Alex
Craft talks to the dead. As a grave witch, she raises shades
and deals with ghosts regularly. But this powerful magic is
not without cost. Grave Witches go blind. And relationships
are never easy either, especially considering Alex is dating
Death. But in Grave Ransom she deals with toxic necromancy
of a sort she's never seen before, and it's clear that dealing
with this case is going to have a cost. But will Alex be able
to survive paying it? This is the first book I've read in
this series, but I had no difficulty in entering Alex's world,
so this is a series that is easily accessible to the latecomer.
I always love ghosts, so the magic of the series is fascinating
and different, especially the mixing of such disparate elements
as necromancy and fae magic. The author never becomes so caught
up in the mechanics of the world that she loses the story.
The pace is fast and the characters are engaging. Alex cares
about what she does, and the author manages to make us care
as well. Despite some rather imposing monsters, the story
isn't particularly scary but it does have heart, so we care
about what we'll see next. Though we don't spend much time
getting to know the villains of the story, they do ultimately
have strong, believable motivations, and I appreciated seeing
that as well. Ultimately this is an enjoyable quick read that
definitely makes me interested in seeing what comes next for
Alex Craft. I'll be watching for her return.
Reviewer
Janis Fields is the author of over two dozen books for children
and adults including Threads of Deceit, Ghost Light Burning,
Wellspring of Magic, and Emerald Dragon. |
