After Silas Umber's father mysteriously disappears, Silas and his mother move back to Lichport, the dying seashore town where his father was an Undertaker. Lichport is a town cut off from the world where the inhabitants follow the old ways and everyone looks to Silas to take his father's place, but what exactly did his father do and where did his father go?

His search leads him through the back alleys, cemeteries, and hidden places of Lichport where he learns that being an Undertaker has a far different meaning here in Lichport. An Undertaker is the person who settles the dead in the Shadowlands. He is responsible for bring the Peace to the ghosts, spirits, and newly deceased. This job now falls to Silas. Will he embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his father's disappearance?

Recently I received Lych Way by Ari Berk to review for Fresh Fiction. It is the third book in The Undertaken Trilogy. I read four pages, closed the book, and immediately ordered the first two novels. I knew from four pages that this was a trilogy I wanted to read every single word of. I'm so glad I did. DEATH WATCH captures the Gothic atmosphere of grief and fear through Silas's quest to not only find his missing father but to finally figure out why he's always been different. His isolation, partly of his own choosing and partly because of his role as Undertaker, further pushes him to evaluate his place in the world. The eerie blending of life and death, and where one begins and ends, is thought provoking without being angst-ridden or scary.

There is a haunting quality to Berk's prose that spins a dreamlike web, snaring the reader in the silky threads. You simply cannot put this book down even as you vibrate with dread at the horror approaching towards the climax. The ghostly folklore and mythology winding through the pages is equally fascinating, creating a richly detailed world of ancient beliefs.

The chilling atmosphere, haunting prose, and gripping plot will have you staying up late into the night to finish DEATH WATCH, but be prepared to sleep with the lights on!