This is the second book in the Alex Craft series and it was even better than the first book. The third book, Grave Memory, is already out. The fourth book, Grave Visions, is expected to release in August 2013.
I listened to this on audiobook again and it was a very well done audiobook. The narrator does an excellent job narrating the different character voices and portrays character emotion well. Definitely a series I will keep listening to.
Alex is called to a scene by the police to investigate a case of left feet. Yep, someone is finding a whole bunch of left feet and Alex senses dark magic attached to them. As Alex starts to investigate this dark magic someone starts to come after her. They are sending evil constructs to attack her and those she cares about. She must figure out this dark magic before its too late.
This was an excellent continuation of this series. This book shifts from just dealing with Alex's grave magic to exploring Alex's connection with Fey. As with the last book there is a contained investigation that solved in this book and also a larger story that continues developing from the first book.
I really am enjoying how complex, creative, and interesting this world is. A lot of new excellent characters are added to the story. Additionally both Falin and Death get a lot of page space and we learn more background on both of them. Alex also learns more about her past.
Alex is a fun and complex character to read about. She keeps learning new and interesting things about both her fey and grave powers; yet she is human too. She still needs to eat and sleep to keep functioning. She has a dark sense of humor, which I enjoy.
I am not a huge fan of love triangles, but I can make an exception for Death and Falin. Both of these male leads are just so darn interesting. We learn a lot more about Falin in this book and he is a complex character indeed. Death is still mostly a mystery though, while we learn a bit more about him, most of Deaths character is still shrouded in shadow.
I also enjoy that Alex has a price to pay for using her magic. This reminds me a bit of Devon Monks Allie Beckstrom series and I love how having to pay a cost for magic balances out a characters power.
The main investigation tied up nicely. The book is well written and easy to read. The whole story is very engaging and well-paced; never boring but never frantic either.
Overall I enjoyed this second book even more than Grave Witch. The world is complex and interesting, as are the characters. There are so many things to learn about and read about in this world, I was just absolutely sucked into the story. Highly recommended to fans of urban fantasy; especially to those who enjoy reading about the Fey.
As with her first book, if you are expecting a new and original never been done book, then why are you reading Urban Fantasy?
Craft is an unaligned fae (Lost girl) who advises the police (take your pick) and speaks to ghosts (again take your pick). On the other hand the actual plot is not ripped off of something else, and even the elements of the story are completely different takes on familiar themes.
So it's not original exactly, but it's also not a rip off.
The book was surprisingly well written all things considered, but there were a few minor problems when you think hard about it. Why does the US government allow agents of two sovereign nations to collect citizens on American soil? And often slavers come from fae. Is the American stance on slavery different than in our world?
So all told there are far more good than bad and it is much better than most books in the genre.
