The Gravedigger's Handbook
A Standalone Novel
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Blurb
High above Pontarçon, St Aubin’s Rest holds its silence—weathered stones, drifting seasons, and Lucien Morel, the caretaker who has devoted his life to tending the dead. His routines are steady, his solitude familiar. But after the burial of twenty-year-old Jonathan Graye, St Aubin’s latest arrival begins appearing among the graves: an artist carrying secrets he cannot quite reach, moving through the cemetery as though called by something he doesn’t understand.
Their early encounters ripple through St Aubin’s Rest. Within its crumbling walls, the air seems to hum with memories, and the voices of love, regret, and half-forgotten promises never fully fade. As Lucien supports the grieving and the restless alike, his own defences begin to shift. The connection forming between him and the stranger becomes a haven edged with uncertainty, asking him to consider what it means to care for the living when the past will not loosen its grip.
As the seasons turn and the boundaries within the cemetery grow porous, Lucien must confront not only what he keeps for others, but what he has withheld from himself. Why you’ll love it: a tender, gothic story where intimacy grows in the quiet spaces between grief and hope.
Behind the Pages
I’ve always found cemeteries gentle. When the world runs too fast and loud, I go there to let my mind settle. Among stones and names, time loosens its grip. The past and the present sit side by side in memory and in breath.
I rarely speak to anyone on these walks. Sometimes there’s a nod, a polite greeting, a small smile that simply says: I see you. Those quiet acknowledgements often leave me feeling more alive than any daily bustle.
Now and then, when the breeze is mild, I glance back at another walker and wonder if we’ve crossed a seam in time—if we’ve met across years rather than paths, and whether they’re as present as they seem.
This book grew out of those walks: the hush, the kindness, the small rituals of keeping company with absence. If it gives you a pocket of quiet in a loud world, then it has done what I hoped.
Jern Tonkoi
Reviews
This book had my heart from the first few pages. The characters are so sweet and the writing style and descriptions are gorgeous. I loved Lucy and Nat so much; the way their relationship progressed was so sweet to see, and getting to see their personal growth over the course of the story was wonderful. They made my heart so soft. I’m glad I got the chance to read this book; it was touching and poignant and exactly what I needed. I will for sure be reading this again.
Lucien’s solitude is drawn in delicate strokes, and the same goes for the characters who cross his path: just a few lines, a handful of moments, and yet they leave you with the exact impression they would leave in the world—fleeting, wind-touched, unforgettable in their own fragile way. Even the ghosts drift in and out like memories you’re not sure you dreamed. ... If you’re in the mood for queer gothic intimacy, emotional slow burn, atmospheric rural settings, and a nostalgic, immersive story that wraps around you like fog… this is absolutely the one to pick up. Not a traditional HEA, but a quiet, non-conventional one that feels exactly right for these characters.
This beautiful, wistful story is so touching. I loved the lyrical writing style which vividly brought to life the setting and well-developed characters ... The plot twists surprised me! I thought it would have a really sad ending but it was surprisingly tender instead.
Read-alikes
- Cemetery Boys — Aiden Thomas Fantasy — Contemporary
Shares ghost–human companionship that grows into tender romance, cemetery adjacency, and gentle humour alongside grief. Thematically aligns on luminous kindness, belonging, and a clear set of afterlife rules.
- Under the Whispering Door — TJ Klune Fantasy — Contemporary
Kind, intimate afterlife tale with boundaries between living and lost, found-family gentleness, and a focus on being seen before letting go.
- Affinity — Sarah Waters Literary — Gothic
Intimate, melancholic gothic with queer desire and spectral ambiguity. Echoes themes of confinement, vulnerability, and the peril of truth.
- The Ghost Bride — Yangsze Choo Fantasy — Historical
Centers on afterlife customs and the cost of crossing boundaries for love. Matches the blend of tenderness, mythic rules, and quiet peril.
- A Spectral Hue — Craig Laurance Gidney Literary — Speculative
Haunted creativity and lingering dead mirror the book’s unfinished art motif. Shares lyrical prose, small-community intimacy, and melancholic quiet.
- Plain Bad Heroines — Emily M. Danforth Literary — Gothic
Queer gothic tone, haunted-place intimacy, and the interplay of past and present resonate with the book’s rain-soaked mood and slow-burn risk.