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Walker Papers #3
Coyote Dreams
Much of the city can't wake up. And more are dozing off each day. Instead of powerful forces storming Seattle, a more insidious invasion is happening. Most of Joanne Walker's fellow cops are down with the blue flu, or rather the blue sleep. Yet there's no physical cause anyone can point to, and it keeps spreading.
It has to be magical, Joanne figures. But what's up with the crazy dreams that hit her every time she closes her eyes? Are they being sent by Coyote, her still-missing spirit guide? The messages just aren't clear.
Somehow Joanne has to wake up her sleeping friends while protecting those still awake, figure out her inner-spirit dream life and, yeah, come to terms with those other dreams she's having about her boss. Wouldn't it be easier to just save the world?
©2007 C.E. Murphy; (P)2007 Audible, Inc.
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
It has to be magical, Joanne figures. But what's up with the crazy dreams that hit her every time she closes her eyes? Are they being sent by Coyote, her still-missing spirit guide? The messages just aren't clear.
Somehow Joanne has to wake up her sleeping friends while protecting those still awake, figure out her inner-spirit dream life and, yeah, come to terms with those other dreams she's having about her boss. Wouldn't it be easier to just save the world?
©2007 C.E. Murphy; (P)2007 Audible, Inc.
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Audible Audio
First published April 1, 2007
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About the author
C.E. Murphy
97 books1,795 followersCE Murphy began writing around age six, when she submitted three poems to a school publication. The teacher producing the magazine selected (inevitably) the one she thought was by far the worst, but also told her–a six year old kid–to keep writing, which she has. She has also held the usual grab-bag of jobs usually seen in an authorial biography, including public library volunteer (at ages 9 and 10; it’s clear she was doomed to a career involving books), archival assistant, cannery worker, and web designer. Writing books is better.
She was born and raised in Alaska, and now lives with her family in her ancestral homeland of Ireland.
She also writes paranormal romance as Murphy Lawless and cozy mysteries as Catie Murphy.
She was born and raised in Alaska, and now lives with her family in her ancestral homeland of Ireland.
She also writes paranormal romance as Murphy Lawless and cozy mysteries as Catie Murphy.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 262 reviews
February 6, 2013
In the words of Kate Daniels, too much woo-woo hand-waving, not enough fights.
Okay, maybe that was me.
Still, too much vague spirit-walking, which might have improved if Murphy took a page from Phillip K. Dick and dropped some acid while writing it.
But I'm jumping ahead. The basic premise begins with Joanne waking up in bed with The Ideal Guy (supportive, easy-going, polite, funny, able to cook delicious food for multiple people with no notice and an empty fridge, makes no demands on her except a second date). She vaguely remembers being extremely jealous of a gorgeous new woman hanging on Morrison's every word at a company picnic, and trying to drink her fellow mechanics under the table. Thankfully, she and Ideal Guy didn't actually get intimate, as Joanne recalls in one of those moments I would only confess to a Very Best Girl Friend and pretty much never my 75-year-old guy pal. In a frantic effort to distract the reader from the Very Obvious, Joanne's pulled away from her dealing with I.G. to deal with the unusual coma of good friend and department detective Billy Holliday. Off to the hospital!
Oops! She embarrasses herself by getting all up in the face of a doctor in Billy's room, defending the woo-woo ability that she won't even admit to. After a spirit walk, she decides to work on her car, falls asleep and has a dream/memory about being childhood. I.G. wakes her up when he arrives for her date, only to discover she's covered in grease. Luckily, her fencing teacher shows up to do a miraculous Transform Plain Girl into Hot Chick scene (cue Sandra Dee solo and every 80s movie ever) and they all go dancing (Clearly, it is very pressing to solve the disaster of the absentee police force).
It was a small but side encounter with Holliday's precocious kids that really annoyed me. After working to establish trust with Uptight Doctor, she offers to babysit Holliday's kids. Oops! After a quick heart-to-heart with one of them, she bails to go work, and calls on taxi-driver buddy Gary to pinch sit. What a terrible example of lack of ethics. And sloppy plotting to boot--I'm not sure it was necessary. It is bad enough Joanne has trouble taking responsibility for her spiritual development. You mean to tell me that as a police officer, she thinks first accepting responsibility for someone's children, then passing them off to her good friend is acceptable in any sense of the word? It was a small plot point but huge turn-off for me in terms of likeable (and consistent) character.
(If you can't tell, i've been listening to Jenny Lawson's memoir Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir which is filled with asides of asides, and the style has rather rubbed off on me).
Resuming. After abandoning the kids, she heads in to work and is ambushed by a reporter investigating the sudden absence of a quarter of the department. Not that that distracts OfficerThor Edward from admiring her during a quick stop at the station. (A development I viewed with a sinking spirit, as multiple love interests is one of my hallmarks of bad chick-lit. In case you're curious, one of the other defining characteristics is the need to describe outfits. Repeatedly.) Spirit walking ensues. One can only hope even personal growth. At least, I am.
I just cannot find redemption in the narrative style, essentially a jumbled mess of back-story (and I'm not just referring to the first few chapters), an altered time-line, multiple episodes of spirit walking and police work in modern Seattle. Murphy can't quite manage it. The narrative jumps into the spirit world were a few short sentences away from completely wasted text (if you don't believe me, check some of the ambivalent reviews where some people admitted skipping it entirely); they felt lacking in character development and mystery. It's rather sad--I wanted to like it. As a big fan of gardens, animals, trickster gods and vivid imagery, spirit walking with Coyote should be right up my ally. Alas.
The plotting is equally unfocused--Murphy can't decide if she is focusing on Joanne's spiritual development, saving the world or getting Joanne together with her twu luv (of the three or four choices presented for our scrutiny) and as such, tends to write a story unfulfilling for everyone.
I found the voice also inconsistent and a struggle. Joanne suffers from a tendency towards UF snark in real-life situations, particularly in the beginning. Must authors use first-person narration inconsistently? Hung-over heroines who can't even open their eyes and who genuinely appear to wake up thinking they are being beaten/killed are capable of thinking mocking or lustful thoughts? The snark disappears when she's in spirit land, which is disconcerting. Is that her style for dealing with challenge? Or not?
Overall, quite honestly, I find Coyote Dreams to be the worst of both worlds, the male protagonist UF-detective (MUF) and the female protagonist paranormal romance (FUF) (attributed to Carly, in her insightful analysis of Sookie #1 ). What makes it mildly redeeming is having a half-Native character with shaman skills, a type of magic system that is not overly prevalent in U.F. So I'll give the next book a try, based on the shaman focus (however vaguely done), the narrative hinting that Joann's finally developed self-acceptance, and Sharon's report that the series improves.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
Okay, maybe that was me.
Still, too much vague spirit-walking, which might have improved if Murphy took a page from Phillip K. Dick and dropped some acid while writing it.
But I'm jumping ahead. The basic premise begins with Joanne waking up in bed with The Ideal Guy (supportive, easy-going, polite, funny, able to cook delicious food for multiple people with no notice and an empty fridge, makes no demands on her except a second date). She vaguely remembers being extremely jealous of a gorgeous new woman hanging on Morrison's every word at a company picnic, and trying to drink her fellow mechanics under the table. Thankfully, she and Ideal Guy didn't actually get intimate, as Joanne recalls in one of those moments I would only confess to a Very Best Girl Friend and pretty much never my 75-year-old guy pal. In a frantic effort to distract the reader from the Very Obvious, Joanne's pulled away from her dealing with I.G. to deal with the unusual coma of good friend and department detective Billy Holliday. Off to the hospital!
