Chaos Choreography

Official cover

**Chaos Choreography** is the fifth novel in the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire. It features Verity Price.

## Synopsis

**Destiny, Noun:**

   1. The inevitable or irresistible course of events.

   2. The inescapable future.

   3. See also “Screwed.”

Verity Price is back on the West Coast and getting back into the swing of the family business: cryptozoology. She's rescuing cryptids from bad situations, protecting them from monster-hunters, and generally risking life and limb for the greater good, with her ex-Covenant partner/husband, Dominic, by her side. Her ballroom dance career is behind her...or so she thinks.

When Verity gets the call from the producers of *Dance or Die*, the reality show she almost won several years before, she finds the lure of a comeback impossible to resist, and she and Dominic are off to L.A. for one last shot at the big time.

Of course, nothing is that simple. When two of her fellow contestants turn up dead, Verity will need every ally she can find—and a couple she wasn't looking for—in order to navigate the complicated steps of both the tango and a murder investigation without blowing her cover. It doesn't help that her official family backup is her grandmother, Alice Price-Healy, who thinks "subtle" is something that happens to other people.

Winning this competition may have just become a matter of life and death.

## Characters

**Major**

Verity Price: Cryptozoologist and former competitive dancer. Verity is pulled back into the competition world under her alias "Valerie Pryor" when Dance or Die hosts an All-Star season.Dominic De Luca: Verity's husband and former Covenant agent. Dominic follows Verity to Los Angeles for her competition, playing backup and learning much about Verity's alter-ego. He goes by David Laflin while in LA.Alice Price: Verity's grandmother, who looks younger than she does due to decades of interdimensional portal-hopping. Alice provides additional backup after contestants start showing up dead, pretending to be Valerie's sister Elle. She is legendary among the cryptids Verity encounters.Pax: One of the top four in Valerie's season. An Ukupani, he knows Verity's true identity.Malena: An All-Star dancer and chupacabra. When dancers start showing up dead, Malena attaches herself to Verity and Pax for her own safety. Lyra is not pleased.
* Lyra: Lyra won the season the Valerie came runner-up in. Although they haven't talked since filming wrapped, she considers Valerie one of her best friends. She is jealous of Valerie spending so much time with other people during the competition.
* Anders Clarke: Valerie's partner on Dance or Die, and one of the top four in Valerie's season. Anders has always had a crush on Valerie that she managed to brush off. In the All-Star season, he can tell that her heart isn't in it and worries about their chances of winning.

**Minor**

* Brenna Kelly
* Lindy O'Toole
* Clint Goldfein
* *Sacrificed competitors:* Jessica, Poppy, Chaz, Danny, Mac, Leanne, Raisa, Graham, Bobby
* *Surviving competitors:* Lo, Ivan, Emily, Reggie, Ivan, Will, Troy
* Marisol Bustos, choreographer
* Sasha, choreographer
* Osana
* Chantelle, adolescent dragon
* Kevin Price
* Evelyn Price
* Siobhan
* William
* Candice
* Nemo, plesiosaur
* Charlie, Kim, and Angie, plesiosaur defenders
* Aurelie, ghoul child
* Ghoul family

**Mentioned**

* Angela Baker
* Arthur Harrington
* Frances Brown
* Jane Harrington-Price
* Thomas Price
* Sarah Zellaby
* Lea Gucciard
* Mike Gucciard
* Mary Dunlavy
* Uncle Naga
* Istas
* Kitty Smith
* Ryan Yukimura
* Queen of the Routewitches
* Catherine, Osana's sister

## Field Guide

Aeslin MiceBogeymanChupacabraDragonLaidly wormUkupaniPlesiosaurJackalopeGhoul

* Furred trout
* Routewitch
* Inter-dimensional snake| valign="top" style="width:50%;" ||}

**Mentioned**

* Djinn
* Dragon
* Finfolk
* Gorgon
* Harpy
* Hidebehind
* Incubus
* Letiche
* Oread
* River hag
* Sasquatch
* Succubus
* Wend
* Werewolf
* Witch

Locations* Portland, Oregon
	+ Price family compound
	+ Civic resevoir
* Los Angeles, California (Burbank)
	+ Crier Theater
	+ Crier Apartments
	+ Be-Well Motel
	+ South Riverside Flea Market
	+ Shady Oaks Mental Institution, now a dragon Nest

**Mentioned**
* Chicago, Illinois
* The Cascades
* Columbus, Ohio
* Gatorland, Florida

Organizations* Dance or Die

**Mentioned**
* Campbell Family Carnival
* Covenant of St. George
* The Freakshow

Objects* Memory/Confusion charm
* Egress charm
* Tooth fairy dust
* Anti-telepathy charm

Continuity
**Ghost Roads**
* Siobhan had a falling-out with the Queen of the Routewitches.

**Prequels**
* The family has a history of using the barn for taxidermy.
* Uncle Naga was originally summoned by a snake cult to eat a child Alice. Now he's a regular at Thanksgiving.
* Thomas was still officially a member of the Covenant when Alice fell in love with him.
* Reference to Betty Smith's bad blood with Alice and Thomas.

