After an incident at a climbing competition gets her dropped from the USA Climbing Team, Megan "Red" Van Helsburg is forced to drop her career in climbing and return home to Nova Scotia. Determined to rise above the situation Megan decides to join up with a corps de ballet to enhance her dexterity and overall power because on top of losing her place on the team she lost her coach, sponsors and possible prospects which left her without income. The ballet theater of her childhood home has seen better days, a murderer stalks the streets and the other ballerinas are wasting away in both body and mind. Megan meets a mysterious young man named Bellamy during her investigation and he just so happens to dwell underneath the theater. Even though there is something not quite right with Bellamy he becomes her mentor and Megan finds herself falling for him.

Realization dawns on Megan when the theater announces the corps de ballet's performance will be Giselle and the similarities between the events going on at the theater and the play take on an eerie tone. Can Megan shoulder the precarious balance of investigating the murders and husks of ballerinas while sorting through her attraction to Bellamy on top of rebuilding her climbing career?

The blurb for The Redpoint Crux implied that fans of The Night Circus and The Raven Boys would like this book - I honestly can't attest to that because I haven't read either (I have read The Wolves of Mercy Falls series though). I would say that this book reminded me more of The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame vibe but with ballet with a serial killer twist. This story is intriguing and fast paced but sometimes I felt like it could've slowed down a bit and explained a little more. I wouldn't really categorize it as supernatural, paranormal or even magical (even though there are instances that aren't fully explained) but I would put it in a category with ghost stories and serial killers.

This book is predominantly about Megan "Red" Van Helsburg so naturally she is the most developed character in the book. The characters in the book often seem a little bit more emotionally mature than their age and it seemed to be a running theme of having to grow up quicker because of their parents or loss. I wish there was more relationship and backstory building to the characters to make them feel more cohesive. Liam definitely falls under the pretentious and entitled ass umbrella. It's only once everyone stops being selfish that the relationships tend to go anywhere. I really liked Bellamy and his connection with Red, I just wish that he was fleshed out more as a character rather than just his backstory (eventually). The plot did keep me guessing until the end and I was not disappointed by the ending of the book other than it left two things hanging in the wind - possibly for a sequel?

I happen to love ballet, it's excruciatingly beautiful - this book revolves around it. I have a friend that has been in ballet since she was little and I am obviously not an expert in any way I do know a thing or two. Colorado doesn't really have a big ballet scene but I would absolutely love to see a big production one of these days. My favorite has always been The Nutcracker.

I really did enjoy this book and while yes it does have some flaws it was vastly different than anything that I have read this year and that is a solid positive for me. This book contained an element you don't normally see in mysteries and thrillers - ballet. I would recommend reading this book to those who enjoy ballet, murder mysteries, serial killers, thrillers and ghost stories. A big thank you to NetGalley and The Parliament House for putting this title in Read Now. ( )