Oops! She embarrasses herself by getting all up in the face of a doctor in Billy's room, defending the woo-woo ability that she won't even admit to. After a spirit walk, she decides to work on her car, falls asleep and has a dream/memory about being childhood. I.G. wakes her up when he arrives for her date, only to discover she's covered in grease. Luckily, her fencing teacher shows up to do a miraculous Transform Plain Girl into Hot Chick scene (cue Sandra Dee solo and every 80s movie ever) and they all go dancing (Clearly, it is very pressing to solve the disaster of the absentee police force).
It was a small but side encounter with Holliday's precocious kids that really annoyed me. After working to establish trust with Uptight Doctor, she offers to babysit Holliday's kids. Oops! After a quick heart-to-heart with one of them, she bails to go work, and calls on taxi-driver buddy Gary to pinch sit. What a terrible example of lack of ethics. And sloppy plotting to boot--I'm not sure it was necessary. It is bad enough Joanne has trouble taking responsibility for her spiritual development. You mean to tell me that as a police officer, she thinks first accepting responsibility for someone's children, then passing them off to her good friend is acceptable in any sense of the word? It was a small plot point but huge turn-off for me in terms of likeable (and consistent) character.
(If you can't tell, i've been listening to Jenny Lawson's memoir Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir which is filled with asides of asides, and the style has rather rubbed off on me).
Resuming. After abandoning the kids, she heads in to work and is ambushed by a reporter investigating the sudden absence of a quarter of the department. Not that that distracts Officer
I just cannot find redemption in the narrative style, essentially a jumbled mess of back-story (and I'm not just referring to the first few chapters), an altered time-line, multiple episodes of spirit walking and police work in modern Seattle. Murphy can't quite manage it. The narrative jumps into the spirit world were a few short sentences away from completely wasted text (if you don't believe me, check some of the ambivalent reviews where some people admitted skipping it entirely); they felt lacking in character development and mystery. It's rather sad--I wanted to like it. As a big fan of gardens, animals, trickster gods and vivid imagery, spirit walking with Coyote should be right up my ally. Alas.
The plotting is equally unfocused--Murphy can't decide if she is focusing on Joanne's spiritual development, saving the world or getting Joanne together with her twu luv (of the three or four choices presented for our scrutiny) and as such, tends to write a story unfulfilling for everyone.
I found the voice also inconsistent and a struggle. Joanne suffers from a tendency towards UF snark in real-life situations, particularly in the beginning. Must authors use first-person narration inconsistently? Hung-over heroines who can't even open their eyes and who genuinely appear to wake up thinking they are being beaten/killed are capable of thinking mocking or lustful thoughts? The snark disappears when she's in spirit land, which is disconcerting. Is that her style for dealing with challenge? Or not?
Overall, quite honestly, I find Coyote Dreams to be the worst of both worlds, the male protagonist UF-detective (MUF) and the female protagonist paranormal romance (FUF) (attributed to Carly, in her insightful analysis of Sookie #1 ). What makes it mildly redeeming is having a half-Native character with shaman skills, a type of magic system that is not overly prevalent in U.F. So I'll give the next book a try, based on the shaman focus (however vaguely done), the narrative hinting that Joann's finally developed self-acceptance, and Sharon's report that the series improves.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
January 29, 2018
3.5 I like this chick!
March 13, 2011
Coyote Dreams, the third book of the Walker Papers, is a solid story with a tighter and better-paced plot than the previous book in the series, Thunderbird Falls. It's far more cohesive and I think it's the best of the first three books.
Without a doubt, C.E. Murphy's greatest strength in this series in particular is fantastic character development. I may not always like Joanne Walker (Siobhan Walkingstick) or the choices she makes, but I still love her as a character. She's so delightfully human, flawed and sometimes petty, petulant, and frustrating. She's also got one of the most amusing internal monologues I've ever read and her sarcastic and biting wit drives the action of the plot. The first person narrative is a perfect vehicle for her character.
Supported by the familiar and spectacular secondary characters - her boss Captain Michael Morrison and her pseudo-paternal influence and robust septuagenarian cab diver Gary in particular - Murphy's Coyote Dreams shines brightest during the continuing development of those interpersonal relationships. And some of my favorite reading ever are any scenes between Joanne and Morrison. Murphy has been absolutely brilliant during every single step of their tense and reluctant relationship.
I believe that the three books, Urban Shaman, Thunderbird Falls, and Coyote Dreams would've been complete as a trilogy - there was satisfying arc of character development and a plot theme that came full circle. That being said, I'm thrilled that the Walker Papers has been continued, and look forward to book four, Walking Dead.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
Without a doubt, C.E. Murphy's greatest strength in this series in particular is fantastic character development. I may not always like Joanne Walker (Siobhan Walkingstick) or the choices she makes, but I still love her as a character. She's so delightfully human, flawed and sometimes petty, petulant, and frustrating. She's also got one of the most amusing internal monologues I've ever read and her sarcastic and biting wit drives the action of the plot. The first person narrative is a perfect vehicle for her character.
Supported by the familiar and spectacular secondary characters - her boss Captain Michael Morrison and her pseudo-paternal influence and robust septuagenarian cab diver Gary in particular - Murphy's Coyote Dreams shines brightest during the continuing development of those interpersonal relationships. And some of my favorite reading ever are any scenes between Joanne and Morrison. Murphy has been absolutely brilliant during every single step of their tense and reluctant relationship.
I believe that the three books, Urban Shaman, Thunderbird Falls, and Coyote Dreams would've been complete as a trilogy - there was satisfying arc of character development and a plot theme that came full circle. That being said, I'm thrilled that the Walker Papers has been continued, and look forward to book four, Walking Dead.
~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.
August 8, 2009
Dammit, Gary! Do you have to make me cry in every book?!
Coyote Dreams is incredibly successful in one particular area: Murphy makes me care about these crazy characters. Whatever the flaws in the series, I enjoy visiting with this reluctant shaman and her loony but endearing circle of friends.
I didn't love Thunderbird Falls, but with Coyote Dreams, Murphy seems back on track, bringing back the whimsy and emotion that characterized the first book.
And with a tighter storyline and more concise writing, Coyote Dreams is a page-turner. It was compelling enough to keep me up all night reading, anxious to discover who'd succumb to the sleep-state next.
Coyote Dreams also has more fluid magic descriptions than the previous books. Still not completely clear, but certainly improved.
The problems? Joanne still hasn't fully come to terms with her position, and comes across as a bit whiny at times. By the end though, her outlook is changing. I think the next book will find her more at peace with her situation.
Once again, the villain is too damn obvious from the beginning. Clues are fine. Blatant flashing signs that the heroine doesn't instantly cop on to are infuriating. Be a little more subtle, Murphy.
More references to the short story that most of us haven't read and can't seem to easily find. Stop taunting us with info we don't have, lady.
Finally, I was disappointed in the choice Joanne makes at the end of the book. It left me saddened to think she'd closed the door on something important, and I can only hope Murphy finds a way to open it again.
Overall, I love the characters, the story was nicely paced, and I found plenty of reasons to laugh out loud and even one or two to start sniffling. Despite my frustrations, I'm definitely interested in picking up the next book and continuing my crushes on a 73-year old cabbie, an irascible super hero police captain, and a mechanic dubbed Thor.
Coyote Dreams is incredibly successful in one particular area: Murphy makes me care about these crazy characters. Whatever the flaws in the series, I enjoy visiting with this reluctant shaman and her loony but endearing circle of friends.
I didn't love Thunderbird Falls, but with Coyote Dreams, Murphy seems back on track, bringing back the whimsy and emotion that characterized the first book.
