Customer Reviews

Demon Hunts (The Walker Papers, Book 5)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a big fan of C.E. Murphy, so it pains me to write a less than glowing review.

Demon Hunts is Book 5 in the Urban Shaman series. I love Joanne and the entire cast of this series- Morrison, Billy, Miranda and Gary. I have been eagerly waiting this installment and even paid for 1 day delivery when I saw Amazon had it available before the June 1st release date.

So.... Joanne battles another paranormal creature. This one is cannabalizing the city of Seattle.
Most of my favorite characters really play very little role here,ie, Morrison, Billy and Miranda. Thankfully Gary and Coyote are in the thick of things.

The action here is repetitive. Joanne tries to kill the creature. It is not really "dead". It comes back, she kills it again, it comes back, etc, etc.

The romance here is thin. Coyote provides some action. Morrison is barely present- what a disappoinment!

After 5 books, I am invested in this series, so I will be getting the next book in 2011, but I will likely not waste my money on expediated shipping!!

Demon Hunts is the fifth book in The Walker Papers series, and by now, Joanne Walker (aka Siobhán Walkingstick) and her friends are familiar staples in my reading library. I've enjoyed to varying degrees watching Joanne mostly bumble along with this whole shaman gig she's always been pretty reluctant about, and while there have been times when her character's reluctance to just accept this new world she's been forced into has frustrated me, I have to admit, overall I've enjoyed the slow and sometimes fitful journey her character has taken to become more and more comfortable and aware of her skills and gifts as well as her calling.

Demon Hunts is no different in that regard, and it managed to capture in very poignant detail that growing up and accepting responsibility is very rarely a painless process. In fact, it's often burdened by farewells we have to say and amends we have to make. It's littered with regrets for past mistakes and tinged with the iridescent sheen of broken childish dreams. It's about doing what needs to be done in the face of criticism and rebuke, no matter the struggle, if the doing is the right thing. Above all that, it demands an acceptance of self that is often uncomfortable and a paradigm shift that is as necessary as it so often is terrifying. And at the very core, that is what Demon Hunts is about. Joanne finally...finally...growing up. That aspect of Demon Hunts was well written, exceptionally well paced, and a little heartbreaking, but there was also humor, self deprecating as only Joanne can do, and hope, and friendship, so it wasn't a totally bleak endeavor.

Unfortunately, the other aspect of Demon Hunts, the threat, crime, and rush to a solution, was bleak enough on its own. A series of odd murders that leave no clues of any sort are plaguing the Seattle Police Department - no blood, no DNA, no fibers, no footprints...nothing is left at the scene. So Captain Morrison calls in his paranormal dynamic duo, Joanne and Billy Holiday, because they're who you call when normal doesn't quite cover it. Except, there's nothing either one of them can pick up either - even with their magical connections. And people are still dying. Outdoorsy people. Leaving empty, bloodless husks behind.

As Joanne races to find out what is responsible and more importantly, stop it, long lost friends return to the fold and old friends stand as stalwart support. Old enemies pop back up and persistent thorns remain thorny. And while all that sounds like fantastic building blocks for another kick ass 'Joanne's Magical Mystery Tour,' in this case the Big Bad of Demon Hunts and the narrative surrounding it was ultimately a confusing, unrewarding mess that ended up feeling more repetitive than threatening.

I'll admit, throughout the series, I've had trouble understanding some of the magic related world building and mythos of each of the books. I don't blame the author for that, really. I have trouble wrapping my mind around magical concepts and other dimensions and stuff to start with (linear thinker, unfortunately), and Murphy just doesn't describe them conceptually enough for me to always catch on to the full scope of Joanne's shamanic world. I've gotten used to that. But this book went a bit further, and I struggled to understand a lot of the too-subtly woven interpersonal stuff between Joanne and other characters - in particular a few scenes with Morrison and Coyote. There seemed to be an overabundance of dialogue with inexplicable double meanings and on top of that, I have trouble grasping the full impact of a scene if everyone's just looking at each other and the narrative doesn't really explain what's going on. In that regard, this book's narrative felt far more internal (from Joanne's POV) than others in the series, and that was exceedingly frustrating.

