Thunderbird Falls (The Walker Papers, Book 2)

I loved Murphy's first book, Urban Shaman. Thunderbird falls seems to fall flat. In the second installment, Joanne Walker, the main character trips over a body, literally. She then sets out to investigate the "murder" when there are to signs that there was a murder. We meet a witch coven who wants Joanne to join and lend her Shamanic powers to their cause. Murphy seems to get lost in this book. There is very little direction, that leaves the reader to wonder where we are going in the book, and why we even care about the journey.

In Urban Shaman, there was a definite liquid continuity to the story, and the main bad guy was very bad, and interesting at the same time. In Thunderbird Falls, the bad guy is not really even identified until the last quarter of the book, and the "murder" isn't really convincing that it is anything more than a natural death. There is a good amount of meta-babble creating pages and pages of out of body sensations and color without any acutal basis for why all this sensation in necessary. All in all, it was OK, but I would wait until I could get a used copy for a couple bucks instead of paying the $15.00 sticker.

Joanne Walker, or Siobhan Walkingstick, is stuck with supernatural powers from both sides of her family - the Native American and the Irish. At least her mother tries to help when she can - even though she's dead. But Joanne is having a difficult time accepting what she can do - and what she can't. Since her boss booted her up to beat cop from mechanic, she's been trying to be as normal as possible, which works until she happens upon a dead body in the girls locker room at her gym. Trying to discover what happened to the young woman, she stumbles into a major plan. Not having much by way of tutoring, Joanne relies on her cabbie buddy Gary to help her, as well as her own wits. Until Gary's help is taken out of the equation. Then Joanne realizes she's got to do something, fast. Admittedly, I enjoyed Urban Shaman a lot more, as well as the short story (Banshee Cries) that supposedly took place in between that book and this one. But still a good read.

Walker gained enough power in the first book to black out Seattle. This book picks up a few months later and she's starting to realize some of the consequences of her previous actions. When the situation spirals out of control instead of thinking the situation out she throws more power into the mix and bullies her way through.

An 'OK' Sunday afternoon read.

Unlikely shaman Joann Walker, Gary, and the Seattle police force return in this second installment after Urban Shaman. Finally facing the facts that all of her magic useage has effected the weather patterns of Seattle, Joann has little idea what to do about it. She has steadfastly tried to turn her back on magic for months. But a near brush with death on the cosmic level and the disappearance of her spirit guide Coyote have lead her to realise she needs a teacher.

Complicating her lessons is the coven she's recently become involved with. She happened to discover one of their members freshly deceased and is taking her place in order to solve the murder. It seems the covens purposes coincide with her own as they plan to bring back a 3,000 year old spirit to right the wrongness in Seattle's weather. But is everything on the up & up?

The romantic tension ratchets up a little bit more in this book. But who will Joann end up embracing? Morrison, Thor the mechanic, or even fatherly but mischievious Gary?

Some of what turns out to be pertinent detail in this book is intruduced to us very vaguely and briefly (uhuhm...cough...the Thunderbird...)while the rest of it seems to drag a bit in the middle. And I found the sacrifice bit cliched and felt that every reader would probably see it coming. But it was an entertaining book and I'm still looking forward to Coyote's reappearance in Coyote Dreams, the next book in the Walker Papers.Why they've retitled the series the Walker Papers I can only guess. And that guess would be, to make it sound more like the Dresden Files, another extremely popular paranormal series, but what do I know?

C.E. Murphy has a gift of drawing the reader into her world and making the unbelievable seem believable. THUNDERBIRD FALLS is no exception as she once again weaves her magic.

Joanne Walker is a reluctant shaman. She didn't believe in the supernatural until events left her with no other choice (see URBAN SHAMAN). Now, as a beat cop, she discovers the dead body of Cassandra Tucker. Cassandra was part of a coven that hoped to bring Virissong back from the Lower World. The coven believes that Virissong's return will rebalance the world and stop the heat wave that is decimating the city's resources.