And with a tighter storyline and more concise writing, Coyote Dreams is a page-turner. It was compelling enough to keep me up all night reading, anxious to discover who'd succumb to the sleep-state next.
Coyote Dreams also has more fluid magic descriptions than the previous books. Still not completely clear, but certainly improved.
The problems? Joanne still hasn't fully come to terms with her position, and comes across as a bit whiny at times. By the end though, her outlook is changing. I think the next book will find her more at peace with her situation.
Once again, the villain is too damn obvious from the beginning. Clues are fine. Blatant flashing signs that the heroine doesn't instantly cop on to are infuriating. Be a little more subtle, Murphy.
More references to the short story that most of us haven't read and can't seem to easily find. Stop taunting us with info we don't have, lady.
Finally, I was disappointed in the choice Joanne makes at the end of the book. It left me saddened to think she'd closed the door on something important, and I can only hope Murphy finds a way to open it again.
Overall, I love the characters, the story was nicely paced, and I found plenty of reasons to laugh out loud and even one or two to start sniffling. Despite my frustrations, I'm definitely interested in picking up the next book and continuing my crushes on a 73-year old cabbie, an irascible super hero police captain, and a mechanic dubbed Thor.
January 17, 2012
I have never in my life ended a book more furious. I had steam coming out of my ears and ranted around the house for at least 2 hours.
Add the stuff I mentioned in the spoiler and the shamanistic dream stuff that just went on and on and didn't advance the plot and I'm done with this series.
Add the stuff I mentioned in the spoiler and the shamanistic dream stuff that just went on and on and didn't advance the plot and I'm done with this series.
August 17, 2011
Much, much better than the previous book. In fact, I would have enjoyed it a lot more if the second book didn't even exist. With some minor tweaks, this should have been the second book. It's still far from perfect, or even from very good, but I have to give it extra credit for turning around my opinion of the series. If it stays on this path, it has enough potential to be good.
Unfortunately, the second book did exist and now I'll always be a little on the fence about what might happen. It's not easy to get excited about what's coming when you don't trust in the author. Since I already have the next in the series, though, I might as well keep going.
Unfortunately, the second book did exist and now I'll always be a little on the fence about what might happen. It's not easy to get excited about what's coming when you don't trust in the author. Since I already have the next in the series, though, I might as well keep going.
April 12, 2018
C E Murphy does it again!! How I love this series xx
June 10, 2018
Another 3 1/2,
I've been in the good but not very good category for a while. This could have been very good but I was disappointed in the TSTL moments, not getting the baddie, and how one of the relationships ended. , After finishing and thinking, I still feel like I cannot bump it up though it was pretty good, just not very good.
30%- This started really well. We are constantly wondering who Mark is, who is his sister really. I'm not sure if the dreams are making it so she doesn't question it enough.
55%- Still really good but a little too much dream scaping that leads to not understanding the problem but more of Joane's life.
82%- TSTL argh and she is an awful fighter, yet a police officer? This might be a little too psychedelic for me.
I've been in the good but not very good category for a while. This could have been very good but I was disappointed in the TSTL moments, not getting the baddie, and how one of the relationships ended. , After finishing and thinking, I still feel like I cannot bump it up though it was pretty good, just not very good.
30%- This started really well. We are constantly wondering who Mark is, who is his sister really. I'm not sure if the dreams are making it so she doesn't question it enough.
55%- Still really good but a little too much dream scaping that leads to not understanding the problem but more of Joane's life.
82%- TSTL argh and she is an awful fighter, yet a police officer? This might be a little too psychedelic for me.
March 20, 2019
I love the writing and adore most of the characters but the story drove me out of my mind. Murphy has a pretty open field with the Shaman gig. She doesn't need to belabor every single aspect of shamanism.
And yet she does.
At length, ad nauseam.
Till I desperately skimmed to get to an interesting part.
(Which happened a lot)
So much time is spend trying to describe the esoteric the actual story suffered. Maybe I'd feel different if I'd read this ten years ago. I Loved urban Shaman the first time I read it. But now I just want Joanne to find her feet without hundreds of unnecessary pages.
And yet she does.
At length, ad nauseam.
Till I desperately skimmed to get to an interesting part.
(Which happened a lot)
So much time is spend trying to describe the esoteric the actual story suffered. Maybe I'd feel different if I'd read this ten years ago. I Loved urban Shaman the first time I read it. But now I just want Joanne to find her feet without hundreds of unnecessary pages.
May 15, 2009
“You take what you can get.” That is what Joanne Walker tells herself towards the end of a mind-numbing journey, and it encapsulates her essence.
Joanne is a half Irish, half Cherokee officer for the Seattle Police Department. As detailed in the two previous books in the series, she started out as a garage mechanic for the department. In her spare time she still loves working on her vintage Mustang. She recently came into her power as a Shaman whose visions allow her to fight demons and spirits, along with the help of her spirit guide, Coyote, who protects her and gives her guidance.
Things don’t start out too well for Joanne in Coyote Dreams. She wakes up hung over after imbibing too much at the Fourth of July picnic. She can hardly remember how she got home, let alone how she found herself in bed with an anonymous man. Before she can kick out her one-night stand (which we soon find out isn’t what it seems to be), her boss comes to call. A confrontation with your boss while hung over and with an apparent one-night stand hanging around isn't bad enough, Joanne has a major crush on Captain Mike Morrison. He's the reason she got drunk in the first place; she was jealous of the attention he gave to another woman at the picnic. Morrison is at constant odds with Joanne and treats her rather rudely. In fact, he appears not to like her at all, when in actuality I suspect he felt a grudging, perhaps underlying attraction to Joanne that will probably be investigated as the series continues. His visit isn't a social call - he needs her help because one of his best detectives has fallen into some sort of coma and is in a deep sleep. Morrison previously witnessed the supernatural side of Joanne and believes that's what he's dealing with.
As Joanne tries to find out what causes this sleeping sickness, more people fall asleep. She also must contend with a pesky reporter following her every move, those constant overpowering visions that come without any warning, and the loss of Coyote - who may have been killed by the evil god. At one point I thought Joanne would have a mental breakdown from all the responsibility she put on herself. She has this habit of beating herself up mentally and emotionally along with undergoing these vision and dreams that could kill her, and things aren't helped when she realizes that it is as a result of her past journeys into the spirit world that she awakened from a dark sleep a god who has been stealing the life source from people's souls. Joanne is tough on herself because of her past and is afraid of her feelings for others, including what she feels for Morrison. When he too succumbs to a coma, she realizes her crush is more than that and must confront it.
Joanne may have an incredible gift, but she continually sells herself short. She believes that whatever she does is always wrong and doesn't give herself the benefit of the doubt, which in the long run does more damage than good. But she is a survivor who comes out a bit stronger as a result of this particular trial by fire.
The story is believably told in the first person; I recommend it even for those who don't enjoy that point of view. Joanne's inner thoughts about herself and the powers thrust upon her enthralled me. She continually questions herself, but not out of self-pity; she does it so that she won't repeat past mistakes. On the other hand, the overall action occasionally disappointed me because everything is shown in Joanne’s mind. She doesn’t use guns or knives to defeat her enemy. She uses her wits and her powers as she walks through the murky landscapes of people’s souls and dreams. Those moments required speed-reading to get through. I wanted to see more interactions with her good friend Gary, along with Mark, the bedmate she woke up to who wants to work on a relationship with her. And of course there is that enigma of Morrison. Because of the point of view, we don’t know what he really thinks of Joanne. Their un-romance develops in a subtle and intriguing fashion and I'd like to read future books to see how the relationship progresses.