Another problem that's starting to niggle me is the evolving relationship between Morrison and Walker, which, in this book in particular, was far less 'evolve' and far more 'evade.' That whole 'one step forward two steps back' adage could definitely be used here...if the steps back were Jolly Green Giant-sized. I hope that Demon Hunts is a turning point, a stepping stone, or the last of the metaphorical shaman baby steps that Joanne needed to take to really become the warrior shaman Seattle needs and that by the sixth book in the series we'll start to get an idea of where that relationship is headed, as well as some overall arc progression or definition, because there wasn't any of that in Demon Hunts.

For the maturing and the personal growth, both well written and touching, I'd rate Demon Hunts 4 stars, but because of the weakness in the storyline of the killer and the repetitiveness of the battles with it, the conflict of Demon Hunts gets only 2 stars from me today. I averaged it out to 3 overall. I hope the next one has got a little more to offer.

The Seattle area is terrorized by the Seattle Slaughter, a serial killer who dines on his victims; the latest one Charlie Groleski had his left arm eaten. Half-Cherokee, half-Irish Seattle police detective Joanne Walker fears the culprit is from beyond; perhaps a banshee or a wendigo.

She and her SPD psychic partner Billy Holliday investigates though the Urban Shaman would prefer not to work on the anniversary of her mom's death. However, the return of her mentor lover Coyote gives her hope as they team up to do a soul retrieval on her mom; but she is also afraid as she now realizes she must venture into the dangerous otherworldly Lower and Middle World to rescue the victims and combat the monster on his plane.

Book Five of the Walker Papers (see Walking Dead and Coyote Dreams) is an enjoyable urban fantasy police procedural as fans of the series will welcome back Coyote. Although the Seattle Slaughter fails to terrorize the readers, fans of the saga will appreciate the entry as Joanne's Superior Morrison seems more adjusted to her paranormal skills and of course the return of Coyote.

Harriet Klausner

I read the first 3 books in the series and overall wasn't that impressed. But this book is about growing up and accepting responsibility while tracking an interesting supie villain. The characters and story are well done and fun. There is some humor as in the "Wolves running to the slaughter" and Jonie running into her old high school girl friend/rival (now an FBI agent) as well as how the obnoxious TV reporter and the said FBI agent react to the heavy supernatural. The author is right up here with Ilona Andrews in building an interesting world and original magic critters.

Not quite a home run but way way better than most stories in the genre.

Recommended if you like dark urban fantasy. (Not a lot of extraneous sex thrown in here, unlike some of the genre.)

BTW I really wish that folks would stop writing book reports and Cliff's Notes that blow the plot and aren't really reviews.

This is the fifth in a series that I have been reading since the very first book became available. However, I think this one stands out in a way that the others didn't because it shows the series is maturing. Though not a complete reboot with a new cast of characters or anything complicated like that, Demon Hunts shows us a new side of Joanne Walker. Her unbelieving self had become a little bit implausible. Not enough to affect my enjoyment, but hard to sustain over additional books. In Demon Hunts, C. E. Murphy opens us to a new phase in the story. Joanne is no longer a disbeliever. She has come to accept the powers that she's been using quite successfully, if in her own bumbling way, to save Seattle over and over again. This time, however, she has chosen not to fight herself first. She has come to realize that fighting her facts is useless, counterproductive, and likely to get those around her killed.

