Grave Secrets by Alice James
I would like to thank Hanna and Kate from Solaris for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Solaris
Published – 1/9
Price - £9.99 paperback £5.99 Kindle eBook
Toni Windsor is trying to live a quiet life in the green and pleasant county of Staffordshire. She'd love to finally master the rules of croquet, acquire a decent boyfriend and make some commission as an estate agent.
All that might have to wait, though, because there are zombies rising from their graves, vampires sneaking out of their coffins and a murder to solve.
And it's all made rather more complicated by the fact that she's the one raising all the zombies. Oh, and she's dating one of the vampires too. Really, what's a girl meant to do?
Tone is something we don’t think a lot about in fantasy. It is very easy to go overboard and rather than a grand epic you can sound like a Monty Python sketch; or you can try to be light and before you know it everyone is grim and dark even if you can deliver a good one liner. There is a balancing act in fantasy to keep us entertained and believing in the world we see. Reading the deliciously good Grave Secrets by Alice James I was taken on a journey that very easily delivered smiles and gasps of horror delivered by a really impressive new heroine.
Our tale is told by Lavington Windsor, a twenty-seven-year-old estate agent who also is a necromancer at night able to live the spirits of the dead (sometimes to converse and sometimes as zombies). In this alternate world vampires have been found to exist – in the EU as they have found some have been using their healing powers to aid the sick they are welcomes. In the US as they powered organised crime this led to them being outlawed and killed. For Lavington though this means she is hired by the highly attractive Oscar to find a home. However, this soon leads to kidnappings, violent attacks, and a lot of decapitations. Lavington now needs to find her way through the murders, vampire factions and infighting while also discovering a few secrets about necromancy her family never told her.
This story is deliciously enjoyable, and it never stays to one particular tone for too long. The initial chapters appear quite light but then suddenly a character may be brutally killed or showered in blood. The world of Lavington Windsor looks initially a quirky countryside drama but underneath the surface of this version of Staffordshire we have murderous vampires from the US warring with their only slightly more peaceful European relatives. James is very skilled at giving us both local pubs full of gossip and dry humour but then underneath painting a much darker world it sits atop of without either appearing too jarring. A world where vampires have drunken the blood of children; where anti-vampire groups have taken actions against peaceful vampires and we find the local police have some all too human murders to solve too. There is a depth to this world and story-telling that I really appreciated.
To help this is our lead Lavington Windsor. Like the story herself a study in contrasts. A young woman who would like her job to go smoothly, her boss to remember they are married to her friend and seeking a decent (or possibly indecent) boyfriend. She is also a skilled necromancer who wants to find justice for those who have died. Plunging her into the internal vampire politics she finds a potential new boyfriend and has to find her own internal resourcefulness evading attacks from various factions. Lavington is our narrator and she’s very droll, witty, comfortable in her sexuality and honest about what she is feeling. She feels a very rounded character – happy to insult those who offend her, flirtatious, caring and doesn’t give in to pressure. Her character really fits the wider world that James creates and really sells us on the tone. A little lighter and this would have felt more pastiche, but I loved the richness of the world and characters we are presented with. Its not Midsomer Murders with vamps but instead a more modern layered creation with a lead character you want to know more about.
The central story definitely feels an introductory one to help us get our bearings in this world. We get to meet Oscar and understand the vampire culture that surrounds this world. In particular their use of coteries- humans sworn to live and serve voluntarily their vampire leaders. In Oscar’s case this puts Lavington in the orbit of Peter a human who is just warm, funny and very keen to clean houses but also the head vampire Benedict who is amoral, sarcastic and very dangerous. Again you don’t feel like you’ve seen this all before with these factions – the vampires aren’t just good or bad their lifestyles are more complex and you do wonder if Oscar is quite right for our hero but you also want to know a lot more about them. James moves from vampire politics to night-time battles easily as well as some deeply passionate scenes when Lavington and Oscar get some time alone. The story never gets hung up on one theme and it means the reader is never too sure what each chapter will give us. While the lead tale is well wrapped up James has left a number of clues that there are far more stories to explore and I am very keen to find out what secrets await unearthing.
This is a great debut and start to a new series. Its really enjoyable to have a British series that meets the tone say of the Kim Harrison or Seanan McGuire stories yet also keep a british sense of humour and attitude. If you enjoy adventure, humour and intelligent world building I think you’ll want to visit this alternate Staffordshire and meet your new favourite Necromancer.