Because this is the third book in this on-going series, there were some situations and past events I had no clue about. But because I liked the book, I soldiered on, even if I was put off at times by Joanne's constant zoning in and out of those dream-like worlds she visits. The surrealism and hidden context confused me. And yet there are so many interesting characters and sections of fascinating reading that I rooted for Joanne and hoped that she would come to the conclusion that she does have something special to offer the world around her. C.E. Murphy has written a marvelous character in that of Joanne Walker. Her individuality and inner angst are poignantly done in this urban fantasy series.
Joanne is a half Irish, half Cherokee officer for the Seattle Police Department. As detailed in the two previous books in the series, she started out as a garage mechanic for the department. In her spare time she still loves working on her vintage Mustang. She recently came into her power as a Shaman whose visions allow her to fight demons and spirits, along with the help of her spirit guide, Coyote, who protects her and gives her guidance.
Things don’t start out too well for Joanne in Coyote Dreams. She wakes up hung over after imbibing too much at the Fourth of July picnic. She can hardly remember how she got home, let alone how she found herself in bed with an anonymous man. Before she can kick out her one-night stand (which we soon find out isn’t what it seems to be), her boss comes to call. A confrontation with your boss while hung over and with an apparent one-night stand hanging around isn't bad enough, Joanne has a major crush on Captain Mike Morrison. He's the reason she got drunk in the first place; she was jealous of the attention he gave to another woman at the picnic. Morrison is at constant odds with Joanne and treats her rather rudely. In fact, he appears not to like her at all, when in actuality I suspect he felt a grudging, perhaps underlying attraction to Joanne that will probably be investigated as the series continues. His visit isn't a social call - he needs her help because one of his best detectives has fallen into some sort of coma and is in a deep sleep. Morrison previously witnessed the supernatural side of Joanne and believes that's what he's dealing with.
As Joanne tries to find out what causes this sleeping sickness, more people fall asleep. She also must contend with a pesky reporter following her every move, those constant overpowering visions that come without any warning, and the loss of Coyote - who may have been killed by the evil god. At one point I thought Joanne would have a mental breakdown from all the responsibility she put on herself. She has this habit of beating herself up mentally and emotionally along with undergoing these vision and dreams that could kill her, and things aren't helped when she realizes that it is as a result of her past journeys into the spirit world that she awakened from a dark sleep a god who has been stealing the life source from people's souls. Joanne is tough on herself because of her past and is afraid of her feelings for others, including what she feels for Morrison. When he too succumbs to a coma, she realizes her crush is more than that and must confront it.
Joanne may have an incredible gift, but she continually sells herself short. She believes that whatever she does is always wrong and doesn't give herself the benefit of the doubt, which in the long run does more damage than good. But she is a survivor who comes out a bit stronger as a result of this particular trial by fire.
The story is believably told in the first person; I recommend it even for those who don't enjoy that point of view. Joanne's inner thoughts about herself and the powers thrust upon her enthralled me. She continually questions herself, but not out of self-pity; she does it so that she won't repeat past mistakes. On the other hand, the overall action occasionally disappointed me because everything is shown in Joanne’s mind. She doesn’t use guns or knives to defeat her enemy. She uses her wits and her powers as she walks through the murky landscapes of people’s souls and dreams. Those moments required speed-reading to get through. I wanted to see more interactions with her good friend Gary, along with Mark, the bedmate she woke up to who wants to work on a relationship with her. And of course there is that enigma of Morrison. Because of the point of view, we don’t know what he really thinks of Joanne. Their un-romance develops in a subtle and intriguing fashion and I'd like to read future books to see how the relationship progresses.
Because this is the third book in this on-going series, there were some situations and past events I had no clue about. But because I liked the book, I soldiered on, even if I was put off at times by Joanne's constant zoning in and out of those dream-like worlds she visits. The surrealism and hidden context confused me. And yet there are so many interesting characters and sections of fascinating reading that I rooted for Joanne and hoped that she would come to the conclusion that she does have something special to offer the world around her. C.E. Murphy has written a marvelous character in that of Joanne Walker. Her individuality and inner angst are poignantly done in this urban fantasy series.
February 12, 2015
***3.5***
I'm not liking this series as much as I want to.
The stories are good, for the most part. But there are a couple critical problems that are really keeping me from being as invested as I feel like I could be in the characters.
I don't have a lot of tolerance for heroes that, three books in, are still denying reality. Frankly, I was over this in book 2. For her to still struggle with being a skeptic, at this point, makes her seem ridiculous. She's seen so much extraordinary, clearly supernatural, stuff that it is just unbelievable. As in, I don't believe it. And so it feels forced and unnatural, just to create friction. In other words: bullshit.
For the record, this is equally true of Morrison, but I'll get to that later.
Joanne is REALLY slow on the uptake. The universe seems to send her flashing neon signs when something is wrong, and she doesn't get it. I think the reader understands what is going on, in both book 2 and book 3, about 150 pages before Joanne does. It makes for an incredibly frustrating read. One I kept putting down, out of irritation.
Joanne has a ridiculous martyr complex. I know this is a UF trend, but it is one that I consistently hate. It's fine - it's good - for the hero to take responsibility for stuff they fucked up. It's practically required for them to show compassion and help fix things they didn't fuck up. That's pretty much the definition of heroism. But Joanne puts everything on herself. To me, this is most unforgivable when it comes to the events of book 2. And she's still flogging herself about those things. Are you fucking kidding me? Yes, Joanne was slow on the uptake, but you know what? She was faster on the uptake than the entire fucking coven of people that manipulated her into a situation she didn't understand, and forced her to do ludicrous things without explanation. Yes, she takes a hit for setting her own judgment aside, but the vast, vast, vast majority of the responsibility for that situation is on them. They never once even explained a working to her before they just expected her to do shit. It was so unethical that I frankly pretty much hated book 2, and the entire group of secondary characters introduced in that book.
Taking responsibility for the actions of everyone around you is not only idiotic, it is unbelievably arrogant. Are you a god now, Joanne? Do you have omniscient control over everyone and all the shitty decisions they make? No? Well then shut the fuck up about how all of this is your fault, already. Own up to what you did do, and let the rest of it go.
I don't like Morrison. Like, at all. At. All. The way he treats her is so incredibly douchebaggy that it flabbergasts me. Also led to massive frustration, and me walking away from the book several times. He doesn't get to treat her abilities like a foul, unclean curse, and then show up at her house demanding she drop everything and do them. He doesn't act like a boss, he acts like an OWNER. A slave owner. And he can fuck right off. I seriously, seriously, dislike him. Even worse is that, while ordering her to handle whatever mysterious shit is going on, he then disregards all of her input on it. You can't have it both ways, fucktard. She's either handling it - in which case quit fucking around and pay attention to what she says - or she's not, and you can fucking come up with the solution yourself.
I'm hoping that the way this book ends means that he's out. Permanently. And we don't have to deal with him and his emotional, manipulative, asinine bullshit anymore.
I'm not sure why I'm even interested in reading onward, as, again, I'm not as onboard with these books as I'd like to be. I guess it's because I do like the bones of the story, and I'd like to see how it plays. I just don't know how much more I can do if the characters don't stop being so ridiculous.
Maybe we could just drop everyone else, and do a story about Gary, Billy and Mel. I'd be so down for that.
I'm not liking this series as much as I want to.
The stories are good, for the most part. But there are a couple critical problems that are really keeping me from being as invested as I feel like I could be in the characters.
