One of the many things I love about Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series is the consistent change in first person narrators. Within the context of a multigenerational family saga that just happens to also be a wonderfully original urban fantasy series, McGuire works to find the most appropriate narrator for each stage of the story. Throw-caution-to-the-wind sibling Verity Price started the series off, followed by her calm-and-cool brother Alex. When the narratorial duties shifted to youngest sibling Antimony for three books, we started to get a sense of the burdens of being a Price. Two books narrated by cousin Sarah moved the series from straight-up urban fantasy to multidimensional adventure, which set the stage for two books narrated by family matriarch Alice during her hunt for long-missing patriarch Thomas. Now, it’s family babysitter (and resident ghost) Mary Dunlavy’s turn. Mary is one of my favorite characters in the series so when she was announced as the next narrator, I was extremely excited. I was not disappointed in the story Mary had to tell, and she is the perfect narrator for this part of the family’s story.

As a ghost, Mary has guided each generation of the Price-Healy clan to adulthood successfully (if not always harm-free) starting with Alice, while at the same time juggling her responsibilities as negotiator and advocate for humans making deals with the otherworldly Crossroads. While each narrator of the series so far has mentioned the difficult position Mary was in balancing these two roles, and while the family understands how Mary’s existence has changed since the Crossroads were destroyed, we as readers have never really been fully privy to Mary’s own thoughts on the matter before now. There are a number of heartbreaking scenes where Mary comes to terms with her own trauma (including, I believe, our first real detailed look at Mary’s death and subsequent first encounter with the Crossroads), as well as scenes in which we are reminded just how much Mary loves her adopted family and how much the knowledge that she will “outlive” (for lack of a better term) her charges pains her. At the same time, Mary is exploring her new freedom from the Crossroads and learning what new limits she may have. Given that her current crop of infant and toddler charges are scattered across the country (Verity’s family is in New York City, Alex’s is in Ohio, while most of the rest of the adults in the family are in the Portland Oregon area), Mary definitely needs to know what these new limits may be, and how far she can stretch the concept of “family.” She does get answers to these questions, although they may not necessarily be the answers she wants.

Of course, the book is not just about Mary and her new existence, as important as that may be to readers like me who absolutely love the character. The war between the Prices (protectors of North America’s Cryptid population) and The Covenant of St. George (looking to purge said population out of existence) is heating up. The Covenant is on the offensive, seeking to vanquish the Prices and their allies once and for all. Which makes Mary the perfect narrator for this volume, as she is one of the few family members who can move cross-country almost instantaneously – which she is called upon to do more than once or twice, pushing up against those potential new limits.

Fair warning: this is a book about war, and Seanan McGuire is an author who understands that no one (individual or family or organization) who experiences war emerges from it unscathed. There is tragedy in this book (no, I won’t spoil exactly what that tragedy is) but I feel that long-time readers should be warned that terrible things happen. I cried. Multiple times. (New readers really should not be starting the series with this book – it’s number 13 for crying out loud and this isn’t the type of series where the characters reset to the status quo at the end of each adventure. Go read the books in order!)

As usual, there is a bonus novella included. I can’t say much about it without spoiling events of the main novel. Suffice to say, it continues the novel’s ruminations on trauma and grief and the way we process and begin healing from both, and it is both heartbreaking and beautiful.



I received an electronic advance reading copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wonderful addition to the Incryptid series that allowed us to catch up with our favorite cryptozoologist family. I recommend re-reading the entire series (not that you have to) before reading this book!!!

The InCryptid series has twice been a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Series, and Aftermarket Afterlife proves why this is still one of the best and most popular series running.
Mary Dunlavy has been the Price family babysitter for generations. She doesn't have trouble keeping up with her charges even though they are scattered across the country (and sometimes across dimensions) because, well, she's a ghost. Just as the Price family is all back together, including Alice and her decades-lost husband, the Covenant of St. George launches an all out attack on the Prices and the cryptid community in North America.

The Price family and allies are outmanned and very much in danger. It's going to take a lot of skill and some clever thinking to survive this. Mary Dunlavy is facing a question she's never had to ponder before: What happens to a babysitting ghost if all the people she's supposed to protect are gone?

