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Book Review of Urban Shaman (The Walker Papers, Bk. 1)

Urban Shaman (The Walker Papers, Bk. 1)
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Joanne Walker is just returning home from her birth mother's funeral in Ireland. As the plane descends, she glances out the window and sees a woman being chased by a man with a knife. Upon landing, she is determined to find and help her. A fascinating beginning to an interesting story, but one that gets a little rocky along the way. Joanne, a police mechanic, discovers shaman powers she never knew she had, from her Celtic and Native American roots. Throughout the book it's a struggle for her to accept her powers and learn to control them, while trying to find a killer that she suspects is a demigod. It's a little confusing, what with all the trips into the spirit world, and the mixture of paranormal myths, but the story moves along at a nice pace. It also takes a considerable dose of suspension of disbelief to accept that so many people who don't believe in the supernatural can take Joanne's sudden about face from skeptic to shaman in stride, but if you sprinkle liberally with salt, the character development makes up for it, at least enough to keep me interested in reading more of the series.