Tears blurred my view until I could no longer see the needle stuck in my dad’s arm.
***
Excerpt from BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE: The Secret Keeper's Daughter by Valerie Biel. Copyright 2024 by Valerie Biel. Reproduced with permission from Valerie Biel. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Valerie Biel writes books for middle grade to adult audiences--stories inspired by her travels and her insatiable curiosity. Her award-winning, young adult fantasy series, Circle of Nine, was inspired by the myth and magic of Ireland's ancient stone circles. She's also the author of Haven, a contemporary middle grade novel, and Beyond the Cemetery Gate, a YA mystery suspense story. She helps other authors with their book promotion and marketing and frequently teaches writing workshops to students of all ages. When Valerie's away from the computer, you might find her wrangling her overgrown garden, traveling the world, and reading everything she can get her hands on. Once upon a time, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in journalism and political science. She lives with her husband on a (tiny) portion of her family's century-old farm in rural Wisconsin, but regularly dreams of finding a cozy cottage on the Irish coast where she can write and write.
Review:
5 stars!!!
Fantastic dual-timeline murder mystery with hints of the
paranormal.
Beyond the Cemetery Gate: The Secret Keeper’s Daughter
is the first book in author Valerie Biel’s fantastic new young adult/adult cross-over
Chloe and Maggie Mystery series and features a clever dual timeline with
just a hint of paranormal elements. Chloe Cowyn, who lives with her father in a
house nestled with the city cemetery where he works as the caretaker, is
awakened one night to screams, shouting, and flickering lights among the
headstones. Thinking it is kids who have snuck in for a scary prank, she goes
to wake her father so he can shoo the trespassers away. Finding his bed empty
and assuming he’s already up and outside doing just that, she heads out as well
in case he needs any help, only to find him dead, propped up against a monument
with a needle in his arm. When the police declare his death an accidental
overdose, Chloe urges them to look closer as she’s certain her father was and never
had been an addict and that she had heard multiple voices in the cemetery at
the time of his death. The police appear to close the case without further
investigation, so Chloe decides to pursue the truth on her own.
The story cleverly unfolds through the viewpoints of father
and daughter, with his narrative providing the backdrop for her account of the
events of the present. Unbeknownst to Chloe, Dean Cowyn had been keeping a lot
of secrets from her regarding their past, and those secrets were just about to
come out into the open in a very dangerous way.
Chloe is a strong and determined 16-year-old, and she never
wavers in her belief that her father’s death was caused by someone else in the
cemetery that night. During times of stress, which is practically the entire
book, Chloe figuratively turns to her guardian angel, Leb, for comfort, which
is promptly given. Described as a loving presence and a warm, comforting hug,
the invisible Leb has been a part of Chloe’s life for as long as she can
remember. While they do not communicate per se, he is always there when she
needs him and ready to provide mental and emotional support. As for Dean, he’s
a dedicated father, trying to keep his daughter safe, which also means
oblivious to what really happened the night of the house fire that took a life
and caused the terrible scars on the lower half of her body. But while Dean
kept those secrets from his daughter out of love, her ignorance of the truth puts
her at a terrible disadvantage and her life in jeopardy.
A third narrator, The Watcher, provides stalkerish
commentary about Chloe’s movements, and this adds to the tense and creepy
atmosphere of the entire story. The Watcher’s identity is kept hidden,
and I speculated throughout the book about who it was, thinking it was first
one person and then another until, in one of many surprising plot twists, they
and their motives are finally revealed.
The plot is fast-paced and compelling, and I was completely consumed
by the story from the moment I began reading it. I could feel Chloe’s frustration
with the lack of police action and her rising panic when she was unable to
contact Maggie, her only other relative, forcing her to lie to and dodge the
county’s social worker. The pressure increases when she realizes her sources of
ready cash are gone and the city has given her a quickly approaching deadline
to pack and vacate the cemetery house to accommodate the newly hired caretaker.
While readers will be fairly certain they know who the killer is, it is the reason
why and what comes next that drives the story.
I recommend BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE: THE SECRET KEEPER’S
DAUGHTER to readers of young adult/adult mysteries and thrillers, especially
those who enjoy a little paranormal element in their stories.
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