URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: Alex Craft 1: Grave Witch - Kalayna Price

Release Date: 08/12/11

SYNOPSIS:

Just because Grave Witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, doesn't mean she has to like what they have to say . . .

As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she's on good terms with Death himself, nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high-profile murder when she's attacked by the ghost she is raising - which should be impossible. Then, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, thwarted only by Death's intervention. You know you're having a bad day when Death is saving your life . . .

To solve this case, Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Andrews seems to be hiding something, although it's certainly not his dislike of Alex. Despite all that, Alex is going to need his help to navigate the tangled webs of real-world and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex not just her life, but also her soul . . .


REVIEW:

I love a new Urban Fantasy title, especially when its backed with a fresh face as you’re never quite sure what’s going to appear within those sleek crisp white pages. What Kalanya presented was a world of enchantment and powers, of political machinations as well as groups that I could see springing up and of course a lead character that was a lot of fun to be around, despite all the scrapes she ended up in.

It’s cleverly woven, has touches of Chalaine Harris’ Harper Connolly as well as Trent Jamieson’s Steven De Selby. Add to this crisp prose, a unique take on what its like to summon the deceased as well as the decay it brings within our own world and it was a title that I had a hard time putting down, especially with the romance element added to sizzle those pages as the two characters resisted their own attraction. All in a great bit of fun and I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.