The fifth book in New York Times-bestselling Seanan McGuire's witty urban fantasy InCryptid series about a family of cryptozoologists who act as a buffer between humans and the magical creatures living in secret around us.
"The only thing more fun than an October Daye book is an InCryptid book." —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Sookie Stackhouse series
Destiny, Noun:
1. The inevitable or irresistible course of events.
2. The inescapable future.
3. See also “Screwed.”
Verity Price is back on the West Coast and getting back into the swing of the family business: cryptozoology. She's rescuing cryptids from bad situations, protecting them from monster-hunters, and generally risking life and limb for the greater good, with her ex-Covenant partner/husband, Dominic, by her side. Her ballroom dance career is behind her...or so she thinks.
When Verity gets the call from the producers of Dance or Die, the reality show she almost won several years before, she finds the lure of a comeback impossible to resist, and she and Dominic are off to L.A. for one last shot at the big time.
Of course, nothing is that simple. When two of her fellow contestants turn up dead, Verity will need every ally she can find—and a couple she wasn't looking for—in order to navigate the complicated steps of both the tango and a murder investigation without blowing her cover. It doesn't help that her official family backup is her grandmother, Alice Price-Healy, who thinks "subtle" is something that happens to other people.
Winning this competition may have just become a matter of life and death.
I originally read the first in this series with some trepidation, but the characters kept me reading and the Aeslin mice stole my heart. That the plot was fun was just a bonus.
In this one though, the plot wasn't a bonus; it's what kept me reading through a setting that normally bores me (reality tv and dance competitions; a double whammy of yawn). The setting is, in fact, what kept this book on my TBR for so long instead of being devoured immediately upon receipt.
I have to say, I didn't see that ending coming. It was sort of awful, although everything moved so fast there wasn't much time to dwell on it.
So if that setting appeals, this book should be a huge winner. Likeable characters, a really good plot and the Aeslin mice. All hail the Aeslin mice!
Reading updates
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20 September, 2017:
Started reading
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22 September, 2017:
Finished reading
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22 September, 2017:
Reviewed