I enjoyed this different sort of approach to a story on paranormal. The main character is a normal character - mostly, but is drawn to the other world by that little part of her that's not. The idea of the Grey and how it works is also interesting. A new author getting her legs, but the premise and the author show promise. ( )

Harper Blaine is working as a PI and gets beat up nastily and dies in the very first pages. Brought back to life by efficient cares she now feels dizzy and sees weird things. Doctor at the emergency suggest she should meet with some friends of his.

After meeting with them, Harper is struggling to make her mind around what she'd learn. There is some kind of alternate world wear ghosts, vampires and such lives. She now as acces to that world!

Some very weird clients now shows up at her office and she is being dragged further down The Grey drain.

Honestly after reading it I'm not quite sure how I feel about the book. The story isn't bad, the action is fine, some interesting character but something doesn't feel right. I can't say I don't like it, nor that I liked it. I can't quite pinpoint what's bothering me.One thing is for sure though, Blaine is suppose to be some kind of strong woman but she just rings weak to me. The girl is smart and gets out of nasty situation but she's kind of whiny.I haven't made up my mind yet if I'm gonna read the following books. ( )

The introductory scene takes your breath away and the overall concept of the Grey is interesting. But it's hard to get interested in Harper herself. She hates the Grey so much that she resists learning about it, but then when a vampire shows up, she is willing to be his best protector--huh? The series has promise and I hope subsequent books improve. A tangent: I was struck by how quickly plot elements can become dated. This book was obviously in the works for years prior to its 2006 publication--e.g., (1) Harper relies on a pager (!!) (2) Cameron, a college student, normally writes checks for everything (3) Harper spends lots of time at the courthouse to look up records, rather than checking an internet dbase. Next thing you know, she'll be adding to her collection of 45s. ( )

An urban fantasy set in Seattle, I liked it. The hero, Harper Blaine, is a Private Investigator, and finds out suddenly that she has an unusual power -- one she did not seek, but is the result of being clinically dead for a few minutes. I can see her coterie of friends knowledgable about this Grey world being formed for future adventures. There is a witch, a vampire, a techo-geek, an antiques dealer, and her - the Greywalker. There is very much a feeling of "day in the life" about this, which is what is true of reality and less true of novels, as she figures out what she is and who these paranormal people are. There are two or three strands of story that eventually resolve as different aspects of a common problem. Much of this book seems to be setting the stage for the series. ( )

On the negative side, the climactic battle in the book was over something that really would affect only undead creatures, so I didn’t really care about it much. The main character, Harper Blaine, is partially undead and my level of caring toward her is partially attributable to the relative lack of depth of her character. On the positive side, it’s one of the few books I’ve read where normal people run into vampire types and the normal people’s reactions seems reasonable. Also, despite the author being a transplant, I think she portrayed the feel of Seattle better than most books set around here.

(Full review at my blog) ( )