 | Title: Downpour
Sexual Content: A sex scene and references to sex. Rating:
Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying. |
Description
Harper Blaine is on the mend, but evil never rests-in the latest novel from the national bestselling author of Labyrinth.
After being shot in the back and dying-again- Greywalker Harper Blaine's only respite from the chaos is her work. But while conducting a pre-trial investigation in the Olympic Peninsula, she sees a ghostly car accident whose victim insists that he was murdered and that the nearby community of Sunset Lakes is to blame.
Harper soon learns that the icy waters of the lake hide a terrible power, and a host of hellish beings under the thrall of a sinister cabal that will use the darkest of arts to achieve their fiendish ends…
Review
It's a pleasure to return to the foggy environs of Forks, WA, though the magic and mythology opposing Harper Blaine is much denser than anything Bella had to face. Harper has come a long way from her paranormal origins in GREYWALKER, and I greatly enjoyed how her style melds practical, investigatory skills with the mysteries and concerns of the Grey.
Two parts mystery and one part ghost story, it is as much her P.I. chops as her magical abilities that makes Harper a force to be reckoned with in DOWNPOUR. Despite missing out on books two through five, I had no problem whatsoever catching up with the action in in this book, if only because logical explanation is a built-in part of Harper's world view. The mix of small town politics, various magical disciplines, and ancestral power comes together in a masterful way, with Harper swinging a baton and setting a steady pace. As much as I admired the technical proficiency of this mystery, and Harper as an investigator, I have to confess that I'm still a sucker for sidekicks and romance. Chaos, with her "weasel war-dance", and Quentin's near universal competence were the highlight of this book for me, and I appreciated that there is little page time when one or the other is not present.
Curling up with DOWNPOUR reminded me of nothing so much as the mystery books of my college years, and I enjoy the way Richardson has given this classic format a new, paranormal twist. Ultimately, however, this book went a too slow for my tastes. When Chaos wasn’t onscreen making me laugh, my attention was prone to wander. I’ll definitely be back for more of this series, but it will be a slow process prompted by my periodic cravings for mystery. Fans looking for the non-stop action of a more common Urban Fantasy may be disappointed, but for those who enjoy a little leg work and gumshoeing with their magic, this is the book for you.
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