Book Review: Grave Dance

By Sandy Amazeen Jul 30, 2011, 1:28 GMT

After a month of down time, Grave Witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But when her new case forces her to overuse her magic, it might be the last mystery the Grave Witch ever gets to solve... ...more

After the Blood Moon at the end of Grave Witch, Alex Craft took some much needed downtime and is ready to get back to work but quickly learns to be careful what you ask for as she suddenly has a very full dance card. In what is proving to be her most difficult case yet, Alex must discover who is responsible for a number of disembodied left feet but a foot is not enough for a grave witch to raise a shade from. That leaves Alex trying to solve the case with good old detective work, no easy task as she is growing into her fae powers both positive and negative. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Alex to lie or tolerate iron but she is able to see alternate plains of reality at once allowing her to penetrate glamour, a rare talent. In the midst of trying to keep her complicated love life in order, several preternatural killers are trying to kill Alex while the Winter Queen and Shadow King have their own plans for the grave witch. Alex is going to have to do some serious tap-dancing to stay alive long enough to solve the foot fetish case and harness her growing powers.

Although not quite as fast moving as the first book of the series, this delivers a satisfying read while adding considerable depth to Alex and her love interests Falin and Death, neither who are in a position to act upon their feelings. Several subplots work through the story keeping readers guessing at what’s next. Tantalizing hints of what’s in store for this complex, gritty urban fantasy will leave fans anxiously awaiting the next installment.