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66 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
What happened?, May 9, 2006
I loved Murphy's first book, Urban Shaman. Thunderbird falls seems to fall flat. In the second installment, Joanne Walker, the main character trips over a body, literally. She then sets out to investigate the "murder" when there are to signs that there was a murder. We meet a witch coven who wants Joanne to join and lend her Shamanic powers to their cause. Murphy seems to get lost in this book. There is very little direction, that leaves the reader to wonder where we are going in the book, and why we even care about the journey. In Urban Shaman, there was a definite liquid continuity to the story, and the main bad guy was very bad, and interesting at the same time. In Thunderbird Falls, the bad guy is not really even identified until the last quarter of the book, and the "murder" isn't really convincing that it is anything more than a natural death. There is a good amount of meta-babble creating pages and pages of out of body sensations and color without any acutal basis for why all this sensation in necessary. All in all, it was OK, but I would wait until I could get a used copy for a couple bucks instead of paying the $15.00 sticker.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Snakes and Raptors, April 28, 2007
It has to be perplexing to want to be a car mechanic and find yourself a cop on the beat instead. But for Joanne Walker this was only the beginning. Now she has discovered she is destined to be a shaman and that doesn't sit well with her at all. After surviving being fatally stabbed while saving the world in the previous volume - Urban Shaman - Joanne deserves a rest. But what she gets is a body in the Gym shower. When Joanne slips into the Dead Zone to find out how the young woman died she finds herself out of her depth and in deep trouble. A spirit that shouldn't have noticed her has, and thus begins another series of events where, kicking and screaming, Joanne must save the world once again. Joanne investigates the death on her own and finds her path keeps criss-crossing that of a coven of witches who apparently need her help. The dead woman played an important role in the covens plans and Joanne would be the perfect replacement. All she has to is help with the reincarnation of and ancient wizard who is also intent on saving the world. Or maybe he isn't. Joanne must puzzle out the answers to this question and many others if she is to drag Seattle back from the edge of disaster, and, incidentally, get her head together about her spiritual powers. I find I like this series more than I ever expected. There's no lack of books in the occult suspense/romance genre and it's always refreshing to read a book with a strong female lead that doesn't keep trying to commit suicide or get tangled up in kinky sex. C. E. Murphy is a strong writer, and her characters are interesting and believable. Joanne is a sassy, uppity lady with a good share of intelligence dealing with a very complicated reality. You can't help but like her, or her friend Gary the cab driver, or Captain Morrison, her boss and foremost critic. The story, with Joanne as narrator, moves well, and has many flashes of enjoyable sarcasm. Despite being the second volume, I think Thunderbird Falls can be read on its own - but you will want to read Urban Shaman anyway, so get both.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good, but not great!, May 31, 2006
Joanne Walker, or Siobhan Walkingstick, is stuck with supernatural powers from both sides of her family - the Native American and the Irish. At least her mother tries to help when she can - even though she's dead. But Joanne is having a difficult time accepting what she can do - and what she can't. Since her boss booted her up to beat cop from mechanic, she's been trying to be as normal as possible, which works until she happens upon a dead body in the girls locker room at her gym. Trying to discover what happened to the young woman, she stumbles into a major plan. Not having much by way of tutoring, Joanne relies on her cabbie buddy Gary to help her, as well as her own wits. Until Gary's help is taken out of the equation. Then Joanne realizes she's got to do something, fast. Admittedly, I enjoyed Urban Shaman a lot more, as well as the short story (Banshee Cries) that supposedly took place in between that book and this one. But still a good read.
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