Downpour (Greywalker, Book 6) [Hardcover]

Kat Richardson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 2, 2011

Harper Blaine is on the mend, but evil never rests-in the latest novel from the national bestselling author of Labyrinth.

After being shot in the back and dying-again- Greywalker Harper Blaine's only respite from the chaos is her work. But while conducting a pre-trial investigation in the Olympic Peninsula, she sees a ghostly car accident whose victim insists that he was murdered and that the nearby community of Sunset Lakes is to blame.

Harper soon learns that the icy waters of the lake hide a terrible power, and a host of hellish beings under the thrall of a sinister cabal that will use the darkest of arts to achieve their fiendish ends...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kat Richardson lives on a sailboat in Seattle with her husband, a crotchety old cat, and two ferrets. She rides a motorcycle, shoots target pistol, and does not own a TV.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Roc Hardcover; 1 edition (August 2, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451463986
• ISBN-13: 978-0451463982
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of the Greywalker paranormal detective novels. Kat is a former theater brat and non-fiction editor who currently lives on a boat in Washington state with her husband and the ghosts of ferrets. She also rides a motorcycle, shoots target pistol, and makes trouble.

In the past, she helped develop a fan-built PC game (T2X), wrote a short horror screenplay (The Glove), taught English Country Dance, fenced epee, broke both arms, wrote about diamonds, ate alligator (no, she didn't kill it), sold dead lizards, pretended to be a nun, sang, and has been kidnapped by pirates! (well... maybe not pirates....)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Magic on the lake August 4, 2011

By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Harper Blaine is headed for the Twilight Zone -- and by that, I mean Forks and the Olympic Peninsula. Thankfully there are no sparkly vampires or drooling fangirls.

No, we've got a slew of Chinese demons, magically cursed lakes, voodoo zombies and dead bodies turned into soap. Awesome. Kat Richardson's "Downpour" does suffer a little from barely following up on the last Greywalker novel, but it's a strong urban fantasy with plenty of murky gothic Pacific Northwest atmosphere.

After her third death, Harper finds that her Grey powers have been diminished. But not so diminished that she can't hear the pleas of a faint ghost named Steven Leung. So Harper heads out to the Lake Crescent area to find his body and uncover who killed the poor man -- and finds the place swarming with strange, dangerous creatures.

It turns out that the "cursed" lake and the bizarre creatures (monstrous guai, undead deer) are connected to Leung's surviving family, the domineering Jewel and the elusive wild Willow, as well as a bitter ranger, a crazy old man, Chinese demons and a a ley weaver. One of these lake people is a cold-blooded murderer, and Harper might be next if she keeps investigating.

I was a little disappointed in "Downpour" at first, because it seemed to almost avoid the fact that Harper was pretty much dead at the end of the previous book. She doesn't seem to have any physical or mental scars from it, and it's only really mentioned in passing. Fortunately that's the only big pothole in the story.

The rest of it is rich and developed. Richardon writes the story as a sort of Pacific Northwest gothic -- dark, rainy and murky, with shimmering Grey magic and lots of twisted grudges and family struggles. Richardson's writing has become even stronger, with lots of eerie horror moments ("The hand-spider dissolved, leaving nothing but skeleton fingers clothed in tatters of rotten flesh"), as well as scintillating beauty (the ley weaver and its, um, Art).

And I love that instead of the usual faerie/vampire/werewolf mixes, Richardson includes some very non-mainstream monsters (white-faced demons with burned-branch horns) and magical systems.

And unlike many other authors, who give their heroines power-ups until they achieve God Mode Sue, Richardson gives her heroine a power-DOWN. This is a pleasant surprise, and it means Harper becomes more vulnerable, and depends more on her brains and wits than on her magical skills. And her relationship with Quinton takes a few more steps forward, linking them in a surprising new way.

"Downpour" doesn't follow up much on the previous book, but it's a solid gothic urban-fantasy. Also, it makes a nice alternative to "Twilight" -- all the Pacific Northwest scenery, none of the whining and antifeminism.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspense, Action, Mystery, Urban fantasy! What's not to love? November 9, 2011

By Gator Girl

Format:Hardcover

Recommend reading this series from book #1. Each book grows from the last and you will really enjoy the story a lot more if read in order. Some book sets are not as interdependant as this and can be picked up and read as stand alone books. But this set really does need to be read as a set. Good, strong leading lady.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling ride down the urban fantasy highway September 10, 2011

By Heather Powers

Format:Hardcover

As always, Kat draws me into the world of Harper Blaine and takes me on a journey down the supernatural highway. Harper is strongly nudged by the Guardian Beast to take on a job where rogue mages are taking control of the magic in the community of Sunset Lakes. Zombies, and other undead creatures as well as Japanese fox demons make an appearance further hampering Harper's investigation.
Non stop battles between Harper and the supernaturals ensue. She finds out about her newly acquired gifts.
The romance between her and Quinton becomes stronger in an unexpected way as you come to find out by the end of the book.