Early Review: Raven Calls

Raven Calls (Walker Papers 7)

- CE Murphy

Publisher: Luna

E-Arc courtesy of netgalley and Luna Books

**Warning - may contain apoilers for earlier book**

Suddenly, being bitten by a werewolf is the least of Joanne Walker’s problems. Her personal life in turmoil, her job as a cop over, she’s been called to Ireland by the magic within her. And though Joanne’s skills have grown by leaps and bounds, Ireland’s magic is old and very powerful…
In fact, this is a case of unfinished business. Because the woman Joanne has come to Ireland to rescue is the woman who sacrificed everything for Joanne—the woman who died a year ago. Now, through a slip in time, she’s in thrall to a dark power and Joanne must battle darkness, time and the gods themselves to save her.

Raven Calls starts pretty much the minute after Spirit Dances ends. (Read my review here). At the end of the last book, Joanne Walker was rushing off to Ireland after a vision of a warrior woman who had managed to bind the werewolves – which was handy as Joanne had recently been bitten by a werewolf as well. Joining her on this adventure is Gary, her 74 year old best friend and side-kick, but this time she has left behind the rest of her support in Seattle. There is no Billy, Melinda – Morrison and Coyote only appear in brief cameos. This means there are plenty of new characters most of them female, that are introduced as Joanne and Gary prepare to battle the Master who has been tormenting her since she came into her shaman power a year ago.

Joanne rarely seems to think before acting – as a result a lot of this book is fast-paced followed by periods of explanations of why she did what she did. This also means you can never be sure what will happen next as Joanne rarely seems to think beyond the next issue let alone a big picture. However, she is snarky which is fun and much more emotionally available than she was at the beginning of this series – and there is plenty here that develops her and particularly her relationship to her mother. It also shows how much she’s grown since the start of the series. However, there are a lot of references to events in previous books and even short stories in the series which can be overwhelming if you haven’t read them all – or if it’s been a while. I found it best to just let the references flow over me to focus on the current story. A lot happens within a short space of time and it can be quite breathless trying to figure out what is happening!

It was good to see Joanne and Gary outside of Seattle though and able to explore her Irish heritage. Her Irish family play a small role in the story through her cousin who joins them for a while and the exploration of Irish myths and legends did make the world seem colourful than limiting it to native American myths. Having read most of the previous books I enjoyed catching up with Jo again – but be warned it ends on another tangent that will start the next book rolling! A fast paced and action packed adventure – suited to those who get bored easily but still like intricate adventures.  

Recommended for fans of Karen Chance and Jennifer Estep. 8 out of 10

Wayfinder Review

Wayfinder (Truthseeker 2)

-       C.E. Murphy

Publisher: MIRA

E-Arc with thanks to netgalley and MIRA

Lara Jansen is a truthseeker, gifted—or cursed—with the magical ability to tell honesty from lies. Once she was a tailor in Boston, but now she has crossed from Earth to the Barrow-lands, a Faerie world embroiled in a bloody civil war between Seelie and Unseelie. Armed with an enchanted and malevolent staff which seeks to bend her to its dark will, and thrust into a deadly realm where it’s hard to distinguish friend from foe, Lara is sure of one thing: her love for Dafydd ap Caerwyn, the Faerie prince who sought her help in solving a royal murder and dousing the flames of war before they consumed the Barrow-lands. But now Dafydd is missing, perhaps dead, and the Barrow-lands are closer than ever to a final conflagration. Lara has no other choice: she must harness the potent but perilous magic of the staff and her own truthseeking talents, blazing a path to a long-forgotten truth—a truth with the power to save the Barrow-lands or destroy them.

This is the second book in the Truthseeker duology and I haven’t read the first book! (I think it’s catching and the blame lies solely with Melissa from Books and Things!) This definitely puts me at a disadvantage at the beginning of Wayfinder as it feels like you’ve just opened a book in the middle and started reading. Lara drops into the middle of a battlefield and from there the action doesn’t stop with Lara running from one side to another, from one world to the next.

I liked Lara and her unique power of being able to tell truth from lies – even her own thoughts are impacted by this power. She’s been caught up in an Elvin family feud, civil war and age long enmity between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. But she has become her own person, embracing her power and leadership skills. There are a lot of characters introduced and most of them had suspect motives so Lara never knew if she could trust them or not. This kept me on the edge of my seat and I kept changing my mind about which people she should trust!

One element I found a little repetitive was the amount of talking and explanations that happened. Every time Lara met up with someone else, what had happened so far was explained. At first this was useful seeing as I hadn’t read Truthseeker, but it continued as earlier points in Wayfinder were repeated as well. I was paying attention! I didn’t need that many recaps! And despite this, some characters in Boston turned up out of no-where (to me) and seemed to be a little pointless (although I loved Kelly!).

However, the story was gripping and I was never bored. There was loads of intriguing elements, from the staff to the love interest, Dafydd. While the end wraps up Lara’s story – I still felt like I wanted to know more – perhaps I need to pick up Truthseeker and see if the first book will answer my questions! Generally though, I’d recommend reading the series in order though!

Recommended for fans of Kelley Armstrong and Patricia Briggs. 7 out of 10.

Spirit Dances Review

Spirit Dances (The Walker Papers 6)

-          C.E. Murphy

E-Arc courtesy of netgalley and Luna Books – Out now

For Seattle detective Joanne Walker, spring is about new beginnings. She’s mastered her shamanic abilities (mostly), survived a cannibalistic serial killer (barely) and now she’s facing the biggest challenge of her career—attending a dance concert with her sexy boss, Captain Michael Morrison. But when the performance— billed as transformative—actually changes her into a coyote, she and Morrison have bigger things to deal with. And there’s more. Homeless people are disappearing, a mystical murder puts Joanne way out of her jurisdiction and with the full moon coming on, it’s looking like the killer is a creature that can’t possibly exist. But Jo could probably handle all of that, if one ordinary homicide hadn’t pushed her to the very edge.… Cop or shaman? The choice isn’t easy. But it’s one she just might have to make.…

I read the first three books in the Walker papers series and really enjoyed but I have to confess that I’ve skipped over books four and five (The Walking Dead and Demon Hunts) - mostly because these books are difficult to get hold of in the UK. Slowly the series slipped off my radar until I saw this on netgalley and thought I’d catch up with Joanne Walker and her shaman powers.

This book has a strong heroine who struggles and fights but somehow manages to pull of the balancing act between Warrior and Healer, alternatively making us root for and feel for her. The joy of these books has always been Jo’s character and her struggle to find her own identity – torn as she is between her Irish and native American roots, her shaman powers and job as a police detective, her heart and her head . To help her, she surrounds herself with some great characters – from her ‘ghost whisperer’ partner, her 70+ year old cab driver friend, her mystical mentor Coyote and of course her boss, Morrison.  The antagonistic relationship with him is one that is difficult to define – mostly because they are reluctant to define it. That relationship is central to this particular story and develops is some pleasing ways here while still retaining the snark and respect they have for each other.

This is a fast paced action adventure with plenty of mystic powers as Jo discovers some new abilities and comes across a frightening new threat to Seattle in the form of an energy sucking creature. There is barely room to pause for breath as Jo struggles to balance her responsibilities and explores her powers. While I didn’t feel lost at all having not read the previous two books, past events are referenced and I now want to find out what I missed! A great addition to the Urban Fantasy genre that feels fun, fresh and full of verve.

Recommended for fans for Richelle Mead’s Succubus series and Nicole Peeler. 8 out of 10.

Part of FTC's Speculative Fiction Challange Book 8/12