The Bone Houses

 

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones 352 pp.

Aderyn (Ryn) is the town gravedigger after she took over the job when her father went missing. But the dead have a tendency to come back to life (of sorts) as Bone Houses, not exactly zombies but similar. The Bone Houses are part of an old curse originating from the nearby creepy and sometimes deadly forest. Ryn has taken it upon herself to destroy Bone Houses that threaten the town. In the mean time she is trying to keep the landlord from taking their home and turning her and her siblings in to the workhouse and orphanage. The arrival of Ellis the mapmaker coincides with an increase in the activity of the Bone Houses. Ryn decides to head into the forest to find the old mine and possibly what happened to her father. Ellis goes with her on his own mission to find the parents who abandoned him. They both must face their private demons while on the quest. It's a nice fantasy, not stellar, but good enough.