For the character, this book is one of maturity. She'd been through a lot in the series, and everything is coming together for her. Does this mean her path is easy? Not at all. This novel has everything that I've come to expect from the series: an unknown mythical enemy, friends in odd places, and growth in Joanne's understanding of her shamanistic magic. But that's not all. What demon hunts offers the reader is a Shaman ready to take on and accept the life that was given her. While I enjoyed Joanne's use of analogy and understood her difficulty with believing in a destiny that she'd been unaware of for so long, I look forward to seeing more of this new Joanne. While confident is not quite the right word, she has a complexity to her now. Not only has she stopped seeking simple answers, but she has declared herself ready to grow, ready to learn all those things that she balked at before. She also gained some new allies and developed new techniques that are just fun.

Demon Hunts - by C. E. Murphy

Demon Hunt's is book 5 in the Walker paper series. Our protagonist is Joanne Walker (Walkingstick) and she is a Shaman and a cop for the Seattle police department. In the past Joanna has hunted Gods, killers, Banshees and assorted other freaky things, but this one takes the cake! A cannibalistic serial killer! Add to this the fact that her guide Coyote is back (and hoo boy is he ever!) Captain Morrison seems to be marking his territory and a pesky news reporter is stuck like glue to Joanne following the story.

Hunting the killer isn't easy since Joanne's and Billy's talent isn't helping them much with these murders. But of course eventually we do find Joanne, Gary and Coyote in a position to hunt it, fight it, kill it....have it comes back to life and then to start the whole thing over again.

I found this to be one of the weakest of the Walker Papers series and I even have to admit that I'm starting to get a bit annoyed with Joanne's' self-depreciating humor, sarcasm and lack of confidence, I was also a bit disappointed in how Coyote was portrayed, I know that Joanne is supposed to be a real kick-butt heroine that can walk the worlds as well as fight; but I found Coyotes near whimpering attitude when confronted with a fight to be somewhat disconcerting.

Unless I hear differently about the next book in the series; I most likely won't be looking to buy it in paper form and take up room on my shelves. I will instead either get it from the library or for my Kindle when the price comes down. This is worth reading if you have a compulsive need to read the whole series. But you can wait until it comes out in mass market paperback and save a few bucks!

This book answered some questions, but left many threads of the story still dangling. I hope the next book picks up those threads and weaves a more compelling story. I still maintain the premise of the character and the world built in this series is a much fresher idea than all the other urban fantasy out there. It is tougher to read because the world is more unknown, blending Native American shamanic mysticism and Celtic magic. C. E. Murphy is a brilliant writer who knows how to make heroines who know how to accept help - not be taken care of or pushed aside, but to accept help of those who would stand beside if not slightly behind her.

Okay - so Demon Hunts may not be the strongest book in the series, but the concept of the series is still more original than most else available right now. In a genre overloaded with fairies, weres, and vampires this series as whole is just one big refreshing splash of reading. Native American shamanic mysticism and Celtic magic are not easy to tackle and weave the old legends into something fresh and new - blending the two and managing it are mind-bendingly improbable but C.E. Murphy manages it in the Walker Papers heroine, Joanne Walkingstick.

Demon Hunts is definitely not a stand-alone book. To understand the characters and their interaction with one another, you have to read the preceding books.

The villain in this book is really neither here nor there, although you do get to delve more into Jo's expanding shamanic abilities, most of which seems to be coming about through forced reaction to the villains in each book. This is understandable given her lack of training in her shamanic background to this point.

COYOTE MAKES A COME BACK! *Squeal!!* Okay, so I really did squeal like an idiot when he showed up in the story. We learn more about who Coyote is and some what of the background between Jo and him. SPOILER ALERT (cover your eyes ... now!) Coyote and Jo get it on. Then he splits town. Sigh.

My issue with this book is not that it is bad. It really isn't! It's just that, while Jo does expand her abilities a bit, and Coyote makes a triumphant return, there is no other character developments. I would like to see more interaction between Jo and Morrison. I would have been thrilled to see Jo interacting with any one of the secondary characters more. And though I was initially squealing at Coyote's return, I didn't particularly like that him and Jo hopped into the sack together and then stuff fell apart and he split town. How is this going to impact him guiding her in the spirit world in future books? If they were going to hook up, there should have been even more of the background with him and her thrown in - you know, the stuff from before she forgot she was a shaman. Or more about him period. Somehow, finding out he was a real person living in Arizona squicked me out a bit.

