Greywalker
by Kat Richardson
Published by ROC
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Reviewed by Mayra Calvani
Combining an original premise, mystery elements, a knockout detective in a city setting, and fantastic creatures like ghosts and vampires, Greywalker makes an interesting addition to the rising urban fantasy genre.
After a serious assault, young Det. Harper Blaine is close to death--in fact, she was officially dead for two minutes. She wakes up to realize she has suffered some sort of transformation. She feels, hears and sees things that others can't. She soon learns she's now a greywalker, a person with the unusual 'gift' (or curse) of being able to experience both worlds at the same time: the real world of the living, and the parallel world of the dead.
Now, with one foot on each world, Harper works two cases at once. A rich woman hires her to find her son who mysteriously vanished. An eccentric man hires her to locate an antique organ, which seems to have dark powers. Between dealing with the criminals, handling her new preternatural nature, and talking with ghosts, Harper has her hands full.
Ultimately she must seek the help of her own supernatural enemies in order to destroy something that threatens both their worlds.
The author has a distinct style and beautiful prose. Her descriptions of "the Grey" are vivid and evocative, and she maintains a rather quick pace until the end.
It's a pity the protagonist is not more fully realized--more multidimensional. Who is Harper Blaine--what's her background, how did she become a detective? For this reason, I felt detached from her and her predicament. Towards the end, some of the plot twists don't ring true, as if the author had to quickly put all the pieces together. For instance, why Harper's strong concern for the well-being of the creatures inhabiting the Grey, and whether they blew to pieces?
The most interesting character is the vampire Edward, but we don't learn much about him until the end, even though he seems to be responsible--even if indirectly--for a major part of the plot.
Though the novel has both positive and negative qualities, the positive surpasses the negative. Fans of urban fiction who love detectives and vampires in the same setting will love Greywalker.
Armchair Interviews says: Good characters.