I don't have a lot of tolerance for heroes that, three books in, are still denying reality. Frankly, I was over this in book 2. For her to still struggle with being a skeptic, at this point, makes her seem ridiculous. She's seen so much extraordinary, clearly supernatural, stuff that it is just unbelievable. As in, I don't believe it. And so it feels forced and unnatural, just to create friction. In other words: bullshit.
For the record, this is equally true of Morrison, but I'll get to that later.
Joanne is REALLY slow on the uptake. The universe seems to send her flashing neon signs when something is wrong, and she doesn't get it. I think the reader understands what is going on, in both book 2 and book 3, about 150 pages before Joanne does. It makes for an incredibly frustrating read. One I kept putting down, out of irritation.
Joanne has a ridiculous martyr complex. I know this is a UF trend, but it is one that I consistently hate. It's fine - it's good - for the hero to take responsibility for stuff they fucked up. It's practically required for them to show compassion and help fix things they didn't fuck up. That's pretty much the definition of heroism. But Joanne puts everything on herself. To me, this is most unforgivable when it comes to the events of book 2. And she's still flogging herself about those things. Are you fucking kidding me? Yes, Joanne was slow on the uptake, but you know what? She was faster on the uptake than the entire fucking coven of people that manipulated her into a situation she didn't understand, and forced her to do ludicrous things without explanation. Yes, she takes a hit for setting her own judgment aside, but the vast, vast, vast majority of the responsibility for that situation is on them. They never once even explained a working to her before they just expected her to do shit. It was so unethical that I frankly pretty much hated book 2, and the entire group of secondary characters introduced in that book.
Taking responsibility for the actions of everyone around you is not only idiotic, it is unbelievably arrogant. Are you a god now, Joanne? Do you have omniscient control over everyone and all the shitty decisions they make? No? Well then shut the fuck up about how all of this is your fault, already. Own up to what you did do, and let the rest of it go.
I don't like Morrison. Like, at all. At. All. The way he treats her is so incredibly douchebaggy that it flabbergasts me. Also led to massive frustration, and me walking away from the book several times. He doesn't get to treat her abilities like a foul, unclean curse, and then show up at her house demanding she drop everything and do them. He doesn't act like a boss, he acts like an OWNER. A slave owner. And he can fuck right off. I seriously, seriously, dislike him. Even worse is that, while ordering her to handle whatever mysterious shit is going on, he then disregards all of her input on it. You can't have it both ways, fucktard. She's either handling it - in which case quit fucking around and pay attention to what she says - or she's not, and you can fucking come up with the solution yourself.
I'm hoping that the way this book ends means that he's out. Permanently. And we don't have to deal with him and his emotional, manipulative, asinine bullshit anymore.
I'm not sure why I'm even interested in reading onward, as, again, I'm not as onboard with these books as I'd like to be. I guess it's because I do like the bones of the story, and I'd like to see how it plays. I just don't know how much more I can do if the characters don't stop being so ridiculous.
Maybe we could just drop everyone else, and do a story about Gary, Billy and Mel. I'd be so down for that.
January 30, 2012
You know how sometimes you take a test, and it's a breeze, and other times, you feel like you are slogging through it? When the results come back, both are A's, but for the first grade, you sailed effortlessly to it, while you had to work like mad for the second A? Well, this book is like the second paper - it had to work like mad for the four star rating.
I am very pleasantly surprised by this book. I've complained that in the previous books, Joanne's attitude was off-putting and she acted like a dimwit (been using that word quite often lately :/).
All of that changed in this book. This time around, we get Joanne the person - a hurt, broken person trying to finally acknowledge her mistakes, and her gift that has been thrust upon her, so that she can right some of the wrongs she has created, and actually use her gifts for the purpose for which they were meant.
The real Joanne, not the smart-alecky, annoying one we've been seeing the past books, is such a fun person to hang around. Her thoughts are interesting, and as I reader, I want to know more about her and the way she sees the world. I am interested and invested in her relationships, her life, her work. I want her to heal; I want her to be okay. (I wanted to smack the other Joanne). It was such a pleasure meeting the proper Joan in this book. Having our heroine be a better person made this book so much more of a joy to read than the previous two.
But I said this book had to work for it's four star rating...because there were still remnants of the dimwit Joanne, and I felt that didn't fit into the grand scheme of things. For example: Joanne has decided to stop putting her head in the sand. HOW then does she fail to notice that weird things are happening as soon as two new people enter her life? This wouldn't be too much of an issue if the previous disaster hadn't begun with weird things happening right after a new bunch of people were trying to enter her life. How can you miss the resemblance/significance? I noticed this right away and had drawn my conclusions. It took reading about 40% more of the book for Joanne to make this conclusion. I don't understand how this is possible, especially for someone who is actively trying to notice and connect the dots she'd refused to connect before? It was staring her right in the face. Of course if she had, we would have lost a lot of the story, but it might have made the book that much tighter.
Anyway - they say third time strikes the charm, and in the case of this series, they were so right, hehe! I am going to continue this series with much more enthusiasm about the characters and the incidents now :D
I am very pleasantly surprised by this book. I've complained that in the previous books, Joanne's attitude was off-putting and she acted like a dimwit (been using that word quite often lately :/).
All of that changed in this book. This time around, we get Joanne the person - a hurt, broken person trying to finally acknowledge her mistakes, and her gift that has been thrust upon her, so that she can right some of the wrongs she has created, and actually use her gifts for the purpose for which they were meant.
The real Joanne, not the smart-alecky, annoying one we've been seeing the past books, is such a fun person to hang around. Her thoughts are interesting, and as I reader, I want to know more about her and the way she sees the world. I am interested and invested in her relationships, her life, her work. I want her to heal; I want her to be okay. (I wanted to smack the other Joanne). It was such a pleasure meeting the proper Joan in this book. Having our heroine be a better person made this book so much more of a joy to read than the previous two.
But I said this book had to work for it's four star rating...because there were still remnants of the dimwit Joanne, and I felt that didn't fit into the grand scheme of things. For example: Joanne has decided to stop putting her head in the sand. HOW then does she fail to notice that weird things are happening as soon as two new people enter her life? This wouldn't be too much of an issue if the previous disaster hadn't begun with weird things happening right after a new bunch of people were trying to enter her life. How can you miss the resemblance/significance? I noticed this right away and had drawn my conclusions. It took reading about 40% more of the book for Joanne to make this conclusion. I don't understand how this is possible, especially for someone who is actively trying to notice and connect the dots she'd refused to connect before? It was staring her right in the face. Of course if she had, we would have lost a lot of the story, but it might have made the book that much tighter.
Anyway - they say third time strikes the charm, and in the case of this series, they were so right, hehe! I am going to continue this series with much more enthusiasm about the characters and the incidents now :D
September 18, 2010
Joanne finally realizes her feelings for Morrison in this book, just in time for Morrison to have started dating someone else, a cute little thing. So what does she do? She jumps off a cliff and into another man's arms, specifically, the cute little thing's brother. Yes, he is quite scrumptious, but he just isn't Morrision. Later on in the book Joanne is positively green with jealously and proceeds to make an absolute fool out of herself. What is even more astonishing is that she eventually admits everything, and I mean everything, to Morrision, but you will just have to read the book to see how all that goes over.
Ahh, Gary. What can I say. He is everything she needs to support her. His utter devotion to her brought tears to my eyes at several points. Everyone else in the books seem to think their relationship is sexual, but that isn't it at all. Its more of a fatherly, best friend's, brotherly love. She wouldn't have survived this long at all without him, and the following excerpt really shows this:
Gary says: "You think I'm one of the bad guys, Jo?
