One Foot in the Grave

One Foot in the Grave (2008) Jeaniene Frost

It’s been four years since Cat walked away from Bones–four years that she’s been working for a special group in the FBI to deal with the undead. But her past is now coming back to haunt her–not just the fact that she still loves Bones, but also the fact that she’s been killing rogue vampires and ghouls for four years, and, and so has made members of the supernatural community unhappy with her.

First, I like the fact it’s been four years that Cat has spent away from Bones. She’s had a chance to grow up and mature, and she’s also had a chance to know herself and what she truly wants.

I also liked the fact that everyone has secrets, and those secrets are both to her advantage and her disadvantage. Some secrets she can use, while other secrets come back to haunt her and cause her problems.

Just to get it out of the way, like the first book there is a lot of boinking in One Foot in the Grave. It’s very well written, but it’s also extremely explicit. So be aware of that if you think you’re interested in this series.

One thing I noticed, is that the story is rather biblical in it’s justice: if you cross Cat’s line, vengeance is swift and deadly.

I’m also fascinated by Kat’s morality. She’s willing to take her boss’s word that a vampire or ghoul is bad and thus metes out that swift justice, and she doesn’t seem to have any qualms about keeping vampires prisoner in their center, yet at the same time she fights for herself and some other vampires to be seen as moral beings capable of making ethical and rational decisions.

That’s quite a contradiction, but then she is an assassin (and a very good one) so I suppose those abilities come with the territory.

That isn’t to say that these things distracted from the story–I really only thought about them after I finished–but it does make the story a little more shallow than it could be otherwise.

Despite that, Cat is still a fascinating character. She is fiercely loyal to her men, willing to break or bend the rules as she feels necessary, and loyal to her mother, despite everything (a mother who is perhaps even more complex by the end of the story that she was previously).

One other small negative–Cat and Bones are both starting to become extremely powerful, and both have a sense of invincibility about them in this story. Again, I didn’t find it distracting while reading, but after finishing the story I do have to wonder if the following book keeps this invincibility–that could get frustrating after awhile.

However, I keep pointing out the negatives when actually thoroughly enjoyed the story. I particularly liked the complications arising with Don. Those were unexpected by a nice twist.

All in all, tt was a quick romp and sucked me in quickly: a fun break.
Rating: 7/10

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