Each book in the InCryptid series tells a complete story and is told from one viewpoint character. I've jumped around a bit in the series so I was familiar with all the characters and a lot of the history, but most people will want to read the series in order. This world is filled with many fascinating cryptid races and familiarity with them builds throughout the series as well.

Mary Dunlavy is an interesting viewpoint character, both in relation to her powers and duties as a babysitting ghost and in her history with the Crossroads. Her ability to move to her charges in different parts of the country allow for direct interaction with many individual family members that is not always possible in some of the other novels. Her knowledge and abilities are a huge asset even considering her limitations compared to some of the other family members.

Seanan McGuire is such a skilled writer that her style pulls you deeply and effortlessly into this world. Her characters are varied but relatable, particularly in their passion and determination. Ruminations on life and death, particularly from a ghost, offer a unique perspective.

There is plenty of thrilling action and the pace moves along briskly. With the escalation of war with the Covenant, there is less levity in this story than some of the others along with some truly devastating heartbreak. The book tells a complete story, but there are still loose ends and consequences to be dealt with in the future.

I do enjoy spending any time I can with the Aeslin mice, which belong on the Mount Rushmore of greatest literary creatures ever invented.

Another great entry in an outstanding series.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

With a unique mix of humor and tragedy, the Price family is back in the latest in the InCryptid series. I don't know if it is meant as the end to the series, but this feels like the end to the series: huge conflict, tragic losses and, eventually, success. If you've read the InCryptid series up to this point, you have to read this. If you haven't, you'll probably be lost and should start at book one in the series.

Aftermarket Afterlife takes a bit to find it's stride, but once it does, it's phenomenal.

It's definitely time for Mary to get a POV, and it was great to have that here, especially after how opaque she often was in other stories. She got to be a rock through this story of a time where things were ramping up for the worst case scenarios -- this is a hard read, nearing the end of a long storyline and there are losses in it. The only downside of this is that I kind of wish there were two POVs in this one. Because Mary has her limits, and is called hither and yon constantly,w e miss a lot of scenes I really wanted to see (on the less spoilery side, Sally and James meeting again! I wish I could have seen that. There were others as well, but those are much bigger spoilers).

There is also a lot of exposition early on -- pretty much the whole family is together and we're not just as readers being reminded of who everyone is but getting Mary's personal extended history with them and their abilities and so on. But the plot kicks in earlier than in the previous novel and once it starts, the book becomes nearly impossible to put down. Really an excellent read, and one that doesn't pull its punches.

Aftermarket Afterlife, by Seanan McGuire, is the 13th installment in the author's InCryptid series. The InCryptid series is set in a world where parallel evolution and dimensional rifts have resulted in humans sharing the planet with multiple species of cryptids capable of passing for human, among many other differences and divergences. 84 years ago, 16-year-old Mary Grace Dunlavy had an unfortunate accident that would send her to becoming a crossroads ghost. A ghost who would speak for the people with the Crossroads bargains with.

As a babysitting ghost, she's been caring for the Price family for four generations, and she's planning to keep doing the job for the better part of forever. Mary has been a babysitter for everyone from Alice Price to Verity's daughter Olivia. The Aeslin Mice even gave her an honorary name as The Phantom Priestess. If you haven't started reading this series yet, get to hopping! Mary is the only person who knows the entire family history. Now that Crossroads is gone thanks to Annie, no spoilers, she can now answer any question the family asks of her.

Mary's position in the Price family means that her novel is uniquely wide-ranging and intimate. Over her 84 years as a caretaker, she has only lost 4 people. So, be forewarned that things are going to get dangerous really quickly and, if you've read this series from the beginning, you may get really sad. While the family is waiting for Alice and Thomas to finally come home after years of Alice trying to find Thomas, the Price family enemies, the Covenant of St. George attack the Campbell Family Circus, and the Dragon lair under Manhattan looking for William.

