[Book Review] Chaos Choreography

Chaos Choreography (InCryptid #5) / Seanan McGuire

Seanan McGuire is one of those authors that whenever I come across a book in a new series I wonder why I haven't been reading this series for years.  Chaos Choreography was my introduction to the InCryptid series, and now I need to go read the first four books.  Not to understand the story that I read, it was definitely self-contained and explanatory enough that it stands up wonderfully on it's own, but because it was absolutely delightful and I want to read more.
Verity Price is back on the West Coast and getting back into the swing of the family business: cryptozoology. She’s rescuing cryptids from bad situations, protecting them from monster-hunters, and generally risking life and limb for the greater good, with her ex-Covenant partner/husband, Dominic, by her side. Her ballroom dance career is behind her…or so she thinks.

When Verity gets the call from the producers of Dance or Die, the reality show she almost won several years before, she finds the lure of a comeback impossible to resist, and she and Dominic are off to L.A. for one last shot at the big time. 
Of course, nothing is that simple. When two of her fellow contestants turn up dead, Verity will need every ally she can find—and a couple she wasn’t looking for—in order to navigate the complicated steps of both the tango and a murder investigation without blowing her cover. It doesn’t help that her official family backup is her grandmother, Alice Price-Healy, who thinks “subtle” is something that happens to other people. 
Winning this competition may have just become a matter of life and death.
The premise sounds ludicrous on it's own - a paranormal adventure set in a dancing reality TV show.  Don't let that throw you.  McGuire takes the very absurdity of the environment and turns it into a fantastic and hilarious ride.  Definitely recommend, on it's own or as part of the series.

Advance Reader Copy courtesy of DAW (Penguin RandomHouse) in exchange for an honest review; changes may exist between galley and the final edition.

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