July 6, 2009
Shaman Joanne Walker juggles ghosts, zombies and her day job as a greenhorn Seattle homicide detective in her feverishly cluttered fourth adventure (after 2007’s Coyote Dreams
). Fortunately, ghost whisperer Billy Holliday is on hand at Joanne’s Halloween party when ghosts burst out of a cauldron. When the ancient Cauldron of Matholwch is stolen from a Seattle museum and a dark pall spreads over the city, it’s not hard to spot the connection. After a dire premonition, Walker travels the astral planes to join the Wild Hunt on a seemingly unrelated quest. The plot doesn’t so much thicken as sag from too many tricky twists and a mishmash of mythology, including Celtic and Native American lore, witchcraft, stage magic, clairvoyance and gods, but at least Joanne remains an appealing protagonist.
August 1, 2009
The fourth Walker Papers novel is good enough that series newcomers and stalwarts alike should enjoy it. Once an auto mechanic, police detective Joanne Walker still dreams of twisting wrenches while she continues learning the shamanic powers that come in handy when a cauldron used as a prop by exotic dancers at a Halloween party brings a crowd of spirits hungry for life into Seattle. This development impinges nicely on Joannes job investigating the murder of a museum guard and theft of an ancient Celtic artifact with which untold horrors can be unleashed on the world. An intriguing mystery, romantic tension, the Wild Hunt of northern and central European myth, and zombies contribute to solid entertainment for fans of Patricia Briggs (Dragon Blood, 2003; Iron Kissed, 2008), in particular, and of urban paranormal mysteries, in general.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)