Every vestige of good cheer drained out of me like somebody'd opened a valve, complete misery rising to take its place. My throat went tight and my eyes sting with tears, color heating my cheeks even as my stomach twisted and my hands turned icy.
"If you are I'm throwing the towel in now, because I just couldn't handle that."
I just think that really sums up just how important Gary has become to her, and I couldn't help putting it in here.
This series has gotten back on track in my opinion. After dragging her feet in the mud for so long, Joanne is finally stepping up to the plate to accept her responsibilities. She's always going to have some doubt since that is her nature, but as of now she isn't going to let it hold her back anymore. Its going to be a long journey into learning how to properly use her powers and I think there still will reprecussions from her magical overload back in the first book. However, this book really showed a turning point in her attitude. She admitted a lot of hard truths to both herself as well as Gary and Morrison. I think just being honest with herself and others will go a long way towards healing her. I cannot wait to see the fallout in the next book!
On a quick side note, I just have to say how much I love this cover. The colors are great and Joanne looks so sensual, something we hadn't seen from her before this book. It really works with the changes that are going on with her. I love when a cover really fits the book.
Ahh, Gary. What can I say. He is everything she needs to support her. His utter devotion to her brought tears to my eyes at several points. Everyone else in the books seem to think their relationship is sexual, but that isn't it at all. Its more of a fatherly, best friend's, brotherly love. She wouldn't have survived this long at all without him, and the following excerpt really shows this:
Gary says: "You think I'm one of the bad guys, Jo?
Every vestige of good cheer drained out of me like somebody'd opened a valve, complete misery rising to take its place. My throat went tight and my eyes sting with tears, color heating my cheeks even as my stomach twisted and my hands turned icy.
"If you are I'm throwing the towel in now, because I just couldn't handle that."
I just think that really sums up just how important Gary has become to her, and I couldn't help putting it in here.
This series has gotten back on track in my opinion. After dragging her feet in the mud for so long, Joanne is finally stepping up to the plate to accept her responsibilities. She's always going to have some doubt since that is her nature, but as of now she isn't going to let it hold her back anymore. Its going to be a long journey into learning how to properly use her powers and I think there still will reprecussions from her magical overload back in the first book. However, this book really showed a turning point in her attitude. She admitted a lot of hard truths to both herself as well as Gary and Morrison. I think just being honest with herself and others will go a long way towards healing her. I cannot wait to see the fallout in the next book!
On a quick side note, I just have to say how much I love this cover. The colors are great and Joanne looks so sensual, something we hadn't seen from her before this book. It really works with the changes that are going on with her. I love when a cover really fits the book.
May 24, 2018
Book 3 of the series and I'm hooked. It was a slow start for me with the first one, dragging a bit with the technical details, but I kept on because I really liked the characters, and the world and magic lore seemed interesting. Book 2 was vastly better plot-wise, but still had some hiccups. This book was great. I couldn't put it down. And now I'll tell you why.
Character growth: Our Joanie finally grows up a bit, and just in time. I was starting to get impatient with her moaning and groaning about magic and such--and I'm guessing it will continue some more, albeit to a lesser degree--but at least she recognizes it's a problem. We also finally get some much needed backstory on her that gives us some insight into her character. Oh, and her backup? Gary, Billy, Coyote, Morrison, Phoebe, even Thor--they're all great, and getting better every book.
Magic: Joanne's shaman magic is cool. I love when she has her visions, love when she gets glimpses into the past, present and future, and am loving learning about it along with her. I was worried this series was going to be too close to Mercy Thompson or Jane Yellowrock: Mercy because Coyote visits her and she's in the Pacific Northwest--oh, and she's a mechanic; Jane because she's Cherokee, a snarky, socially inept loner without much of a past, and because I knew they did a crossover novella together at some point. But it's not. Joanne is nothing like Mercy or Jane, and her magic is not even close to theirs. It's unique and fun, and I can't wait to learn more about it.
Plot: I loved the premise behind this book. Right from the start. It was like this whole Sleeping Beauty, dreamwalker type of thing, and you never knew who was going to get taken out next. The plots for book 1 and 2 got sort of murky, a little confusing, and I found myself not really caring what the outcome was. The plot in this book had me hooked right from the start, and even when I thought I had it all figured out, I was still on the edge of my seat to find out if I was right (I was only partially right).
Relationships: I can't believe where things were ended here. That's all. *runs off to read book 4, Walking Dead*
Character growth: Our Joanie finally grows up a bit, and just in time. I was starting to get impatient with her moaning and groaning about magic and such--and I'm guessing it will continue some more, albeit to a lesser degree--but at least she recognizes it's a problem. We also finally get some much needed backstory on her that gives us some insight into her character. Oh, and her backup? Gary, Billy, Coyote, Morrison, Phoebe, even Thor--they're all great, and getting better every book.
Magic: Joanne's shaman magic is cool. I love when she has her visions, love when she gets glimpses into the past, present and future, and am loving learning about it along with her. I was worried this series was going to be too close to Mercy Thompson or Jane Yellowrock: Mercy because Coyote visits her and she's in the Pacific Northwest--oh, and she's a mechanic; Jane because she's Cherokee, a snarky, socially inept loner without much of a past, and because I knew they did a crossover novella together at some point. But it's not. Joanne is nothing like Mercy or Jane, and her magic is not even close to theirs. It's unique and fun, and I can't wait to learn more about it.
Plot: I loved the premise behind this book. Right from the start. It was like this whole Sleeping Beauty, dreamwalker type of thing, and you never knew who was going to get taken out next. The plots for book 1 and 2 got sort of murky, a little confusing, and I found myself not really caring what the outcome was. The plot in this book had me hooked right from the start, and even when I thought I had it all figured out, I was still on the edge of my seat to find out if I was right (I was only partially right).
Relationships: I can't believe where things were ended here. That's all. *runs off to read book 4, Walking Dead*
February 16, 2012
I'm listening to the audiobook and also have the paperback.
I just finished Thunderbird Falls and was complaining about Joanne always being tired. And then I go and read the blurb for this book and it talks about everyone falling asleep!! Oh no!!!!! Help me! I'll persevere and hopefully not fall asleep myself.
I loved this book until the ending and then it was a WTF - is it real or take the promotion - and me sitting there thinking why can't it be both. But now that I'm typing this, I'm thinking maybe legally it can't be if she takes the promotion. Hmm ... this will make no sense to you until you read the book. And no I'm not doing drugs!
I just finished Thunderbird Falls and was complaining about Joanne always being tired. And then I go and read the blurb for this book and it talks about everyone falling asleep!! Oh no!!!!! Help me! I'll persevere and hopefully not fall asleep myself.
I loved this book until the ending and then it was a WTF - is it real or take the promotion - and me sitting there thinking why can't it be both. But now that I'm typing this, I'm thinking maybe legally it can't be if she takes the promotion. Hmm ... this will make no sense to you until you read the book. And no I'm not doing drugs!
October 7, 2010
This barely even made it into the category of "guilty pleasures" because it gave me almost no pleasure at all. I mean, it's a crappy urban fantasy series, but it was entertaining enough for a bit. I don't know, maybe I'm just too used to some romance, but I don't think it's fair to build up to two characters getting together...and then not do it! Ugh.
October 13, 2009
by the third book I was SOOOO sick of Jo. Another whinny, bitchy girl with a tragic sex life in her youth. What a crock! I've known way too many REAL women with worst problems in their past that aren't even close to this stupid and dense. Get a therapist. Speed read this one if you must.
