The InCryptid Series
by Seanan McGuire
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted July 10, 2024
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Seanan McGuire's second urban fantasy series, InCrytid, began with Discount Armageddon in 2012. At this time the series totals thirteen books, with another due out next March. The series as a whole has been a Hugo finalist twice, in 2018 and 2020. When I began my reviews of her October Daye books, I compared that series to the Dresden Files and Lost Girl. InCryptid is more like Grimm, only instead of the protagonist being a police detective, Verity Price is a cryptozoologist by trade and family tradition, but she makes her living as a waitress at a strip club. Under the assumed name of Valerie Pryor she competes in ballroom dancing contests, and is a former contestant on the reality TV competition show "Dance or Die." She says dancing is just as good at keeping her in fighting shape as other types of exercise. In addition to being strong and flexible, she is also proficient in many weapons.
I also said October Daye had a bit of Buffy snark, but now the snark is ramped up about ten notches, plus there is more sex, nudity, and profanity. The "uniform" Verity (Very) has to wear at Dave's Fish and Strips is very skimpy, but not as skimpy as Dave would prefer. She continually has to rebuff his requests that she switch from waitress to stripper. Very is human, but almost all the other employee's at the club are cryptids. Dave is a bogeyman, who mostly stays in his office in dark mode. Other waitresses are a dragon princess named Candice, the Lesser Gorgon Carol, and Ista, a Waheela. Ryan, the bouncer, is a Tanuki. All of this is taking place in Manhattan, but most of the Price family live near Portland, Oregon. They are all cryptozoologists, with some of the family being adopted cryptids, and one aunt is a ghost. Going back several generations, the family had once been part of a group of cryptid hunters known as the Covenant of St. George, but splintered off from them when they decided not all cryptids were harmful, in fact some were beneficial to the environment, and no threat to humanity.
The Covenant believes the Healy family, which became the Price family through marriage, have all died out. No, they have just remained under the radar, while at the same time working to expand their cryptid knowledge. There are dangerous cryptids for sure, and that is where their fighting and weapons training is put to good use. Very is in Manhattan because that is the best place to pursue her dancing career, but she also patrols the city to hunt dangerous cryptids and defend the harmless ones. Her waitress job, her dance career, and her cryptozoology endeavors all become more dangerous when cryptids, all young and female, go missing, and a member of the Covenant comes to town. It appears that Dave knew about the disappearances, although he didn't seem to worry until his waitresses were among them. He also knew about Dominic de Luca coming to town, yet didn't warn Very or anyone else. Very's normal patrols are across the city's rooftops rather than the streets and sidewalks. One night she is inadvertently trapped in one of Dominic's snares, but she is able to extract herself, and her confrontations with Dominic begin. He was an only child, and now an orphan, having been raised by other Covenant members, and loyal to their mission. He is of the type to think all cryptids are dangerous and on his kill list, but he eventually learns different through his association with Very. That includes encounters with Very's adopted cousin Sarah, a Johriac, or in other words, a telepathic cuckoo.
I expected the antagonism between Very and Dominic to last most of the book, especially after he sabotaged her entry in a dance contest, but he gradually comes to see some of the cryptids as harmless, not human of course, but still people, who were as worthy of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as anyone else. In spite of her initial resentment, Very thinks Dominic is hot. And a very good kisser. Even though she frustrated him with her attitude at first, he had to admit he was very attracted to her too. That led to the nudity and sex, which surprised Very as much as it turned her on. He was definitely smitten, and he obviously did not take her assertions that it shouldn't happen again to heart. I assume Dominic will recur in other books, but I don't know for sure. I won't tell you about the basic mystery, why cryptids were going missing, or who was responsible. Suffice it to say it concerned a cryptid long thought extinct, but that was obviously incorrect, and although it was sleeping, there were humans and other cryptids who wanted to wake it up.
I bought e-books of October Daye (sixteen titles) and InCryptid (ten) through a Humble Bundle promotion last August. I liked the first six of Toby's stories more than I expected, and will continue that series at some point. I don't want to rush to judgment on InCryptid, but I did not like it as much. It is a fun story, light-hearted in spite of some dangerous and tragic incidents, but too soon to tell how I will like the follow-up books. I will read another next month and see how it goes.
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