The Caged Graves by Dianne K. Salerni

by Mrs. Stanley's Bookshelf

Posted on September 3, 2014

The Caged Graves is a great historical fiction, mystery novel.  I could hardly bring myself to put it down!  The story is set in 1867, but is connected to events that occurred in 1778.  In 1778, Silas Clayton, a deserter from the Continental army, escaped the British with the payroll  for the Continentals.  Silas was later captured and executed in the town of Catawissa, but the gold was never found.  People in and around Catawissa have been searching for the gold ever since.

In 1867, Verity Boone returns to Catawissa to live with her father and meet Nathaniel McClure, a boy she has been corresponding with and intends to marry.  Verity was sent away to live with her aunt when she was two and her mother died.  On her arrival, she sees that she may have been hasty accepting a proposal from a Nathaniel, who she has never met in person.  Her doubts are further realized when she meets a handsome, young doctor's apprentice by the name of Hadley Jones.  Beyond Verity's confusion over which man to choose, she also is shocked to find that her mother's and her aunt's graves are located outside of the church cemetery and are enclosed in cages.  She is told varying stories as to why the graves are caged.  Some claim it is protection from graverobbers, others accuse her mother and aunt of being witches, she hears of curses, and also the belief by many that they were buried with the missing gold.  She is also told that "in Catawissa, sometimes the dead don't stay where you put them."  As Verity tries to unravel these mysteries and find the truth, she also must find her place in her father's life again, and make the decision of who she should marry.