Title: Labyrinth Series: Greywalker #5
Author: Kat Richardson
Published: August 3, 2010
Genre(s): Urban Fantasy
Page Count: 368
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Harper Blaine was your average small-time P. I. until she died-for two minutes. Now she's a Greywalker, walking the line between the living world and the paranormal realm. There are others who know about her new powers-others with powerful tools and evil intentions, and now that the man who "killed" her has been murdered, the police are also paying close attention. That means Harper has to watch her step while searching for the ghost of her "killer"-who could be a valuable clue in the puzzle of Harper's past and her father's death, as well as a key to figuring out who's trying to manipulate her new powers and why. But with her growing powers pulling her into the Grey, Harper might not be able to come back out...
With Labyrinth, the fifth installment in the Greywalker series, I feel like Kat Richardson really honed in on her protagonist and the overarching plot, delivering the fastest-paced, most high-stakes Harper Blaine novel yet.
In many ways, this book feels like a conclusion to the series—I can’t help but wonder if that’s originally what it was intended to be. The nemesis that Harper ran into in book 1 is officially vanquished, and a lot of long-standing plot threads are snipped in a way that seems to suggest at a finale, albeit one that’s open-ended enough to allow for the four sequels that come after Labyrinth. I admit that I’m somewhat wary about where Richardson will be going in the future, but that doesn’t really pertain to my current review, so…
Definitely, this sees Harper a lot more vulnerable and besieged than she’s ever been. The Grey seems to be swallowing her whole, and she can’t stop hearing voices in her head. Some of her own friends are casting doubts upon their relationship with Harper, which hurts, and, of course, the big confrontation with the series main Big Bad is coming soon. Our favorite ferret-loving PI has a lot on her plate.
But thank God for Quinton. Absolutely one of the best aspects of the series, and Labyrinth in particular, is the romance Harper has with Quinton. Their relationship is stable and healthy, and Quinton supports Harper, rather than adding to her present crisis. I love that about what Richardson’s done here. It’s a great crime-fighting dynamic, for one, and it just proves that it’s entirely possible to write a prolonged romantic relationship into a series without making it fraught with silliness.
“And, well…” He blushed and his gaze cut aside for a moment before returning, softer, to my own. He continued in a whisper. “There is that I-love-you thing…I mean it. If you are determined to do something crazy-ass stupid because you have to, I won’t be a macho jerk and try to talk you out of it. But I’m going to do everything I can to keep it from killing you.”
Aside from all that, this book sees a vast change in tone from previous books—for the better. Up until now, Harper has usually been drawn into the paranormal side of things by an investigation for a client; along the way she learns more about her identity and abilities, but it’s never been a main focus. In Labyrinth, Harper is very much in the focus, and she’s the one driving the chase from page 1. It’s a great shift, because I think it allows Richardson to do a lot with her character, and also really tackle the series’ main mythology and overarching plotlines. (Though, as I said, since basically everything was resolved, I’m not sure what else the author has left to work with for later.)
Overall, this is absolutely the best of the Greywalker series so far. I think Kat Richardson really has a handle on her characters and what she’s doing with the series, and the intensity and impact of Labyrinth was well-handled. I certainly didn’t outright love this book, but I thought it was a fairly solid read, and I liked it for sure.
