Review: Grave Dance by Kalayna Price

Title: Grave Dance Series: Alex Craft #2 Author: Kalayna Price Publisher: Penguin Format: Mass market, 371 pages. Published: July 5th, 2011 My Copy: Won in blog giveaway Rating: Buy: Whoever said dead men tell no tales obviously never met Alex Craft. After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L” word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge. The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses, only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end—her own.

Kalayna Price does an excellent job of keeping the case that Alex is working on in Grave Dance a mystery. The clues and possible leads are plentiful but will have you constantly changing your mind as to who the perp is. I love a good challenge! Although, I was really hoping for some progress in the Falin or Death department but alas, it looks like we have to wait for the next installment until we figure out what’s up with the men in Craft’s life. That is, unless Price decides to string us along past Grave Memory. A clever plan from the author’s perspective but immensely frustrating for us readers!

The Alex Craft universe is hugely expanded upon in this second installment. The world of Faerie is dragged into the mix and we learn quite a bit about the fairer race. I enjoyed learning about the various Fae courts and their inhabitants. It was all very “Alice in Wonderland” which I LOVED! Kalayna has created some fascinating characters and I’m anxious to learn more about them in future books. I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the sheer magnitude of Price’s imagination. I mean, where does she come up with this stuff?

The side plots drew me in as much as the main one did. New twists and turns keep being thrown onto the pile and yet the story doesn’t become a convoluted mess. That takes some serious skill! I can see this series continuing on for many more installments. There’s just so much material that can be expanded upon. There was a lot more world building going on in Grave Dance which made the overall pace slightly slower than its predecessor but what this novel lacks in speed it makes up for with vivid details.

Now, on a more serious note, Team Falin or Team Death? I’m so torn! On one hand I think Alex clicks well with the Winter Queen’s Knight. They compliment each other nicely and there’s obvious chemistry between them. That being said, their relationship (if you can even call it that) is complicated. Craft’s growing abilities make her powerful but also very vulnerable. Falin always seems to be in the right place at the right time to help her out. On the flip side, it’s been two books yet Death still remains a complete mystery. Admittedly, I have a soft spot for him and I’m really hoping that Price will give us something in the next novel or I may very well start pulling my hair out!

Grave Witch was insta-love for me and Grave Dance has only further reinforced those feelings. I can’t stress enough how awesome these books are! I’m counting down the days until Grave Memory comes out on July 3rd.

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