Underground by Kat Richardson

Third in the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson, Underground finds PI Harper Blaine trying to find out why Pioneer Square's homeless are turning up dead. Or worse, why they are turning up as zombies. The deaths are not random, and finding the pattern that links them will lead Harper to a confrontation with an ancient monster that may be too much for her to handle on her own.

I think if this story had a theme it would be the difference between belief and appearances. It kind of runs all the way through the story. Not just the monster, but Harper, Quinton, the homeless people that Harper is trying to help, Albert the Ghost. They can all appear to be one thing but are something else.

I have to admit it's been a while since I read Poltergeist (Greywalker #2) but I do remember that I liked Quinton and hoped he would make a more significant appearance in future stories, and it seems I got my wish. And luckily for me the prologue pretty much takes care of the backstory. It's probably been even longer since I read a UF/PI book, so this makes a more than refreshing change.

Two things to mention here before I get on with the review.

• This book has a Ferret score of 1


• This book has one of the most frustrating (for me) things. And it seems trivial to mention it but it gets under my skin whilst I'm reading and annoys like a very annoying thing. Every time a character says 'Okay', it is typed OK. Maybe I find it annoying because capitalisation is associated with shouting?
  

Okay :), niggle over.

The Greywalker series is a little heavier than most of the urban fantasy I read. There's a distinct lack of light moments to balance the dark. It's quite melancholy storytelling and as a heroine, Harper comes across as a little cold, or maybe it's just that she sees the world in a completely different way to everybody else. This difference bleeds through in her attitude towards other people and Will her previous boyfriend isn't capable of handling it.

In fact she doesn't have the most welcoming of attitudes, so it helps that Harper is quite the sarcastic heroine and that Quinton (unlike Will) is not scared off by the appearance of zombies.

"I admit I hesitated. Once again, I'd have to deconstruct a zombie in front of a man I liked. The last one hadn't handled it very well..."

It's intelligent UF which I like but I don't think it's for everyone. If you like your heroines kickass and wisecracking every other paragraph you may not get on too well with the Greywalker series. Harper is more quietly caustic and she has a bum knee. That doesn't mean that she is in anyway a walkover, but she figures things out in her own way.

The mystery I think I would appreciate more on a second read-through. I think it would help to have a better idea of what was going on. To be more aware of the motivations of certain characters. This isn't a book I would recommend if you haven't read the previous two, I personally wish I had read it closer to finishing Poltergeist. It isn't my favourite of the Greywalker series, but it also hasn't put my off either. It's not so common to find a UF/PI story where the two genres are as well balanced as here. So this will definitely be on my Series Challenge list for next year.

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.

Greywalker by Kat Richardson

I feel I need to start this review with a caveat - I really did like it a lot. So if I appear to contradict myself later please bear this in mind.

Greywalker tells the story of Harper Blaine a private investigator who dies for two minutes after she is savagely beaten during the course of an investigation. When she comes round in the hospital, she begins to realise she has changed. She's now able to see and experience the Grey, a mysterious zone that exists between our world and the next. And it's something she has to learn to deal with quickly, because the creatures that exist in the Grey are not about to wait for her to find her feet.

I started this book sure I wasn't going to like it, I don't know why...Does anybody else ever have that - an unreasonable bias with no explanation? You pick the book up off your TBR pile and can't remember what on earth possessed you to buy it in the first place. It can be a cover issue, but I thought the cover was fine. Anyway, I digress...

So I was pleasantly surprised when in the space of the first few pages I was hooked. Kat Richardson starts Greywalker with a bang - an incredibly realistic sequence of Harper being beaten where you virtually wince with every punch. The story engaged me for the majority of the book, there were points where I didn't want to put it down - always a good sign :) . Her characters are well written, each of them individuals with their own agendas that may or may not be beneficial for Harper; Quinton - the mystery man, Mara and Ben - the happy couple with the baby and several Machiavellian vampires (one who was beyond creepy). As a first novel it impressed me.

I was really torn about what grade to give this book as it drew me in so completely, but there were a couple of things that didn't work for me. The characters use the word OK far too much, this seems a petty point but if you read the book you'll understand what I mean. And it's written as OK so it really jumps out at you. I hate the thought of writing in books but at one point I seriously considered scribbling the OK's out as I came across them. I think Ms. Richardson should maybe limit herself to five okay's in the next book.

I also felt the plot kind of petered out in the end, and I was left wondering why a couple of characters had been included. One of the things I enjoyed was how as everything slowly slotted together, events began to take on a momentum of their own, and yet these two characters just didn't seem to fit. But maybe this was intentional and will be dealt with in a future part of the series and we're meant to wonder that?

This is probably more of a PI novel with an urban fantasy twist, so I think you'll enjoy it more if you like the private detective genre - fans of Charlaine Harris's Grave series might want to give it a try. Greywalker did leave some questions unanswered, I'm very interested in Quinton's story, so I hope he'll be making an appearance in the next book - Poltergeist which is scheduled for release in August 2007. And I will be picking it up, because I liked this one a lot.