I very much enjoyed a foray into Australia, where the running joke about everything trying to kill you is a little bit more pointed. Alex and Shelby are refreshingly different to Verity and Dominic, but this still contains McGuire's signature humour and the mice.

Book 114: Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire. 5 stars. My first 5 star read in 15 books, first since May! This is the fourth book in the absolutely excellent InCryptid urban fantasy series featuring a family of cryptozoologists helping fantastical species or protecting humanity from the most dangerous of these species, and the second following Alex Price—the eldest son of the Price family—and the first book in the series I've given 5 stars too. This was excellent, presenting a new setting (Australia) with absolutely fantastic family dynamics (even if they were not the Price family dynamics I've been wanting, what we got instead was amazing), leaning on some tried and true tropes (even the "dad doesn't like his daughter's boyfriend" trope is just fun to read, even if it's very dated these days), with great twists and a lot of genuine emotion. This book managed to make me enraged, shocked, horrified, and leave me crying in all the best ways. Listen, talking mice that worship a family of humans should not leave me crying the way they did in this book!!! I can't say enough good things about this series. It's honestly everything I want in a fantasy series and I love it so much. Can't wait to get back to Verity for one more book in the next installment, cause while Alex is the relatable nerd I can self project onto, Verity is the cool af one that I kinda wanna be friends with.

Seanan McGuire has created a complex structure of interlocking stories. In duets or trilogies, we see the world from a particular viewpoint, and continue to widen the perils and scope of the world. I'm giving Incryptid my first place vote for best series in the 2025 Hugos. No other nominee is expanding and informing the idea of a series as well as she is.

In the fourth novel in Seanan McGuire's InCryptid series, we join cryptozoologist Alex Price and his fiance Section 36 future leader Shelby Tanner in Queensland Australia. While dealing with new sentient species of cryptids, a deadly werewolf outbreak targeting Shelby's family with global risk, Alex deals very well with meeting his antagonistic but grudgingly respectful future in-laws. As usual, this novel is filled with suspects, mystery, and humor. I laughed and teared up and seriously lost a lot of sleep since I could not put this book down until I finished it. As with other books in the series, this novel included a wonderful and important message of inclusion which is more relevant than ever today. I am tempted to say "InCryptid lives matter"...

Not only was this a delightful page turner that really pulled me in, but now I want to visit Australia.

I thank the author and publisher for kindly providing an electronic review copy of this work.