Poltergeist by Kat Richardson

Poltergeist picks up a few months after the end of Greywalker. Harper is now more in control of her ability to see into the Grey, but she still hasn't perfected it. With no other Greywalkers to talk to she has to rely on the advice of her friend Mara, and more riskily, the knowledge of Carlos the vampire. Her latest case sees her investigating a University research group who have created an artificial poltergeist. When one of the group is murdered Harper decides to find out who is responsible.

I do wish I'd re-read Greywalker before reading Poltergeist. Although I managed to follow the story, there were a couple of things I didn't quite remember. I think if I were reading them directly one after the other it would have been better.

One of the things I like about the Greywalker series is that it isn't obvious where the story is going. I've watched that many episodes of CSI that it's rare for something to surprise me. But Kat Richardson manages to keep her plots intriguing. In the end, the mystery wasn't that mysterious, but all the other stuff that happened along the way, more than made up for it. The fact that while you're reading the story you're completely immersed in Harper's world.

Harper's life doesn't just stop because she has a case. She's also trying to maintain a long-distance relationship with Will Novak (the auctioneer from Greywalker) who has moved to London. Mara and Ben are still on hand to offer assistance, with their resident ghost Albert seemingly encouraging their toddler's bad behaviour. Strange ghosts are accosting Harper in public toilets, vampires are ringing at 5 am asking for favours and she's still not completely sure how her power works. Even with this large cast of characters, you can keep everyone straight in your head because they are each written as individuals. And none of these incidents detracts from the main story, they just flesh out Harper's world, making it real.

Quinton remains something of a mystery. I'm still sure there is more to him than meets the eye and I'm sure it's significant the ball of energy in the seance room shied away from him...maybe. LOL. I also love the fact that Chaos (the ferret) loves him. He's very perceptive:-

"...Working for jerks costs extra and working for jerks on short notice is even more,"

And he's ultimately the one who comes up with the solution to the problem. Even though 'magic makes his head ache'.

On page 198 when we have the seance from hell, I'm reminded of the scene in Greywalker when Harper is beaten. Kat Richardson has a way of writing action that draws you into the scene. Her descriptions are so accurate, she just takes you into the moment.

The ending sees Harper having to ask Carlos the vampire for help. Which she already knows is something of a double-edged sword and he remains true to form. KR's vampire's are disturbingly creepy and I look forward to seeing how Carlos and Harper's relationship develops in upcoming books.

For anyone who read my review of Greywalker. Yes I am still annoyed by the OK's, though I am learning to mentally edit them out as I go along. I counted 78 which doesn't seem that many, so I feel really picky. Though they do tend to turn up in groups.

Apart from that minor quibble on my part. I enjoyed Poltergeist as much as I did Greywalker, and this is definitely a series I plan to follow.

According to Kat Richardson's website Book 3 Underground will be a Summer 2008 release.