Ever since Verity publicly 'outed' the family on national television, the family and the Cryptid community as a whole have been holding their collective breaths, and waiting the the Covenant to strike. The Covenant has decided that now is the time to sterilize North America of ungodly abominations and race traitors like the Price family, and while they are at it, why not take a chance at capturing Antimony who is being stalked by Leonard Cunningham even though she's come into her powers as an elemental sorcerer like her grandfather.

The stakes couldn't feel any higher this time, and as I said, people will die. People you have known since the first book in this series. Because of this attack, Mary does what all good caretakers do. She makes a plan. She asks for help from a variety of characters. And, she puts her own existence on the line to stop the war between her family, and the Covenant. I guarantee that you will meet every single member of the family, and the extended family, including Alexander, Shelby Tanner, and Rose Marshall.

Most of the books in this series feature characters like Verity Price (3), Grandmother Alice (2), Sarah Zellaby (2), Antimony Price (3), and Alexander Price (2). After you have taken a breath, take a moment and read the novella at the end of the book called Dreaming of You in Freefall. I can only tell you that it's told from Verity's point of view and it is highly emotional. I can also say that you should not under any circumstances read the novella before the rest of the book.

Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire

This book moved me in several ways. I got very mad, and very sad. It’s just that good!

I love Seanan McGuire’s body of work. (Note: I review a bunch of her books so I am copying part of some of my other reviews here to save time.). She has quickly become my favorite living writer and I feel very lucky that she is so prolific. I was first introduced to her work when her book Parasite, written as Mira Grant, was nominated for a Hugo Award. I loved it and quickly devoured the Newsflesh series before I realized that Mira Grant and Seanan McGuire were the same person.

I started reading her works under her own name, starting with Sparrow Hill Road, which is amazing, but I picked it because I was intimidated by her long running October Daye series. When Incryptid was nominated for the Best Series Hugo in 2018, I dove into that and I loved it! It is probably my second favorite series by McGuire (Velveteen Vs. holds a special place in my heart).

I was overjoyed when DAW and NetGalley awarded me an eARC of the latest Incryptid book, Aftermarket Afterlife, in exchange for an honest review. Finally the fight with the Covenant, long promised since the ending of Chaos Choreography when Verity outed the family on national TV, was here! This has been building for so long, and I was happy to get an earthbound narrative after several reality-hopping adventures in previous books.

The problem with long-promised fights is that they come with casualties. I’m not going to spoil things but this is where the mad and the sad will come from. There are some characters for whom I repeatedly thought “how will they go on?” at different points in the book.

We also have a new narrator this time around - Mary the ghost babysitter has a star turn! With her ghostly traveling abilities, Mary is a logical choice for this role in a globetrotting story, and, thanks to being a Patreon supporter, I have already had a chance to read alot of Mary’s backstory, which made this novel even richer.

This is a wonderful, wonderful book. A culmination of much that has come before, it lays several avenues open for the future. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

This is one of my all-time favorite series and I was so happy to return to the Incryptid world! I LOVE getting to be in the POV of Mary Dulavy the family babysitter who has been watching over them for generations. I loved all the action, and getting to see where all the Prices are at.
It kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen next and left me completely heartbroken, The Covenant has decided that it was finally time to take out all the Cryptids and the people who help them, namely the traitorous Prices and they aren't pulling any punches for my favorite family. I went from laughing to on the verge of tears and felt all the emotions in between. So much happened in this book and I felt completely wrung out by the end. and waiting for the next one to come out is going to feel like an eternity!
I cannot wait to see where the story is going to go from here!

I absolutely love the InCryptid books, and this one was no exception.

Getting to see the family from Mary’s point of view for the first time was fascinating, and she was the perfect narrator for this book which was set all across the US, and even further afield.

The stakes were upped even more in this book, and I simultaneously can’t wait to see what happens and also hope the stakes start to go down from here! The poor Price family have suffered enough, surely?

I absolutely adored Aftermarket Afterlife and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

This series continues to be fascinating, and I love getting to see the world of the series through Mary's eyes in this installment. This is definitely not a series to jump into midway through, but for those who've kept up, you'll won't be able to put the book down.

