Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Grave Tender  By  cover art

The Grave Tender

By: Eliza Maxwell
Narrated by: Homer V. Jones
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

At 10 years old, Hadley Dixon's life changed forever. Since those few tragic weeks, she's tried to keep the past buried, but old bones have a way of rising up.

Grown now, Hadley can't hide any longer.

Haunted by a boy who never made it home, a woman who sings in moonlight and dances in flames, and the strange, scarred recluse who watches it all from the shadow of the pines, the time has come for Hadley to pay for her sins.

They say the truth will set you free, but sometimes it extracts a terrible price along the way. Is it a price Hadley's willing to pay?

A darkly moving mystery, with a southern gothic feel, The Grave Tender is the story of a family where no one is who they seem, the women at the heart of that family, and the extraordinary lengths they're willing to go to protect the ones they love.

©2015 Eliza Maxwell (P)2015 Eliza Maxwell

What listeners say about The Grave Tender

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    93
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    44
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    82
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    32
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    17
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    88
  • 4 Stars
    51
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    10

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Jo
  • 06-15-16

a great listen!

This audiobook had me from the very first to the very end. Great writing and great narration. I found the narrator very soothing to listen to - a good storyteller's voice. The relationships between the characters feels real as does the small-town southern setting. I could almost smell the jambalaya!
There was an awful lot of tragedy and I think the reactions to them could have been meshed out a bit more but then it might teeter on macabre. I did appreciate that it did not dwell on the different tragedies nor did it give gory details. I really enjoyed this book!
I was gifted this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Full of Trigger Elements

I struggled with this book. Frustrated that highly sensitive elements can be published, but my reviews words, carefully chosen, are throttled and not suitable for other potential readers to see. To be warned. If this does get past the censors, perhaps you will have picked up some content clues from me and others. I cannot recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Strange Narration and Audio Problems

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It is such a sad book, although after having listened to a few books from this author, I suppose I should come to expect that. No one really makes it out unscathed.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Although I knew the inevitable conclusion was approaching, I was drawn to keep listening regardless. It was well-plotted with intriguing characters whom I cared about.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Homer V. Jones?

Yes. The narrator was a strange choice, given that the book is told from the point of view of a young girl, and later the same girl as she grows into a woman. The older male narrators voice seemed really incongruent with the "voice" of the book.

Do you think The Grave Tender needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, I think the book ended on a satisfactory note. It ended about as I'd expected, but I still found it worthwhile to listen to the end.

Any additional comments?

The book seemed plagued with audio problems, apart from the narrator. On some sections, it seemed like they edited the tempo of his narration so the sentences were almost on top of one another without a break between, even when it wasn't a tense part of the book. Other times, a sentence or two would sound like he was far away from the microphone, then suddenly his voice would jump back in to normal range. Also, the audio quality often seemed different, like parts had been re-recorded and cut into the original. All of these incidents really took me out of the story, unfortunately. It had me focusing more on the narration that the plot at times, which was unfortunate.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Not your usual little town book. Excellent read.

You think you know what's going on, but once you figure it out, it is terrifying. Questions that the characters have to make decisions about make you ask yourself what you would do. Very good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Grave Tender

I absolutely LOVED this book!Hadleys mom is 'crazy'.When Hadley finds out why her life has changed for the worst.Her odd uncle lives in a shack in the woods.He gets blamed for a lot.Things are not what they seem in this family.It is fascinating.Homer V Jones is a terrific narrator.I was provided this book by the author, narrator or publisher for review.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

VERY DEPRESSING

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I really didn't enjoy the story at all so not really anything

What was most disappointing about Eliza Maxwell’s story?

I did not feel there was any actual point to the story and it was a very difficult listen because of the nature of the dark subjects. I am not put off by books with heavy material, but I feel like there does need to be some kind of "point" to all of it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Homer V. Jones?

I would have preferred a female, but I just didn't like this narrator at all. I felt that the narrator often emphasized words or sentences in a strange way, and I felt that he "overacted" a lot of the dialogue. I found that I would just barely catch some of the reading because he would also read in run-on sentences. Just NOT a good narrator for me all around!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Unhappy Grave Tender

What disappointed you about The Grave Tender?

I received this audio book for free from the author for an unbiased review. I tried twice to get into it. I couldn't stand the narrator or the story.Gave up after a few chapters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not to Be Missed

I fell head over heels in love with this book. Eliza Maxwell is a very gifted writer. She has a way of writing that makes you feel what the characters are feeling , and the narration by Homer V. Jones was the perfect choice for this story. He conveyed the characters emotions to a tee. The story itself deals with some very hard subject matter, but it is not done in a distasteful way. That aside, the rest of the story has funny and touching moments too. I think this would make an awesome movie. I can't wait to read more from Eliza, and I hope I am lucky enough to find more books narrated by Homer. This is such a great book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Terrible Narration

The story is compelling and well written, but the narration sounds like a poorly recorded 1960s voice-over. The narrator is wrong for the story and mangles the story's female voice.
I would have enjoyed the book much better had I read instead of listening to the audio version.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story!

Read this in one sitting . At first I thought a woman should have narrated but the longer I listened the more I realised that Homer Jones was perfect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!