I was happy to see some one from Jo's past show up, it added a layer to Jo's character of showing just how isolated and miserable she was as a shaman teen. It also added depth to her character in how she came to have had a baby and made the decision to give it up. I wish Jo would stop to think through the consequences however - if she was miserable trying to come into her shamanic powers ... imagine an orphan trying to go through that and thinking he was just nuts. Jo spent her life being pissed off at her own mother for abandoning her ... yet even now knowing why, and knowing the powers she inherited from her mother, she still is refusing to see the potential harm in not finding her own son that she abandoned (gave up for adoption). I hope more comes of this in a future book.

I am looking forward to the next book. I really want to see how things play out. I understand villains are integral to tension and Jo's developing abilities, but I'm all about how she interacts with people now. I was left feeling slightly crazy that so much was left unresolved ... but there is so much there left to delve into that I am freaking out its not 2011 and the next book isn't in my hands yet!!!

How do chase down a killer you can't see? How do you explain to your boss, who has only acknowledged the supernatural for like, a week? that you have to disappear to sniff out an otherworldly serial killer who is eating his people? Det. Joanne Walker wasn't sure she said but she did it. She was removed from her comfort zone as a police mechanic to a detective because of her 'special skills', so when she needed to use them it was difficult for her boss to negate procedures.

The killer is literally eating people, and when one of the bodies is found a little too close to Joanne's apartment for her comfort she starts to take this case very personally. People she cares about are getting hurt, and the power needed to stop this predator is beyond Joanne's skills. Where will she find the knowledge & strength to defeat the malevolence that has spread so far out of her jurisdiction that no paperwork will cover this case?

I always enjoy Murphy's work, especially the more she works with the shamanic skills, but none of the books have come close to the first 2.5 ( Urban Shaman (The Walker Papers, Book 1), Winter Moon: Moontide\The Heart of the Moon\Banshee Cries, and Thunderbird Falls (The Walker Papers, Book 2))
for me. This one was better, definitely more on track. I've started Spirit Dances (The Walker Papers, Book 6), and it looks promising. I look forward to the rest of the book, as well as the series.

This was my favorite book in the series without a doubt, because I finally get to see Joanne in love! While it is not with her boss, Morrison, whom it is obvious she has an attraction to, it is still a very satisfying romance. Her bubbly happiness is quite enjoyable to read, and it does not get on my nerves despite how sickly sweet Joanne is in the descriptions. At times, her love interest really does seem like the perfect man, and I am thrilled that she gets to have this in the midst of the chaos of her shamanic lifestyle.
I think what keeps bringing me back to this series is that Joanne's narration is both unique and comical. She is refreshingly honest about herself and her quirks and abilities and keeps a running commentary behind the scenes, even as she solves supernatural-size problems while balancing a social life and a job as a detective. Even though I still understand very little of the role of a shaman and all of Joanne's world-jumping, there is something very likable about Joanne Walker.
The other half of Joanne's romance is a man that was assumed to be dead. Aside from the romance, I love that he shows up in this book, as I get to see more of what he can and cannot do and what his personality is really like. Plus, the tension between him and Morrison is quite interesting, as it brings to the forefront the chemistry between Morrison and Joanne and makes her admit to a few things about herself.
The wendigo is the "big bad" for this book, but the final battle ends differently than what I assumed. In a way, the wendigo teaches Joanne that some flaws are acceptable and even useful. I look forward to the next book, Spirit Dances.

I love C.E. Murphy's work. I liked the story line in this next installment of the Urban Shaman series, and I'm looking forward to reading the next one. I'm not into in depth reviews that discuss a story to the point of some mild spoilers, so I'll just say again - this is the next step in this series, and I think it works.