I'm not sure I've ever reviewed a book from this series before, but that's not because I don't love it. In fact, it's probably in my top 3 favorite series of all time. Seanan McGuire's mind is as methodical and bloody as something from a Saw movie (I assume... I'm too chicken to watch those). It's not uncommon for an offhand comment to pop up as a consequence books and years later. I don't try to keep track, I just enjoy the ride.

That's not to say that the Incryptid series is horror. Not exactly. But Seanan has a way of cracking your heart open like an egg and then leaving something slightly sinister but oh, so delightful to make a nest there. What I'm trying to say is that this series doesn't pull its punches, and I know from prior experience with her other work that neither does this author. Her pledge of no sexual violence in her books is refreshing (and non-traumatizing! Novel! I'm looking at you, George!), but she has never made a pledge against character deaths when it serves the story.

Unfortunately, this is one of those stories. I was sure that I had physical bruises after finishing this one (and the bonus at the end). I felt eviscerated when I finally stopped staring into space and put the book down, and yes, I can still feel something soft and dangerous nestling in my torso, even now weeks after finishing. I need the next book to know whether this blooms into something beautiful or explodes outward, destroying whatever is in it's path. Sadly, I have more than a year to wait. That is the unfortunately consequence of reading advanced copies -- you have to wait even longer than everyone else for the next one.

Seanan McGuire has published close to 100 books under her own name -- more if you count comics, graphic novels, contributions to short story anthologies, her Patreon, the free work available on her website, and her two pen names. If you haven't read anything she's written by now, you've chosen to remain willfully ignorant of this phenomenal author who has won multiple awards. In which case, I can only pity you and hope you rectify the situation soon. Aftermarket Afterlife is book #13 in the series and will be available on March 5th.

Aftermarket Afterlife continues the InCrypid series with the family ghost, Mary, having the lead. Since she connects with the entire Price clan, the reader gets to catch up on everyone’s story, which is great. However, the Covenant has escalated the conflict, and not all goes nearly so well for the Price family as it had in previous books. There are some sad parts, but it’s good reading anyway. The next book can’t get here too soon, though!
Recommended, but not before reading at least some of the preceding books.

Well. That got dark. You all should remember she writes horror as well as fantasy. Not too much else I can say without venturing into spoilers. Obviously for series fans and not a new reader since it’s book 13.

The reviews get harder to keep spoiler free the further into a series we get. But I'll do my best!

Things I liked: This book is from the perspective of Mary Dunlavy, the ghost babysitter who has helped raise 3 generations of the Price family, and that combined with her ability to bounce between family members who call her, means she is uniquely placed to be a very effective narrator for this book and the events unfolding in it. McGuire continues to handle big emotions and hard conversations between her characters with her signature pragmatism and insight that I find to be so effective. And that's especially important since there are a lot of big feelings in this one.

Things I didn't like as much: Mostly that this was just a heavier book. Things ramp up with the Covenant in a big way, and this read was definitely not as fun or light-hearted as some other Incryptid books have felt. That doesn't mean it's not an excellent book, because I do think it's all very well written. It was just a much more emotional read. The other thing that was a little difficult is that bouncing back and forth between the ENTIRE family the way Mary is able to had me wishing I had reread some of the earlier books first, because I couldn't remember a few characters very well. That said, McGuire does a good job with building quick reminders of who and what her characters are into the narrative, so you always have enough info so as not to be completely lost.

I have always admired McGuire's ability to pull long plot arcs and threads together, and she's absolutely doing that in this book. If you've followed Incryptid this far, this book is what the last few books have been leading to, so buckle up! If you haven't read any Incryptid books, I might recommend starting somewhere earlier in the series first.

