Book Log #75: Walking Dead, by C.E. Murphy

I must admit, awesome as the Negotiator trilogy and the Inheritors’ Cycle have been so far, I’ve really rather missed userinfomizkit‘s Joanne Walker in the Walker Papers. And Book 4, Walking Dead, brings her back with a satisfying vengeance.

The title of this might lead you to believe it’s a zombie novel. It’s not, at least not predominantly. The dead do indeed rise, but aside from a couple of scenes, they aren’t the primary point of the book. Rather, we’ve got Joanne and her partner Billie on the hunt for an ancient mystical coffin ETA cauldron (I meant to say this the first time, I really did!) that’s the source of the dead’s uncharacteristic liveliness, and who’s actually putting it to use. Meanwhile, Jo’s actually gotten enough of a handle on her shaman gig that she’s opened up enough to take a crack at dating–although established fans of the series will probably be joining me in going “AUGH MORRISON”. Certain mystical characters from previous books make another appearance here, and a certain other one continues to be conspicuous by his absence.

All in all quite enjoyable, and a nice way to resume the series. Four stars.