December 22, 2019
Siobhan Graine McNamara WalkingStick
The evolution of her relationships, her adorkable fumbling with magic. One scene so touched me it brought tears to my eyes, I duly informed the author and she was delighted
Read these books, read all of them
The evolution of her relationships, her adorkable fumbling with magic. One scene so touched me it brought tears to my eyes, I duly informed the author and she was delighted
Read these books, read all of them
August 23, 2020
So. Many. Dreams. And so. Many. Spirit quests. The story was ok, but the dreams and time traveling quests got really old.
February 25, 2013
I spent the first two books of this series irritated with Joanne. I kept reading the books because I’d already purchased them. I’ve now read all of the series that I have and I will NOT be picking up the next book. I’m so far beyond done with this series and CE Murphy. I wasn’t quite so irritated with Joanne in this one, and I honestly thought this would be the book where the series picked up. And then I realized that no, this book was mostly a book where Joanne realizes she’s in love with her boss, there’s a plot beyond that but it’s mostly about the love thing. I wouldn’t have a problem with this except that she realizes this because she gets jealous, and that wouldn’t be so bad except the rival turns out to be the bad guy. So not only is the whole story about how Joanne realizes she’s in love (which anyone with eyes to read could see in book one) the rival for her love’s affection is evil. It gets so bad that there is a LITERAL CAT FIGHT over the body of this man. I would have thrown the book across the room at that point if it weren’t on my beloved kindle.
This would be bad enough, except that the big bad is actually in the bodies of two individuals, one of them Barb the female rival and the other is Barb’s twin brother Mark. Mark just so happens to have a thing with Joanne, because Joanne gets bitten by snakes on a frequent basis. Now here’s what really pissed me off and made sure I’d never read another book by Murphy again. Right after Joanne gets through beating up the evil Barb, Joanne then tries to heal Mark. Because Mark is an innocent and has been duped but Barb is knowingly evil and undeserving of being saved? I’m sorry that’s some misogynist BULLSHIT right there. Yes we later learn that Joanne freed Mark and Barb is still being possessed, it doesn’t change the writing choices that Murphy made. The book is basically how the good woman must fight for her man against the evil woman.
And then when you add in the fact that Joanne is not a ‘typically feminine’ woman (and GOD am I starting to hate that trope) and Barb is, the story becomes even uglier.
This would be bad enough, except that the big bad is actually in the bodies of two individuals, one of them Barb the female rival and the other is Barb’s twin brother Mark. Mark just so happens to have a thing with Joanne, because Joanne gets bitten by snakes on a frequent basis. Now here’s what really pissed me off and made sure I’d never read another book by Murphy again. Right after Joanne gets through beating up the evil Barb, Joanne then tries to heal Mark. Because Mark is an innocent and has been duped but Barb is knowingly evil and undeserving of being saved? I’m sorry that’s some misogynist BULLSHIT right there. Yes we later learn that Joanne freed Mark and Barb is still being possessed, it doesn’t change the writing choices that Murphy made. The book is basically how the good woman must fight for her man against the evil woman.
And then when you add in the fact that Joanne is not a ‘typically feminine’ woman (and GOD am I starting to hate that trope) and Barb is, the story becomes even uglier.
December 3, 2011
From the opening scene of this book, when Joanne wakes to discover she has the world's worst hangover...and a strange guy in her bed, I just knew I was going to enjoy this more than the first book. It made me realise what was lacking last time, actually, and that was that everything just plodded along too nicely, there was nothing that happened that really ruffled Jo's feathers, but I enjoyed the fact that from the very first paragraph in this book, she was already thoroughly discombobulated.
Now, ideally it would be Captain Morrison she found in her bed, because, let's face it, those two are so gonna get it on eventually. But sadly, no, it was a perfect stranger. One who plays an interesting part in the book and I enjoyed a lot of the scenes with him.
The mystery part of this story was also a lot stronger and easier to follow than the last book. Whether that is affected by my growing understanding of Joanne's magic or whether it was just better is up for your own interpretation...Maybe a bit of both.
As you can see from the blurb, people are falling asleep and not waking up. Joanne, using her ability to touch people's minds when they are asleep or unconscious, determines that it is not a natural sleep. There is some kind of magic, like a dark blanket, holding them to sleep. When someone Joanne cares about is affected, she is determined to get to the bottom of it.
All of this was handled brilliantly, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. What I also enjoyed was learning more about Joanne and what happened to her up until she was around 15 and how those events may have helped shape the Joanne we are growing to know and love today.
There was also some progress in the relationship (can I even get away with calling it that?) between Jo and Michael Morrison, her boss. But don't get too excited. Progress is this instance could easily just mean not driving each other insane for five whole minutes, so don't expect anything too spectacular, but there is at least a thawing starting to happen...I think.
Looking forward to the next one!
Now, ideally it would be Captain Morrison she found in her bed, because, let's face it, those two are so gonna get it on eventually. But sadly, no, it was a perfect stranger. One who plays an interesting part in the book and I enjoyed a lot of the scenes with him.
The mystery part of this story was also a lot stronger and easier to follow than the last book. Whether that is affected by my growing understanding of Joanne's magic or whether it was just better is up for your own interpretation...Maybe a bit of both.
As you can see from the blurb, people are falling asleep and not waking up. Joanne, using her ability to touch people's minds when they are asleep or unconscious, determines that it is not a natural sleep. There is some kind of magic, like a dark blanket, holding them to sleep. When someone Joanne cares about is affected, she is determined to get to the bottom of it.
All of this was handled brilliantly, and I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. What I also enjoyed was learning more about Joanne and what happened to her up until she was around 15 and how those events may have helped shape the Joanne we are growing to know and love today.
There was also some progress in the relationship (can I even get away with calling it that?) between Jo and Michael Morrison, her boss. But don't get too excited. Progress is this instance could easily just mean not driving each other insane for five whole minutes, so don't expect anything too spectacular, but there is at least a thawing starting to happen...I think.
Looking forward to the next one!
December 22, 2008
I have of course expressed my fondness for this series in past posts and am happy to say that this one was a nice addition to the ongoing storyline. This story's all about our plucky car-loving heroine Joanne Walker finally getting her metaphysical feet under her in more ways than one, complete with some sardonic self-awareness about how she's even tired of her own whining about having to suck it up and deal with the supernatural. After the first two "ZOMG what am I doing?!" sorts of stories, it's good to see her growing in that direction.
And we're thrown a few interesting wrinkles in the romance department for Jo as well. A new guy shows up right out of the gate, along with the now-recurring half-serious, half-tease about whether Jo is actually involved with her septugenarian friend Gary--and Jo's growing torch for her boss, Captain Morrison. There's definitely some satisfying mileage in that last direction, too.
The thing Jo's up against this time around is a refreshingly unusual thing for fantasy novels, and so is how Jo handles said challenge--i.e., she does it in such a way that she really does prove she's getting her shit together. All in all a quite entertaining read--I zipped through it across the course of today, reading on the bus from home to work, work to chiro, and chiro to home again. Four stars.
And we're thrown a few interesting wrinkles in the romance department for Jo as well. A new guy shows up right out of the gate, along with the now-recurring half-serious, half-tease about whether Jo is actually involved with her septugenarian friend Gary--and Jo's growing torch for her boss, Captain Morrison. There's definitely some satisfying mileage in that last direction, too.
The thing Jo's up against this time around is a refreshingly unusual thing for fantasy novels, and so is how Jo handles said challenge--i.e., she does it in such a way that she really does prove she's getting her shit together. All in all a quite entertaining read--I zipped through it across the course of today, reading on the bus from home to work, work to chiro, and chiro to home again. Four stars.