<i>First off...<b>DISCLAIMER:</b> I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to DAW for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.</i>

I may be biased because I love all things ghosts/afterlife, but regardless, the 13th InCryptid installment is a step above Alice's books in a number of ways. Mary's POV as a hundred y.o. ghost in a 16 y.o. body is fascinating (while completely different from Rose's, the Price's honorary dead aunt, protagonist of the Ghost Roads series); so is the afterlife she inhabits when she isn't sitting for her charges (or helping her now adult former ones); and seeing her interact with the Price family and friends gives us a fresh and more cohesive perspective on them (plus we get her backstory!). Also, Aftermarket Afterlife is once again proof of the long game McGuire has been playing since she started the series: all the events occurring in the previous 12 books finally fall into place in a larger framework, with Mary at their center - no longer bound to the crossroads (which Antimony destroyed), but still technically limited in her assistance to the family during the worst crisis ever...except she always finds new ways to stretch those limits, consequences be damned 😅.
This installment is the first one to feature each and every family member and most of their allies in some capacity (even ever-elusive Drew)...but mind you, after 12 books, and in the wake of the best engineered, most destructive Covenant attack ever, something's got to give. You might think that McGuire was especially unfair towards a certain character, because what befalls them happens offscreen, but there's a rhyme and reason to it. And frankly? I do like how everything, and everyone, can change in this series - even the dead, and even if it comes at a...price 😉. If the latest InCryptid books have let you down somehow, I bet this is the one that will make you fall in love with the series all over again - and it sounds like the Price saga has still a lot to offer...

<i><b>Please note:</b> contrary to the rest of the series, at the end of this book there isn't a bridge novella that loosely ties in the previous installment with this one, but one that takes place after a certain event in the main story, from Verity's POV. DON'T read it before Aftermarket Afterlife if you want to avoid a huge spoiler.</i>

Another excellent installment of Seanan McGuire’s Incryptid series. I love the changes narrators and this time around, we get to know Mary, who has been babysitting generations of Prices.

Another fun mystery and more to add to the overall themes and mysteries. Very fun’

Its the book I didn't know I wanted and I'm so glad the author realised that her readers needed this book. Yep it's Mary who is our unexpected protagonist, full time babysitter/caregiver but also a ghost who knows and understands more about the Price family than anyone living or ahem dead !
This simply pulled me back into this world but in ways I hadn't expected. The fight to survive has never been more real and this book pulls no punches. If you have followed this amazing series you will find yourself devastated as there are casualties that leave so many shaken and adrift. Mary is a linchpin in so many ways but even she finds herself struggling to simply survive and protect those she cares for. That right there is what binds this together as Mary is such an overlooked but amazing character. Dead at sixteen and yet surely the most mature character in the whole series. Just don't start here because there's so much that's gone before that impacts this story and why would anyone want to miss such a unique and twisting adventure. This is fast paced, amazing and emotional and already I want more !
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Review posts on 2/28/2024

*This is the thirteenth book in an ongoing series, and by necessity commenting on this book spoils the events of some previous books. If you're interested in the idea of a family of cryptozoologists working to understand the cryptids around them and to defend them from a single-minded xenophobic organization (with more than a few ghosts and some dimension-hopping woven in for good measure), then stop here and go read DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON, the first book in the series.

AFTERMARKET AFTERLIFE is the first Incryptid book narrated by Mary Dunlavy, the babysitting ghost who has been around longer than any one member of the Price-Healy family still living, surpassing even Thomas and Alice. Mary is a babysitting ghost, but she never really lets go of her charges (not even when they're grown and having kids of their own). What was supposed to be Alice and Thomas's long-awaited return to the family is disrupted by violence when the dragon Nest in New York is attacked and Mary is pulled to the scene by the call of Verity and Dominic's child's distress. As the war with the Covenant of Saint George turns violent in a burst of coordinated attacks, only a dimension-hopping ghost could keep up with all the action spread over North America between roughly a dozen family members and involving even more allies, cryptid and human alike.

I like Mary as a narrator. She's a great choice for narrating Alice and Thomas's return since she was part of his disappearance. Also, she's ideal for allowing the story to play out with so many important characters and geographically dispersed events on a timescale which doesn't allow for mundane travel methods. The first few chapters focus on her version of the recap, but, for me, one of the joys of this series is reading how different characters recollect earlier events.

