This was a very enjoyable start to a series. It is a fully self-contained story - all of the important plot points are wrapped up by the last page. The plot moves along well, and the world-building needed when introducing a new series was handled in a very natualistic manner.
Alex Craft is a strong female character. She's not terribly feminine, but she's also not a woman in name only. She's also a very human character, making occasionally foolish choices or mistakes, but ones that the reader can relate to. Further, while she is a powerful figure, her power has clearly-defined limits, and has some important drawbacks. This makes the overall world more balanced, and keeps the character of Alex interesting.
The plot revolves around a police case involving some ritual murders. Because the story is told from a first-person perspective, it is difficult for the reader to get too far ahead of the protagonist in determining who the culprit is. I found this to be a positive - third-person narratives too often point out clues that the protagonist should not have missed, and thus give less enjoyment as I wait for the characters to catch up with me.
One other important thing Ms. Price does well is setting up the next part of her series. As I mentioned before, the story of Grave Witch is fully self-contained. There's no lingering plot holes to be filled by further stories. But there are consequences from this story that will clearly carry over into future stories in the series. So, there is just enough to know that Alex Craft isn't nearly ready to have a "happily ever after", without preventing the actual story wrap-up.
So, overall, a 5 out of 5 for world-building, character development, and plot execution.
Alex Craft is a strong female character. She's not terribly feminine, but she's also not a woman in name only. She's also a very human character, making occasionally foolish choices or mistakes, but ones that the reader can relate to. Further, while she is a powerful figure, her power has clearly-defined limits, and has some important drawbacks. This makes the overall world more balanced, and keeps the character of Alex interesting.
The plot revolves around a police case involving some ritual murders. Because the story is told from a first-person perspective, it is difficult for the reader to get too far ahead of the protagonist in determining who the culprit is. I found this to be a positive - third-person narratives too often point out clues that the protagonist should not have missed, and thus give less enjoyment as I wait for the characters to catch up with me.
One other important thing Ms. Price does well is setting up the next part of her series. As I mentioned before, the story of Grave Witch is fully self-contained. There's no lingering plot holes to be filled by further stories. But there are consequences from this story that will clearly carry over into future stories in the series. So, there is just enough to know that Alex Craft isn't nearly ready to have a "happily ever after", without preventing the actual story wrap-up.
So, overall, a 5 out of 5 for world-building, character development, and plot execution.
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