October 25, 2012
I honestly don't know why I keep reading these books. They're not that good and she spends so much time explaining stuff that happened in previous books that I end up skipping entire pages. Can't she just assume that if people want to know what happened in previous books they'll READ them? Why do the people who've already read them have to suffer through recaps? I started out really enjoying the snarky/funny/bumbling part of the main character but by book 5 you'd think she'd have her s*** together. But no, she's still snarky, and bumbling...but sadly its just not as funny anymore.
September 8, 2008
I will admit to being a bit wary of staying with the Walker Paper novels after reading Thunderbird Falls. Joanne walked into so many obvious traps and bad decisions I was ready to lock her in her room.
In Coyote Dreams, Joanne makes a comeback. No, she's not perfect, and still gets into trouble, some of it embarrassing, but she's generally thinking before jumping. More importantly, she has to face the consequences of her previously poor judgment, and takes responsibility. In short, character growth. Let me repeat that - CHARACTER GROWTH. Now that's refreshing. Bravo to the author.
Murphy's world is definitely well realized and researched. Her depiction of Celtic and Native American legends are captivating especially in the melting pot--as so many real people have intermixed and joined cultures in their own families.
In Coyote Dreams, Joanne makes a comeback. No, she's not perfect, and still gets into trouble, some of it embarrassing, but she's generally thinking before jumping. More importantly, she has to face the consequences of her previously poor judgment, and takes responsibility. In short, character growth. Let me repeat that - CHARACTER GROWTH. Now that's refreshing. Bravo to the author.
Murphy's world is definitely well realized and researched. Her depiction of Celtic and Native American legends are captivating especially in the melting pot--as so many real people have intermixed and joined cultures in their own families.
January 10, 2012
Better than the second book, but still too much whining. Jo has the potential to become a strong and powerful shaman and I just wish she would get on with it. I do love all the secondary characters in this series, and even Jo herself most of the time, so I will stick with it to see where the next book goes.
August 27, 2007
Ever had one of those days where you didn't want to wake up? Unfortunately for Jo Walker, it appears most of the city is having them.
November 17, 2009
I really enjoyed this 3rd book of the Walker Papers. I think so far it is the best of the series. Great mysterious plot and adventures for Joanne is this installment.
June 28, 2024
Joanne Walker's previous actions have woken a Navajo god. She tries to deal with the outcome as her friends are targeted.
August 6, 2022
It's getting repetitive and the writing drags on and on without saying anything solid.
September 9, 2018
Coyote Dreams is the third book in the Walker Papers series written by C.E. Murphy and centred on Joanne Walker (born Siobhán Walkingstick) is a half-Cherokee/half-Irish, is a Seattle Police Officer and mechanic who so happen to be a shaman.
Things do not start out too well for Joanne Walker. She wakes up hung over after imbibing too much at the Fourth of July picnic. She can hardly remember how she got home – let alone how she found herself in bed with an anonymous man. Before she can kick out Mark Bragg, her one-night stand out, her boss, and her infatuation and the reason she was drunk, comes to call.
Apparently, her boss, Mike Morrison, has a new girlfriend and out of jealousy, she drank a tad too much. His visit is not a social call – he needs her help because one of his best detectives, Billy Holliday, has fallen into some sort of unnatural coma. Mike Morrison previously witnessed the supernatural side of Joanne Walker and believes that is what he's dealing with.
Mike Morrison was right, Joanne Walker discovers that whatever is infecting this sleep sickness is unnatural and is draining the life essence of the infected. While trying to work through the problem, this magical sleep rapidly spreads consuming not only Billy Holliday and his family, but running rampant through the police force – including Mike Morrison.
This mystical blue flu has the hospital strained and the police themselves are reduced to a skeleton crew – and Joanne has only the slightest idea of how to fix this. Worse yet, Coyote, her mentor, is unavailable and may have been killed off by the entity himself. Every time she accesses her abilities, the entity swoops in, seeking to drag her down into the same unnatural sleep. Eventually, Joanne Walker discovers who is causing this unnatural sleep and it is up to her to deal with it or face the End-of-Days – Navajo style, because during her visions, she may have inadvertently awaken a dark Navajo god.
Coyote Dreams is written somewhat well. Murphy has mixed the Indigenous and Irish beliefs rather well – an unusual combination, but it is rather interesting. It is a wild, fast-paced, and generally flowed rather quickly. However, I find the transition from the waking world and the vision that seemed to hit randomly to be a tad confusing. When it happens, I am not sure if what Joanne Walker is experiencing is a dream, a vision, a flashback, or something similar. I found myself reading some scenes more than once just to understand what is going on. Thankfully, it is not too frequent, but it is problematic for me to reread certain sections.
We find out more about Joanne Walker's past and her relationships. She place too much on herself that in one instance I thought she would have a mental breakdown. Joanne Walker has a habit of beating herself up mentally and emotionally along with undergoing these dangerous visions and dreams that could possibly kill her. She may have an incredible gift, but she continually sells herself short and keeps questioning herself – not out of self-pity, but because she doesn't want to repeat past mistakes. Yet she is a survivor who comes out a bit stronger because of this particular trial by fire.
All in all, Coyote Dreams is written rather well and a good continuation for the series, which I plan to read in the very near future.
Things do not start out too well for Joanne Walker. She wakes up hung over after imbibing too much at the Fourth of July picnic. She can hardly remember how she got home – let alone how she found herself in bed with an anonymous man. Before she can kick out Mark Bragg, her one-night stand out, her boss, and her infatuation and the reason she was drunk, comes to call.
Apparently, her boss, Mike Morrison, has a new girlfriend and out of jealousy, she drank a tad too much. His visit is not a social call – he needs her help because one of his best detectives, Billy Holliday, has fallen into some sort of unnatural coma. Mike Morrison previously witnessed the supernatural side of Joanne Walker and believes that is what he's dealing with.
Mike Morrison was right, Joanne Walker discovers that whatever is infecting this sleep sickness is unnatural and is draining the life essence of the infected. While trying to work through the problem, this magical sleep rapidly spreads consuming not only Billy Holliday and his family, but running rampant through the police force – including Mike Morrison.
This mystical blue flu has the hospital strained and the police themselves are reduced to a skeleton crew – and Joanne has only the slightest idea of how to fix this. Worse yet, Coyote, her mentor, is unavailable and may have been killed off by the entity himself. Every time she accesses her abilities, the entity swoops in, seeking to drag her down into the same unnatural sleep. Eventually, Joanne Walker discovers who is causing this unnatural sleep and it is up to her to deal with it or face the End-of-Days – Navajo style, because during her visions, she may have inadvertently awaken a dark Navajo god.
Coyote Dreams is written somewhat well. Murphy has mixed the Indigenous and Irish beliefs rather well – an unusual combination, but it is rather interesting. It is a wild, fast-paced, and generally flowed rather quickly. However, I find the transition from the waking world and the vision that seemed to hit randomly to be a tad confusing. When it happens, I am not sure if what Joanne Walker is experiencing is a dream, a vision, a flashback, or something similar. I found myself reading some scenes more than once just to understand what is going on. Thankfully, it is not too frequent, but it is problematic for me to reread certain sections.
We find out more about Joanne Walker's past and her relationships. She place too much on herself that in one instance I thought she would have a mental breakdown. Joanne Walker has a habit of beating herself up mentally and emotionally along with undergoing these dangerous visions and dreams that could possibly kill her. She may have an incredible gift, but she continually sells herself short and keeps questioning herself – not out of self-pity, but because she doesn't want to repeat past mistakes. Yet she is a survivor who comes out a bit stronger because of this particular trial by fire.
All in all, Coyote Dreams is written rather well and a good continuation for the series, which I plan to read in the very near future.
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