Kalayna Price

Alex Craft — (2010-2011) Publisher: Grave witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, but that doesn’t mean she likes what they have to say... As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself — who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans — nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around... To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something — though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex — but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life... and her soul.

Grave Witch

In a crowded genre like urban fantasy, authors have to strike a difficult balance. They need to adhere to the genre’s tropes and formulas closely enough that readers feel like they’re getting what they were looking for. On the other hand, there needs to be enough innovation that readers have a reason to read this book, this series, rather than one of the many others on the shelf.

In a nutshell, the trouble with Grave Witch is that it doesn’t stand out. I enjoyed reading it, but the spark that would distinguish it just isn’t there. Kalayna Price utilizes all the well-loved elements of urban fantasy, and Grave Witch hews closer to the influential early books of Laurell K. Hamilton than any other UF I’ve read. There are no vampires — I’ll give it that — but Price’s fae have a very similar role.

Alex Craft is a “grave witch,” which means she has necromantic powers, and she lives in a near-future version of our world in which the fae and witches have come out of the closet. She uses her magic to raise the shades of the dead and ask them questions. When her estranged sister asks for help, Alex becomes involved in the case of the governor’s murder, and soon discovers a terrible magic that simply isn’t possible according to the rules of magic as she knows them. Alex digs into the case, snooping around in classic amateur-detective fashion, all the while juggling romantic feelings for a gorgeous cop and an equally gorgeous Grim Reaper.

The plot is a suspenseful one and will hold your attention, but Grave Witch is not only too formulaic but also too dependent on Alex failing to notice crucial clues. (For example, when a woman who speaks English as a second language tells Alex that something is “genetic,” she quickly decides the woman means “generic” and that the language barrier is getting in the way. Meanwhile, astute readers are shouting through the pages, “Let’s see some genealogy!”) The climactic scene is another element that is reminiscent of Hamilton, and not in a good way; it’s the kind of magical battle that becomes muddy and hard to follow as the characters sling powers around.

I’m fascinated by the politics and history of Price’s world, though. There’s a big backstory involving the emergence of magic and the subsequent rise of prejudice against fae and witches; it’s only lightly explored here but hopefully will be further elaborated upon as the series continues. In addition, I liked Price’s fae, who are appropriately perilous.

Overall, I enjoyed Grave Witch but felt that it was a bit lacking in originality. I’m interested in seeing where this series goes; I’d like to see it branch out a little more from its influences. —Kelly Lasiter

Grave Dance

Grave Dance is the follow-up to Kalayna Price’s first Alex Craft novel, Grave Witch. I had mixed emotions about Grave Witch, but I’m happy to report that Grave Dance is stronger and more original.

It’s a month since we last saw Alex Craft. She’s angry with Falin for vanishing from her life, conflicted about Death’s interest in her, and reeling from the new knowledge that she’s part fae. Her new case is a baffling one — she finds a number of feet, but not the bodies they belonged to. Then she and her friends are attacked by strange creatures, and Alex’s search for the connection between the feet and the creatures leads her deeper into the world of the fae. Oh, and Falin’s back, but Alex isn’t quite sure where his loyalties lie …

Grave Dance got off to a bit of a slow start with me, and I was never able to put my finger on why. But by the end of the book, Price had me compulsively turning pages as she revealed more and more of the fae realm — a great mix of beauty and creepiness — and as Alex raced to get to the bottom of the crimes and protect her loved ones.

Alex comes into her own as a character in Grave Dance. In the first book, I thought she was a little too much like Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, but now I feel like I know her better and she doesn’t remind me of Anita much at all. If I were to compare her to another urban fantasy heroine now, it would probably be Devon Monk’s Allie Beckstrom. Alex, like Allie, can do awesome things with magic but always has to pay a price afterward.

Grave Dance is a good second installment in the series and has put Price on my mental list of “authors who write cool fae realms.” Check this one out for some spooky fun. —Kelly Lasiter