Just a few chapters in, and I’m reminded of the strengths and weaknesses of the first book. Unreasonable pigheadedness of the heroine. Why does she turn away from learning and improving? The wonderful back story of Joanne’s heritage. Her automotive fixation and references. The frisson between her and her boss, Captain Morrison. Yeah. Glad to spend time with her again.

However, I do NOT like that she so cluelessly helped move the crisis along and then had to resort to solitary physical combat. She found a teacher and spirit animals that were so vapid with their advice.. Where has Coyote been?

"Thunderbird Falls" delivered exactly what I was looking for this weekend: relaxing, escapist, entertainment that demanded nothing much from me except the suspension of disbelief and a willingness to open my imagination to astral plane encounters.

"Thunderbird Falls" follows on from "Urban Shaman". It deals with Joanne Walker trying to come to terms with being a Shaman when her preference is just to be a mechanic and not to believe in anything magical.

I liked the development of the relationships Walker established in the first book: the 70 taxi driver with charisma and good humour, her love-hate there's-more-to-me-than-you-know Police Captain and her I-wear-nail-polish-because-I-like-it-and-it-unsettles-people Police Detective colleague. This gives the basis for a good ensemble cast for the rest of the series.

Walker spends a lot of this book revisiting her hidden-from-everyone-she-cares-about past. This is nicely done, striking a good balance between maudlin introspection and epiphany.

The plot is moderately complicated and brings in a whole coven of witches and some new and very scary bad guys. The astral battles are vividly described. What I liked most was that Walker is allowed to make a lot of mistakes in this book rather than glided along effortlessly as so many heroes seem to do. I also enjoyed the theme that explored the nature and use of sacrifice of yourself and others.

There was nothing in the book that made me go "Wow" but nothing that made me want to skip forward either. I enjoyed myself and cheered at the end. I'll get to the third book the next time I want a chilled weekend with a book.



( )

This book did not at all live up to the first book. Urban Shaman blew me away, it was different enough from what was out there to make it interesting, the characters felt real right down to the smallest of the incidental characters, and even the villian was, to a degree, understandable. Thunderbird Falls had me wondering just when Joanne took the stupid pills that she couldn't see something was wrong.

I read a review that said a flaw of this book was that the villain wasn't revealed until the end. I don't think that was a problem, there were clues enough that something was wrong all the way through the book--especially the biggie: Coyote wasn't around. I couldn't excuse Joanne's being fooled by Virissong by desire to learn or embrace her powers because that isn't Joanne, she doesn't feel at ease with them, she fights embracing them, and this sudden turn-around didn't ring true for her.

I also didn't like the use of the coven. They wouldn't force their beliefs on Seattle and then the world, that's not how we work. Yeah, I said it, not how we work. We don't do that, we put the energy out there and we ask it be used in ways that are best for those receiving it, but we do not force change. I could excuse Joanne not knowing that but Murphy could have done some research. (Pet peeve warning.)

A huge problem for me was that Gary wasn't around enough. I LOVE Gary. I love that he's Joanne's father figure and I teared up in this book when they got to that place but neither one would say it straight out. They're family, that's how it is, and I love that. Putting Billy's wife, Mel, and their unborn baby in danger worked for me because they, too, are Joanne's family and she would never hurt them or allow them to be hurt. When it was revealed that Faye was responsible for Gary's heart attack I wanted her dead. No sympathetic villian this time, not even close, I couldn't pity Faye for being used by Virissong (and the one who was using him) because I just wanted her to suffer and die.

I think the potential was there for Virissong to be not sympathetic but at least understandable, like the villains in Urban Shaman. Virissong was used, he thought he was doing the right thing, the parallels to the coven (Faye) were there. The revelation of what really happened came too late in the book for me to know him well enough to pity him. I think maybe if we'd known he and Judy were the same all along, if Joanne had come to know Virissong better that I could have hurt for him. It also would have worked better for me if I could have seen his pain over Nakaytah's death in conjunction with knowing he was being used.

There were all these references in the book to a short story that came between the first and second books. I HATE THAT. It kept throwing me right out of the book when I was like "banshee what now?" Be more subtle when referring to your short stories; I didn't know one was out, I still don't know where it was, and now I'm a tad irritated and don't want to seek it out.

All in all, I liked it, because I like Joanne. She's a fighter. Her world is different enough from mine (racially, culturally) that I'm interested in her but can't quite anticipate her. And, from a selfish-reader perspective, it's nice to read something that isn't just like every other book out there. I will read Coyote Dreams, I will come back to this universe, I just hope it's better next time. ( )

This story (the second book of a series) follows Jo as she continues to struggle with her power and shamanic responsibilities. As she grows in this area, she fights to save the world (mostly Seattle) from a new threat and gets involved with a coven. Character development for both Jo and her close friends / associates continues. There is a short story, Banshee Cries (in the Winter Moon anthology) that follows the first book in the series. It isn't critical to have read it before Thunderbird Falls, but there are references to it in this book.
All of the books in this series are fun reads with enough plot complexity to keep you engaged and ongoing character development to keep you coming back. ( )

If you have a daughter, a niece, a daughter of a friend, I highly recommend this series. Joanne is flawed, without a doubt. She is low on confidence, but high in sense of self, and her journey is a fascinating one. Unlike a lot of the series out there that feature women leads, Joanne admits her flaws, but stands, for the most part, on her own. She accepts, and appreciates, the help of her friends, including a 70 year-old mentor whom you can't help but come to love, (yes, I would run away with Gary in a heartbeat) but she never just lays down and becomes a damsel in distress. She may wind up in distress multiple times during the series, but by golly, she can haul her own ashes, thank you very much. If someone else is around to assist, well, great, wonderful, but this is NOT the "Oh, help me, someone, I am so weak and helpless!" main character written by a lot of women authors who should know better. Neither, thank goodness, does Joanne hop from bed to bed, taking advantage of what each can give her. She is stronger than that, and a terrific role model for today's modern girls.

Neither does Ms. Murphy write an 'unbelievable' character. Yes, Joanne has powers, but she takes that power for her character and grows it within a series of logical boundaries, built on an understanding of Native culture and belief systems. She doesn't grab a new superpower every new book that comes out, which makes her strengths believable within the development of an urban fantasy, and gives you an insight into the character. It is a great deal of fun to watch Joanne grow and change, and begin to understand her own personal potential as the series develops.

The secondary character development is marvelous. There is a core group of secondary characters, whose development is very well managed - you come to know them as people, and truly like them. Additional players are added, whether good, bad, or indifferent in character, when needed. Each has their own series of quirks which make them great additions to the story lines.

Overall, this is a marvelous series of books, well worth adding to anyone's library. I have read them all multiple times, and can hardly wait for the next!

Urban Shaman (The Walker Papers, Book 1)
Coyote Dreams (The Walker Papers, Book 3)
Walking Dead (The Walker Papers, Book 4)
Demon Hunts (The Walker Papers, Book 5)
Spirit Dances (The Walker Papers, Book 6)
Raven Calls (The Walker Papers, Book 7)

And also, don't forget to check out C.E. Murphy and Faith Hunter's
Easy Pickings

I highly recommend this whole series - I go back to it over and over. ( )