Chesnut, R. Andrew. Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. 221 ix pp. $24.95 (USD. paperback). ISBN: 9780199764655 Devoted to Death is an engaging introduction to the folk saint Santa Muerte. In lucid prose, R. Andrew Chesnut presents one of the first academic accounts of the skeletal saint whose popularity in Mexico and the United States has grown dramatically over the past decade. Drawing on years of experience as an ethnographer of popular religion in the United States, Central America, and South America, Chesnut introduces the history of Santa Muerte, or Saint Death; recounts her adherents' varied ritual expressions; and describes the material culture associated with her community of devotees. In mainstream media, devotion to Santa Muerte has been linked to participation in the narcotics trade and other illegal activities. However, one of Chesnut's key goals is to complicate the image of Santa Muerte as a demonic anti-saint by highlighting the many reasons a broad swath of devotees, from Mexico to the United States, seek out her guidance and protection. Writing in a sharp yet conversational narrative style, Chesnut documents his own growing understanding of the folk saint's reach as he recounts key features in devotion to Santa Muerte. Chesnut describes historical accounts of the folk saint and charts her rise from an obscure spiritual aide for lovesick women to a powerful, popular supernatural figure. Scholars suggest her skeletal form hearkens back to images of death that developed in medieval Europe, but Mexican devotees insist she was a beautiful young Mexican woman unjustly killed during the Inquisition. All would agree that the skeleton saint has become more popular among some communities than St. Jude or even the Virgin of Guadalupe, two other popular folk saints in Mexico. Drawing on interviews and first-hand accounts, Chesnut describes features of the saint's worship, including homemade altars and common offerings in public and private shrines. The book is structured thematically, with each chapter paired with a coloured candle representing a different feature of Santa Muerte devotion. For example, the chapter introducing the history of the sect is represented by the brown candle of wisdom; the chapter describing the products sold bearing her likeness is represented by the yellow candle of money and wealth. This structure enables Chesnut to ingeniously introduce a range of topics concerning Santa Muerte devotion. One of Chesnut's primary aims is to consider how devotion to the folk saint has grown so drastically since the 1980s. …