Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN 1416991174 (ISBN13: 9781416991175)

SYNOPSIS:
“In life, in death: family remains.
Silas Umber has finally come into his own as the Undertaker of Lichport when a mysterious invitation calls him beyond the marshes to Arvale, the ancestral manor of the Umbers. There, his extended family endures, waiting for a living Undertaker to return and preside over the Door Doom, an archaic rite that grants a terrible power to summon and bind the dead in judgment.
As Silas assumes the mantle of Janus, the Watcher at the Threshold, deep below the earth in the catacombs and sunken towers, grim spirits grow restless at his arrival—hungry for freedom and eager for vengeance against a family with a long history of harsh judgments. Now, Silas must right an ancient wrong and accept that even a house of ghosts can be haunted by its past—for in matters of family, we are who we were.” 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ari Berk is a writer, artist, and scholar of literature, folklore, and myth. Former student of and assistant to Pulitzer Prize winning writer N. Scott Momaday, Ari has written everything from academic works on ancient cultures to popular books about myths and legends for children and adults and, most recently, a trilogy of novels. He works in a library filled to the ceiling with thousands of arcane books and more than a few wondrous artifacts. When not writing, he moonlights as professor of mythology and folklore at Central Michigan University. He lives in Michigan with his wife and son.