Grave Witch

Alex Craft Series, Book 1

By: Kalayna Price

Narrated by: Emily Durante

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Not even death can save her now. As a grave witch, Alex Craft can speak to the dead---she's even on good terms with Death himself. As a consultant for the police, she's seen a lot of dark magic, but nothing has prepared her for her latest case. When she's raising a "shade" involved in a high-profile murder, it attacks her, and then someone makes an attempt on her life. Someone really doesn't want her to know what the dead have to say, and she'll have to work with mysterious homicide detective Falin Andrews to figure out why.

©2010 Kalayna Proce (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[A] captivating series debut." ( Publishers Weekly)

Interesting story but could use a better narrator

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The series seemed to start out a bit slow, but the plot is similar to the Darynda Jones series and a few others so I stuck it out. I actually enjoyed the story, but thought it would have been better with a different narrator. A witch who has "grave sight" and can see soul collectors is just beggging to take part in some interesting mysteries. Luckily, Kalayna Price plays along with the idea.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love that "Death" becomes a character in the story. Actually a being called a soul collector, Death has visited Alex Kraft, our heroine, for most of her life. Once she grew up, she began to understand who and what he was. For Darynda Jones fans, think of Reyes Farrow.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

At first the narrator seemed to lack energy in the performance, but as the story progressed, I became accustomerd to her reading.

Do you think Grave Witch needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

The storyline is definitely entertaining and it leaves listener wanting to know what happens next. Luckily, Grave Dance was also on sale. I bought both books at the same time and haven't regretted that decision!

Solid

Good paranormal. Certainly worth a read. Nice world building, different than others I’ve read. I like the idea of a trial and ghost.

Fun Read

I am enjoying this Universe! Interspecies relational fantasy fiction seems to make the interpersonal conflicts appear different. Lots of fun!

Excellent Story Narrator needs alot more practice

The story was way better when i read it than it was trying to listen to it. The narrator was like a text to speech reader. Most of the emphasis was poorly applied which made it sound like it was cobbled together from individually recorded words.

Aside from that the story was quite good i will definitely get the next book but i think i will read it myself rather than torture myself listening to a female Will Shatner read it to me. 4/5 for the actual book 1/5 for the audio attempt.

A reasonable entry in the urban fantasy world.

I hadn't been expecting much from this book... I figured it was going to be another generic Urban Fantasy heroine who solves some weak mystery and falls for some strong, mysterious and handsome guy.

Well, I was partly right. It is urban fantasy. Alex is a stronger than usual character, and the mystery is actually a bit suspenseful. There is some romantic tension that is not over done, and there isn't the usual UF couple dozen pages of soft flowery porn. Oh, okay, there is a bit of that, but it wasn't the whole point of the story. There is actually a bit of a plot outside of the sex, and the characters feel like they are distinctly drawn.

I don't know that it stands out from the genre a whole bunch, but it is as strong as some of the better ones (such as Caine's Weather series, or Kim Harrison's Dead Witch series). I like the main character, and her romantic interest, and the world is unique and interesting enough that you don't feel like you're reading a do-over of someone else's work. I have bought the next one in the series, but this one did not end on a cliff-hanger so you won't feel forced to buy the next one.

Excellent start to a witchy new series

This is the first book in the Alex Craft series. The fourth book in this series, Grave Visions, is expected to release in August 2013. I have had this urban fantasy series on my shelf to read forever. It was a fun read; I enjoyed the humor and Alex’s interesting Grave Magic.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was decent but not spectacular. The narrator’s voice sounds a little bit...mushy and wasn’t like I pictured Alex being. The narrator also had a bit of trouble with differentiating some of the male voices. Still overall the narrator did a good job conveying character emotion, and it was a decent listen.

Alex Craft is a Grave Witch who is on the rocks with the rest of her family and struggling to make ends meet. When Alex is asked to investigate a high profile murder things start to get complicated. She is attacked by a Shade and then someone tries to murder her. Good thing she is on good terms with Death and that she has the tough cop, Falin Andrews, to back her up.

This was a very enjoyable urban fantasy, I liked it. There is humor in here, some great characters, an intriguing world and I enjoyed Alex's grave witch magic. The story is very much an investigative urban fantasy, there is a case of serial murders that must be solved and it involves black magic and fey.

Alex is a snarky character with a great sense of humor, some incredibly intriguing magic, and a problem with making ends meet. She also has a habit of taking guys home to ward off the grave chill, which has gotten her into trouble more than once.

Alex was a very fun character to read about, she is engaging and she knows how to ask for help when she needs to. Yeah, she does some kind of stupid things, but it is all highly entertaining.

The next wonderful thing about this book is the character Death. He loves wearing jeans, seems to have a soft spot for Alex, and turns up at the worst times to claim souls. Him and Alex have some wonderful banter and he is a delightfully mysterious. I can’t wait to read more about him in future books.

Helping out Alex is investigator Falin Andrews. While I didn’t like him as much as Death in the beginning of the book, he grew on me as a character. I enjoyed his interactions with Alex and all of the crazy secrets that were revealed around him.

I liked that the plot had multiple levels. The main story is resolved, but a lot of side storylines involving Alex’s background and the surrounding characters remain unanswered.

Overall a solid urban fantasy read, I enjoyed it. I liked the humor throughout, the interesting magic, and all of the mysteries surrounding our characters’ backgrounds. There was a solid mystery that was solved and it had a number of interesting fey and magic elements involved. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy investigative urban fantasy. I plan on continuing the series and am looking forward to reading Grave Dance.


turns out a good witch is easy to find.

i think part of that makes a good audio book is the marriage of the story (here it is a great bit if world-building peopled with characters that feel real (at least to me) and the actor doing the read.

in this case we have a perfect match: excellent story, excellent actor.

i picked this book up on a whim and I'm very pleased i did because I burned through the rest of the series and am now pining for the next installment.

snap it up, ladies. I'm on the clock here.

great story. less than impressive narration

The performance is stilted with most of the characters have tones and inflections associated more with teenagers than adults.

Fasinating start too a new obsession for me!!

This is book one in the Alex Craft series and I don't know how I never managed to stumble across it before. I loved Alex she is a strong and determined MC. She has her flaws but that's always my favorite. I love seeing the character growth of a baddass in the making. Alex checks all the blocks with her Grave Magic and I can't wait to see where this page turner of a series takes me. I highly recommend it.vThe narrator does a great job with the voices and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

good start

Good first book to a new series. The narrator is a disappointment. Limited range especially with male characters.