Midnight Blue-Light Special (InCryptid Series #2)

by Seanan McGuire

Overview

The second book in New York Times-bestselling Seanan McGuire's witty urban fantasy InCryptid series about a family of cryptozoologists who act as a buffer between humans and the magical creatures living in secret around us.

"The only thing more fun than an October Daye book is an InCryptid book." —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Sookie Stackhouse series

Normal, adjective: Conforming to the standard or common type. See also "ordinary."

Abnormal, adjective: Deviating from the common type, such as playing monster-human on the rooftops of Manhattan. See also "Verity Price."

The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity—and to protect humanity from them. Verity Price is just trying to do her job, keeping the native cryptid population of Manhattan from getting into trouble, and doing a little ballroom dancing on the side.

Enter Dominic De Luca, an operative for the Covenant of St. George, and Verity's on-again, off-again boyfriend. When he tells her that the Covenant is sending a full team to assess how ready the city is for a purge, Verity finds herself between a rock and a hard place. Stay, and risk her almost-certain death, or flee, and leave the cryptids of New York with nothing between them and the Covenant.

With allies and enemies on every side, and no safe way to turn, it's going to take some quickstepping for Verity to waltz out of this one. There's just one question on everyone's mind: Is this the last dance for Verity Price? 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780756407926
Publisher:	DAW
Publication date:	03/05/2013
Series:	InCryptid Series , #2
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	131,234
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Seanan McGuire is a Washington State-based author with a strong penchant for travel and can regularly be found just about anyplace capable of supporting human life (as well as a few places that probably aren’t). Early exposure to a vast number of books left her with a lifelong affection for the written word, and led, perhaps inevitably, to her writing books of her own, starting somewhere around the age of eleven. The October Daye novels are her first urban fantasy series, and the InCryptid novels are her second series, both published by DAW and both of which have put her in the New York Times bestseller list. Seanan was the winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer; Rosemary and Rue, the first novel in the October Daye series, was named one of the Top 20 Paranormal Fantasy Novels of the Past Decade; and her novel Feed, written under the name Mira Grant, was named as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2010. She also won a Hugo for her podcast, and is the first person to be nominated for five Hugo Awards in a single year. You can visit her at www.seananmcguire.com.

What People are Saying About This

Charlaine Harris

“The only thing more fun than an October Daye book is an InCryptid book. Swift narrative, charm, great world-building . . . all the McGuire trademarks.”

From the Publisher

“The only thing more fun than an October Daye book is an InCryptid book. Swift narrative, charm, great world-building . . . all the McGuire trademarks.” —Charlaine Harris #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
"Verity is a winning protagonist, and her snarky but loving observations on her world of bogeyman strip club owners, Japanese demon badger bartenders, and dragon princess waitresses make for a delightful read." —Publishers Weekly

"McGuire returns with book two in her InCryptid series, and if you loved the wisecracking dancer-cum-monster-savior Verity Price from Discount Armageddon, it’s a good bet you’ll also love this second installment.... The developing relationship between Dominic and Verity is one to savor, by turns tender and sharp." —RT Book Reviews

"McGuire has a way with words that transports the reader into the Incryptid world and doesn't let go of you until the end.... Midnight Blue-Light Special is a fantastic read, full of action, suspense, and humor. It’s just flat-out entertaining." —Night-Owl Reviews

Tanya Huff

"Seanan McGuire's DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON is an urban fantasy triple threat - smart and sexy and funny. The Aeslin mice alone are worth the price of the book, so consider a cast of truly ORIGINAL characters, a plot where weird never overwhelms logic, and some serious kickass world-building as a bonus."

Editorial Reviews

If it weren't for the monsters, Verity Price would have been able to pursue her career as an expert tango dancer. But no such luck. Even relatively civilized Manhattan offers no reprieve from the periodic alternating onslaughts of demons and demon-hunters. In this standalone sequel to Discount Armageddon, Price and her "sort of" boyfriend Dominic De Luca grapple with dangerous characters who threaten to take a big chomp out of The Big Apple. A mass-market paperback original.

The second in McGuire’s InCryptid series (after Discount Armageddon) returns to a thoroughly monster-infested New York and hereditary cryptozoologist Verity Price. Price has more than monsters on her mind this go-round, as her boyfriend’s superiors from the monster-hunting Covenant of Saint George are about to descend on Manhattan to check up on his work. While wondering where the handsome fellow’s loyalties lie, Price also has to deal with trying to hide New York’s diverse cryptid population from the incoming hunters, one of whom is a distant cousin of the legendary Price clan out for some very personal revenge. The story is fast-moving and enjoyable, with events whooshing by too fast for the reader to ponder improbabilities. While a several-chapter diversion into the perspective of Verity’s psychic cousin Sarah is a bit disconcerting, the rest of the book is more assured and engrossing than its predecessor and will keep readers hooked. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for the InCryptid series:

"The only thing more fun than an October Daye book is an InCryptid book. Swift narrative, charm, great world-building...all the McGuire trademarks." —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series

"[Half-Off Ragnarok] is kind of like taking a tour through a very deadly theme park made up of alternating parts awesome and terrifying. Come to think of it, that sums up this series quite nicely.... This book effectively acts as a jumping-on point to those just coming in." —Tor.com 

"Half-Off Ragnarok is my favorite book in the InCryptid series thus far.... If urban fantasy, intriguing animals, and fast-paced adventure is your thing, you’re going to love Half-Off Ragnarok. Highly recommended." —Jennifer Brozek

"McGuire creates a sense of wonder and playfulness with her love for mythology and folklore.... Her enthusiastic and fast-paced style makes this an entertaining page-turner." —Publishers Weekly

"A funny, fast-paced and genuinely suspenseful adventure that is sure to engross and entertain.... There is still a wide world for the intrepid Price family to explore, much to readers' guaranteed delight." —RT Reviews

"While chock-full of quality worldbuilding, realistic characters, and a double helping of sass, at its core, Half-Off Ragnarok is a book about judging others according to stereotypes, how nurture can overcome nature, and the importance of family." —Ranting Dragon

From the Publisher

"Seanan McGuire's DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON is an urban fantasy triple threat - smart and sexy and funny. The Aeslin mice alone are worth the price of the book, so consider a cast of truly ORIGINAL characters, a plot where weird never overwhelms logic, and some serious kickass world-building as a bonus."

Tanya Huff

"Discount Armageddon is an exceptionally well-written tale with a unique premise, fantastic character work, and a plot that just pulls you along until you finish. This is one for the urban fantasy enthusiasts out there—as well as for anyone who wants something different from most anything else on shelves today. Easily one of my favorite books of 2012."

Ranting Dragon

The only thing more fun than an October Daye book is an InCryptid book. Swift narrative, charm, great world-building . . . all the McGuire trademarks.

Charlaine Harris

"McGuire kicks off a new series with a smart-mouthed, engaging heroine and a city full of fantastical creatures. This may seem like familiar ground to McGuire fans, but she makes New York her own, twisting the city and its residents into curious shapes that will leave you wanting more. Verity’s voice is strong and sure as McGuire hints at a deeper history, one that future volumes will hopefully explore.

RT Book Reviews