Joanne joins the coven but is distracted by the hospitalization of her cabbie friend, Gary, who has a heart attack. Her distraction prevents her from seeing that something is terribly wrong as she accidentally assists with releasing demonic spirits on Seattle. Will Joanne be able to stop the demons in time to save Seattle? And why has her spirit guide, Coyote, abandoned her?

Joanne Walker is the kind of person you can envision yourself hanging out with on a Saturday afternoon. She is down-to-earth and not afraid to question herself. She is a bit naive in regards to her shamanistic powers, but that is to be expected from someone who was a skeptic until recently. Her sense of humor keeps her from appearing arrogant and is what makes her character so realistic. It is also the strength of her character that makes this series so entertaining.

This story can be read as a stand alone novel. However, this reviewer highly recommends that readers first read URBAN SHAMAN or the novella in WINTER MOON to better understand Joanne's character and her relationship with Coyote. Readers new to the series may be a bit confused by the whole spirit world and Joanne's aptly named Dead Zone.

Overall, THUNDERBIRD FALLS is a powerful addition to the series and well worth reading. This reviewer looks forward to finding out where Coyote has gone and to seeing how C.E. Murphy further develops Joanne's interpersonal relationships with both Captain Morrision and Gary.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I enjoy reading and learning something from what I read.

The lessons Joanne learns in this book I already know so that is probably why I found it a bit of a let down.

The lessons were:

1) If you are going to undertake a potentially dangerous calling, whether it be as a shaman or an electrician, you had better take it serious.

2) Sacrifice is a part of life but you had better be sure what you are sacrificing and to whom you are sacrificing.

3) Surrender is a part of spiritual undertakings but again make sure whom you are surrending to.

4) Only demons desire pain or blood sacrifices.

Still the book was well written and worth reading. Hopefully the next one (due next year, groan) will be better.

I almost find it hard to believe that I just read the same book that the rest of these folks did. I would have given it no stars at all, if that had been an option.

Others have summarized the story, so I won't repeat, but I have to say the plot was one of the weakest I've seen since Laurell K. Hamilton made the transition to dark erotica, and the obviousness of the solution to the mystery was matched only by my wonder at the fact that I actually paid 15 bucks for this garbage....which I did largely because of the Amazon reviewers's raves. (Thanks, gang.)

As a woman, I object strongly to the classification of the main character as a "strong female lead." She is not strong, she is an emotionally stunted human being with all the poise and consideration of a surly teenager. In other words, she's thoughtless and annoying.

The author's use of a stream of consciousness method doesn't help, since the protagonist comes across as both a scatterbrained idiot and hopelessly dense. This might have been easier to bear if she hadn't been presented as a beat cop who'd been promoted because she was thought to be "promising."

To find a strong female lead, check out Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, or Lilith Saintcrow, to name a few. For sophisticated plots and just plain fabulous writing, Jim Butcher is your man.

But this book? Wow. If you're a thinking person who reads a lot, please don't waste your hard-earned money.

Siobhan Walkingstick is back and the world is gonna end if she doesn't get her shaman/cop but in gear. This book was great, just as good as the first...and with a whole new group of interesting and unique characters added to the already zany list. Please read it...well please read the first one Urban Shaman and then please read this.

Siobhan Walkingstick is back and the world is gonna end if she doesn't get her shaman/cop but in gear. This book was great, just as good as the first...and with a whole new group of interesting and unique characters added to the already zany list. Please read it...well please read the first one Urban Shaman and then please read this.

Willful ignorance is the only way I can describe the main character. It makes me angry to because I like everything about this character except how she deals with her own power. This novel falls into the same trap as so many others do. By making the main character too powerful the author had to balance it with having Joanne have no common sense. Make stupid choice after stupid choice just for plot development.

This book is the perfect example. After everything that happens in the first novel and novela the main character Joanne refuses to get training and learn to use her powers properly. I could even understand if she would turn her back on them and stop using them. But to have her see the consequences of her own actions with the heat wave think she can just magic it all away with 10 other random people she just meets? Doesnt she have any common sense to not do magic she knows nothing about? This whole books plot could have been avoided if she would have just stopped and did a little research before jumping into unknown rituals.