I don't know yet if this is an okay place to start for someone who wanted to jump into the series midway. I won't have a good answer for that until I know where the next book picks things up. It's either an all-right entry point because of how well things are summarized by Mary's recounting of the events that got them here, or a terrible one because so many plot threads from the first twelve books converge very suddenly and much of the emotional impact would be missing for a reader who treated this as a starting point. Such a reader would be in a position much closer to Arthur than anyone else, but I'm too immersed in the series to be certain how that would pan out. As always, I recommend starting from the beginning. So many important things were introduced there, and if the blurb grabbed you, it'll be even better if you follow the whole journey. Failing that, either SPELUNKING THROUGH HELL (#11) for TRICKS FOR FREE (#7) would be good options for a midway start, given how important Alice and Annie are to AFTERMARKET AFTERLIFE.

AFTERMARKET AFTERLIFE is an important step in putting an end to the war between the Covenant and the Prices, or at least stopping one particular Covenant member's obsession with Annie that fuels this sudden round of violence. The newest storyline focuses on the attacks which begin in New York but quickly spread elsewhere as it becomes clear that the Covenant won't stop so quickly in their goal of wiping out the Prices. It was supposed to be a chance for Thomas to get to know his family after so long kept away, and for Alice to get to know her kids now that she had a shot at sticking around. Unfortunately, any slice of time interesting enough to be an Incryptid book had no shot at remaining as dubiously idyllic as this reunion ought to be. Several plot threads were moved forward, mostly related to particular interpersonal conflicts and reunions between various family members and newly-family adoptees, but it remains to be seen how much was actually resolved amidst so much chaos. There is a distinct sense of finality in the ending. It has just enough emotional closure to avoid being a cliffhanger, but it leaves room for the next book to go in many directions (depending on how well the strike against the Covenant worked out). No matter what happens next, several things have changed for Mary and the Prices, and there's no going back. I'll follow wherever the next book takes me, this was great and I'm ready for more.

Series Info/Source: This is the 13th book in the InCryptid series. I got an eGalley for this for review through NetGalley.

Thoughts: I was really hoping for another book from Alice's POV but this time around we get to hear from Mary. In general this was slow and I was pretty disappointed. In this installment of the InCryptid series things are coming to a head between the Price family and the Covenant. This book is told from Mary (the ghost babysitter's) POV.

My main issue with this book is that it spends way too much time with Mary jumping between characters and trying to assuage their feelings, moods, etc. A lot of book is just dealing with all of the interpersonal relationships in the extended Price family. The actual plot involving the Covenant makes very little progress.

All of the members of the Price family are in here and it is hard to remember who is who because of the sheer plethora of characters. Yes, there is a family tree located at the beginning of the book. No, I couldn't remember all the minutia of who was involved with who and what they had done in previous books. This made what happened with Jane fairly low impact to me as a reader, even though it had a huge impact on her family.

If weird supernatural/paranormal soap opera is your thing this is a good book for that. I personally got into this series because I enjoyed the action, humor, and fun cryptozoology. I think the best part of the book was that we do get to learn more about the dragon under New York City, but that was a fairly small part of the story. There is a short story after the main book ends that spends more time with the dragons.

IMHO both this series and the October Daye series need to be wrapped up soon. They are both starting to feel tired and aimless. I would prefer to end things on a high note my favorite two series rather than end up stopping reading them because the story quality has been gradually going downhill.

The writing throughout is still well done and easy to read. The story just feels very fractured and the overall story around the Covenant vs the Price family is moving at a glacial pace.

My Summary (3.5/5): Overall I was disappointed in this Incryptid book. Seeing Mary's POV was interesting but she is pulled in too many directions at once and it made the story feel chaotic and fractured. This installment is very soap opera like, Mary basically provides mental and physical support to the whole Price family at this point. It's also hard to follow who all the characters are and what their relationship to each other is (yes, we get the family tree at the beginning of the book but that's not enough). Very little progress is made with the over-arching story about the Covenant. I will read the next book in the series and withhold judgment for now. However, both this and the October Daye series feel very tired to me; it's time to wrap them up and move on to something new.

what a great book and i loved reading this author. . loved the romance and how the couple came to be. Loved that they worked through their issues and found love. Loved this mystery