**Modern Day**
* Sarah was found in a storm drain.
* The U-Haul company is still unhappy with Verity for her months-long cross-country road trip.
* Verity and Dominic got married by an Elvis impersonator in Vegas, where Verity gave Dominic a new identity for a wedding gift. Her parents have not forgiven her for eloping.
* Dominic met Aunt Rose in New Orleans.
* Alex is finishing up his Ohio assignment and due home within the year.
* Verity notes that she hasn't been bitten by a werewolf or turned to stone, unlike Alex.
* Verity *thinks* no family member in the last two generations has shown the ability to set things on fire with their mind.
* Verity references the Healy luck, which is sometimes really bad. She also notes that she and Alice have great luck on their motorcycle ride.
* Alice refers to "equations" for dimensional shifts.
* After Verity reveals the family's existence on live TV, Antimony goes undercover to see the Covenant's reaction.

Trivia* Grateful cryptids have paid for the Price's services over the years. Dragons pay in gold; Oceanids like Aunt Lea, and the finfolk, pay in sunken treasure. (Ch. 3)
* Real human hair is sometimes able to foil tracking spells. The best ones can be bought in Salem. (Ch. 3)
* A disturbing number of dimensions are filled with nothing but snakes. (Ch. 7)
* The Manhattan snake cult used tooth fairy dust to subdue their victims. (Ch. 11)
* Walt Disney once summoned a demon and bound it into a roller coaster (Ch. 11)
* Alice and Siobhan are old allies (Ch. 11)
* A female harpy is called a harrier (Ch. 13)
* Chupacabra used to live in cactus patch burrows before humans crowded them out (Ch. 13)
* Ghouls immigrated to California before it because the United States (Ch. 13)
	+ They pray to the Great Rot (Ch. 14)
	+ Obligate carnivores who prefer human meat (15)
	+ Family groups are called clades
* There's a witch in Ohio who makes fashion dolls for cryptid kids (Ch. 14)
* Verity (and Antimony, in her stories) try hard not to "out" cryptids, even to each other (Ch. 17)
* Dragons shop at Costco and buy in bulk (Ch. 17)
* The title was originally *Professional Gore-eography*

Quotes* "We've never made any deals with demons. A few deals with my Aunt Mary the crossroads ghost, but she always recommends against it." (Ch. 2)
* **Lyra:** "Oh, look. Val's next to the window. Whoever could have guessed? Not me. Never me. I know nothing." (Ch. 5)
* **Brenna:** "Of all the irresponsible, unreasonable, insane things you could have done, you--" **Verity:** "Went and did exactly what my grandmother did, only without ten years of pining, flirting, pining some more, drinking the cooking sherry, and trying to date other dudes?" (Ch. 5)
* **Dominic, to Verity:** "Be astonishing. Be the amazing, impossible, infuriating woman I married, and steal the show from all those other dancers." (Ch. 5)
* **Pax:** "All those shark-themed monster movies are racial discrimination." (Ch. 7)
* **Verity, regarding her father:** "He always knew what to do, and I always refused to do it." (Ch. 7)
* **Dominic:** "That actually sounds reasonable. Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" (Ch. 8)

Epigraphs
**Main Article: Epigraphs**
Includes quotes from Enid Healy, Alice Healy, Evelyn Baker, and Frances Brown.

Aeslin* Feast of Dammit, Enid, Where Is That Girl, I Know She Tells You When She's Sneaking Out
	+ Recreating when Alice got lost in the woods for almost a whole day, then wound up at Thomas's house for the first time (Ch. 2)
* **Antimony:** Oh, Thank God, At Least With Barbie Back In The House, I Won't Have To Do Every Single Ritual (Ch. 2)
* Bedroom Privileges, Food for Privacy
* The Thoughtful Priestess [Evelyn] did say, lo, Go Easy On Her, She Is Going To Be Under A Lot Of Stress (Ch. 5)
* Dancing is a significant part of the rituals honoring Verity's original time on Dance or Die. Her head priestess teaches dance classes.
* **Antimony:** Have You Considered Hiding In Plain Sight?
* **The Violent Priestess:** "Ain't Nothing Wrong with Most People which couldn't be Fixed with a Good Smack Upside the Head." Then she did deliver a Good Smack Upside the Head to her husband, the God of Unexpected Situations, and All Was Well. (Ch. 15)
* The hour is late, and you have said, many times, that we must Let You Sleep. (Ch. 15)
* **The Well-Groomed Priestess:** What Has Been Discarded, You May Have, But Don't You Little Monsters Nip My Embroidery" (Ch. 16)
* "Though you walk through the hallway that was not on the map, you should fear no evil." (possibly a joke)(Ch. 16)

Pop Culture* Calling Dominic Batman. Alice calls Verity Batgirl. Verity references Catwoman.
* Jesca Hoop, Rihanna, Yael Nim, Brittney Spears, Dirty Dancing, Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse, Christina Aguilera, Carl Nanson, Karissa Noel
* Tetris; Spider-Man, SyFy, the little mermaid, the burning of Rome, Tarzan and Jane, Tinker Bell, Tomb Raider, Wizard of Oz. Game of Thrones, Scooby Doom, Chernobyl-level meltdowns
* Garden of Eden, Rainbow Serpent, Medusa, Cthulu
* Snake cults are rumored to have inspired Walt Disney to make Maleficent into a dragon
	+ Likewise, Titanoboa was rumored to be summoned form another dimension

Playlist
Spotify (missing "Corrupt" by Karissa Noel)
YouTube

References
1. ↑ https://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/439387.html