Kelley Armstrong
Orbit hardback out now
Paperback, July 7, 2011
With everyone else in her investigation agency away, it falls to Savannah Levine to look into a triple homicide…
The nearest to a traditional detective story that Armstrong has written in her multi-book Otherworld series, Waking the Witch is the first to be narrated by Savannah, the powerful witch whose very existence is an affront to many within the supernatural world that Armstrong has created. For fans of the series, the author maintains the distinctive voice that Savannah has had in her various appearances, and gives some interesting insights into the causes of her recklessness and occasional unthinking behaviour.
The supernatural elements are quite lowkey in the early part of the book: Savannah uses her spells on occasions where other private eyes might simply hide or use a flashlight, and there are multiple red herrings which she has to eliminate from the enquiry in traditional style. However towards the end of the book, things do hot up, with the revelation that an old enemy is on Savannah’s trail, as well as the introduction of yet another supernatural race, this time witch and demon hunters.
Unusually for Armstrong, this novel ends on a cliffhanger, with the resolution in Spell Bound now available.
Verdict: A change of pace which works well. 8/10
Paul Simpson
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