One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

I was excited for this sequel for many reasons: Bones, Bones, oh, and Bones. Also, because it takes place a rather shocking Four Years after Halfway to the Grave and, I have to say, I like that Jeaniene Frost was willing to take that big a leap with just her second book. Most urban fantasy series books take place right on on each other's feverish heels, yet the readers have waited sometimes a year for the second installment, and occasionally I find myself wanting more time to have passed for the characters as well. Add a little more gravitas to the situation. Like we've all grown up a little in the interim.

One Foot in the Grave starts out in the middle of Cat Crawfield's new life as a federal agent working for a little known department of Homeland Security specializing in vampire eradication. Having forced herself (for his safety) to leave Bones and her former life behind, Cat has become Cristine Russell and spent the last four years literally consumed by her work, training up a team of vampire slayers lean and mean enough to make Bones proud. Unfortunately, someone seems to have discovered her secret and is leaving clues around her old stomping grounds. Cat and her team follow the clues home to find someone old and powerful has put a price on her head and all the undead bounty hunters are coming to play.

I definitely liked the premise of this story and the guys on Cat's team are fun, interesting characters who I hope will stick around throughout the series. The scene where Bones and Cat see each other for the first time in four years was just as delicious as I hoped it would be. And, who are we kidding? Any page with Bones on it is a good one. Make that, a great one. What I needed was more from Cat. She doesn't seem to have grown at all in the last four years. And while I understand she's sort of been hiding from a lot things she doesn't want to face, she's still got this great team of guys who will walk over hot coals for her, and (when he comes back) a protector and lover who will do anything to make her happy, and she still seems to spend most of her time drinking, fighting, swearing, and whining. All in slightly too extreme quantities for me to buy. That's not the Cat I remember. She's Cat sans the the sweetness and sense of humor that made her so endearing in the first book and that made me think she deserved the awesomeness that is Bones. Oodles of action (fighting and otherwise) seem to dominate this story when I wanted more character development and the Cat I remember. Maybe Bones feels the same way...Hopefully, we'll both find what we're looking for in the next volume, At Grave's End, due out in January.

Links
Darque Review
Dear Author Review
The Good, the Bad, the Unread Review
The Happily Ever After Review
Urban Fantasy Land Interview