Half Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire (InCryptid #3)

This is the third book in the InCryptid series (reviews for Book 1 and Book 2)

By Ginny

What I drank prior: Well. I need to write this review before I can read the mext book in the seties for reasons. So, I drank a lovely sauvignon blanc leftover from my last book club.

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Alex Price agreed to go to Ohio to oversee a basilisk breeding program and assist in the recovery of his psychic cousin, he didn’t expect people to start dropping dead. But bodies are cropping up at the zoo where he works, and his girlfriend—Shelby Tanner, an Australian zoologist with a fondness for big cats—is starting to get suspicious.

Worse yet, the bodies have all been turned partially to stone…

The third book in the InCryptid series takes us to a new location and a new member of the family, as Alex tries to balance life, work, and the strong desire not to become a piece of garden statuary. Old friends and new are on the scene, and danger lurks around every corner.

Of course, so do the talking mice.

Drunk Overview: this book switches focus from Amity to her brother alex. Alex works at a zoo and is a cryptozoologist on the side. His lady friend, an australian scientist named Shelby, is also kind of a badass. Suddenly people start getting turned into stone (which includes an unsuccessfyl assassination attempt on Alex) and he’s off to investigate wtf is happening.

Spoiler-free Thoughts: I wasnt sure if I w oi uld enjoy Alex as much as I liked Verity, but the depth of the world and the carious characters made it all work.

Characters: Alex was a quieter version of Verity (the comparison may not be fair but fuck it, I dont care right now). He knows how to bury his head and get stuff done under the nose of the law. I did miss the big city feel but what can do you. The new characters were really nice. I loved Alex’s medusa assistant and her people. The little snake girl (with the understanding that it was another species where males and females wete wildly differebt) ended up being a ton of fun. I also enjoyed a closer look at the granpdarent.

Plot: I thought the plot was a little obvious. Don’t tet me wrong there are ppenty of twists and turns I didnt see coming. But I think the big bad was a little see through. That diesnt change that the plot is character driven and 8 really enjoyed resding different charactrs figure different things out.

Writing Style: eh. Seanan Mcgyure is greT

World building: I did so enhoy the addition of a new place. New York haf its feeling and I reLly li iked the differences in this world. Alex wad also closelt linked with his family which added an extra dimension. This is a worlf I would love to live in while also being terrified if I knew I lived in it

What to pair it with: old fashioned. There are a lot of different ways to make it and always new things to explore

Rating: 4.6/5 Shots

– Ginny