G is for...

Greywalker

"Between the worlds of the living and the dead

There lies a realm of spectres and magic

Where every nightmare 

The human mind can conceive is given flesh

The Grey.

One woman, recovering from a near-fatal accident has

gained access to this dark domain

To protect us from what dwells within,

She may have to keep on dying

Her name is Harper Blaine

She is a Greywalker"

(promotional video for greywalker.com)

“You must be careful, Harper. You're stubborn, hardheaded, scientific practicalist, and all of this seems like a nightmare to you that you hope will simply evaporate when you wake up. But you don't wake up from this.”

Harper Blaine is a private investigator who is attacked, shot, and actually dies for two minutes before being revived… but the world she comes back to is a very different world from the one she left. She is now able to see and move through The Grey, a realm of ghosts, vampires, witches, and magic which bridges the lands of the living and the dead.

It’s sort of funny that I’m so hooked by this series… I will usually inform you that I don’t like my books noir — yet “dark” is the overwhelming impression left from reading these stories…

     Harper lives in Seattle, overcast and rainy, altho' much of the action takes place in the old underground city, far beyond the reaches of any weather (or light.)

     Ms. Richardson's descriptions of The Grey are so vivid, they leave you feeling off-kilter, mildly nauseated, and as though you are smudged with soot and cobwebs every time you slide into it with poor Harper.

     Bucking a popular trend, the vampires and ghosts in this world are not charming or sexy. These are throwbacks to the literary originals - vicious, self-serving creatures of the night who you really don’t want to run into in a dark alley.

     Not to mention the fact that much of the tension in the story stems from the fact that Harper has been irrevocably thrust into a life she hates, with no way to get back to the one that was stolen from her. 

And yet…

It's not all grim -- there is hope in this world, as well. 

     Hope, humor, honor, good friends, and a pet ferret.

It may be dark in The Grey, but the characters shine brightly.

If you don’t mind urban fantasy (or a few cobwebs in your hair,) you should give this one a try.