Poltergeist

Written by Kat Richardson

Narrated by Mia Barron

This second novel in the acclaimed Greywalker series finds PI Blaine Harper investigating a chilling case as Halloween approaches. After university researchers create an artificial poltergeist, the team leader suspects someone is faking the phenomena. When a student is murdered, Blaine is asked to investigate. Stepping into the spirit world, she realizes the haunting may be very real. But that doesn't necessarily mean a ghost did the killing. "A good addition to fantasy and mystery collections ."-Library Journal

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 9, 2009
• ISBN: 9781436185721

Kat Richardson

KAT RICHARDSON is the nationally bestselling author of the Greywalker paranormal detective series and a co-author of the collaborative novel Indigo.

Reviews for Poltergeist

[schnaucl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. There's a note in the back about how the first book was written in 2000 and not updated so this book brings Harper to the present day. As someone who lives in the area described, I really appreciated that. Although there is a romantic thread in the story, Richardson managed to avoid the symptom that plagues most urban fantasy, which is to say that she avoids 2 or more characters falling desperately in love with the protagonist. Now I suspect that her current relationship won't last beyond the next book (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the breakup occurs before the book begins) and she may well end up with Quinton (a development I'd like to see) but that's a far cry from everyone wanting her or her desperately wanting several people at once.I continue to enjoy the world she's set up and all of the secondary characters in it.The story itself was an interesting one. The characters all seemed very real and they had believable motives for acting the way they did. (I also suspect it won't be long before Solis sees something Harper can't explain away. It reminds me a little of the relationship between Harry Dresden and Karrin Murphy, minus the possible romantic angle).Brian got a little annoying, but that was the point so I can't fault Richardson for that. I definitely think something's up with Albert.As for Harper, she continues to be confident and capable. She knows when to ask for help when she needs it. She's a strong female character who doesn't make a big deal out of the fact that she's strong and female.I look forward to the next book.

[carol420 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Harper is hired by a local psychology professor to investigate the unexpected happenings in an experiment he's running on psychokinesis, involving a group of participants' ability to "create" their own poltergeist. Little does the skeptical Professor Gantner know how qualified this particular PI is for the job. The further she investigates, however, the more convinced Harper is that the group of misfits has, in fact, created a real ghost. And, when Dr. Gantner's assistant Mark is suddenly murdered in a decidedly unusual fashion, Harper immediately sets out on the trail of the ghost and the individual controlling it. From the spooky, beginning build-up to the interesting middle, it was pretty good. Towards the end the story started moving haphazardly and became predictable. I still look forward to reading more of this series.

[pennylane78 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I like this series. it is getting a three star rating because I feel that the first book's story was better. though I do like that the character seems to be getting used to her ability and doesn't get sick or talk constantly about being nauseous in this book. it tended to get a little tiresome hearing about it in the first installment. I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series!

[rabidreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed by: Rabid ReadsI’d like to start this review off by first saying that I’m not 100% sure whether it’s the narration or the story that’s making me consistently rate this series 3 stars, so you might want to take my thoughts with a grain of salt until I figure that one out. Anyway, I think that I enjoyed this installment slightly less than its predecessor on account of all the psycho babble & lengthy experiment explanations. I felt like I was back in college listening to a professor drone on about a subject I couldn’t have cared less about. Kat Richardson’s approach to the paranormal seems to be largely academic in nature, and I’m not convinced that that writing style is well-suited for the Urban Fantasy genre.One of the aspects that I enjoyed the most about GREYWALKER was Ben and Mara’s supe 101 sessions with Harper, yet they seem to have almost completely vanished in this installment. I’m not sure how much time has elapsed between novels—I may have missed it in the earlier chapters—but it can’t be more than a couple of months, and I found that Blaine’s grasp of her newfound abilities was far too advanced for book 2. She’s also suddenly full-out dating Will, and in a long distance relationship no less, after only a few weeks (?). Again, I’m not clear on the time frame, but it just felt off to me. I had to double-check to make sure that POLTERGEIST was indeed the second installment in this series.I enjoyed the whodunit murder mystery even though I did find that it was a little too predictable because the suspect pool was restricted to the experiment participants. I also liked learning some of the tricks on the trade when Richardson explores how certain illusions are created; it’s clear that a lot of research went into this novel. Quinton is probably one of my favourite characters to date, and I was satisfied with the role he played in this story as well as Phoebe Mason’s. She’s a new addition, and I look forward to reconnecting with her in future installments. Will on the other hand… I honestly don’t see his appeal, and hope that Harper dumps his ass ASAP.The narration was somewhat improved when compared to the previous audiobook. I thought that Mia Barron’s Jamaican accent was well-done, and her ‘baby’ voice wasn’t half-bad either, although too much of it would have definitely given me a headache. But to be fair, any 2 year old talking in my ear nonstop would, so that means that her performance was authentic. Barron’s portrayal of the vampire characters was still too over-the-top for my tastes, especially where Carlos was concerned; he came across as more Count Dracula than evil undead master.In short, my struggles with this series continue, and if something doesn’t start to click soon, I may be calling it quits. POLTERGEIST felt more like a crime novel with paranormal elements mixed in than it did an Urban Fantasy which might be the crux of my problems with Harper Blaine.

[schedim-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

En par with the first book, good plot, interesting characters, the metaphysics are a bit thick sometimes tho.

[jenlamoureux · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Much improved over the first book in the series. Fun junk food for the brain :)

[page.fault · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Poltergeist was a refreshing read and good enough that I'm rushing to find the sequel. The premise is interesting and the story and characters are reasonably engaging. The protagonist, Harper Blaine, a small-time PI in Seattle, died for two minutes and was revived with a strange power: she is able to see-sometimes inadvertently--into the Grey, the world of spirit and magic. She is pulled into a case where a poltergeist, created in a during an unusual sociology experiment, begins to go rogue and draws the other subjects into mystery and murder.

Blaine is an engaging character and a sympathetic narrator. She's a bit too wish-fulfillmentish for my taste--thin, tall, pretty, intelligent, full of special skills, and with several close and loyal friends--but YMMV. For all that, I liked her--she was the first strong female protagonist I've seen in a while whose brain is in charge rather than her hormones--although possibly only because her boyfriend is out of the country. In any case, it was refreshing for a female protagonist to have the love interest so firmly off-screen.

The one issue that seriously bothered me was what I saw as Richardson's incredibly simplistic treatment of racism. A black student gives Blaine attitude, and she tells him he has a chip on his shoulder, points out to him his own instinctual racism against her, and it's all magically better! The Chinese girl has stereotypical Asian parents. I'm not a racial minority, and even I know there is so much more complexity than is being shown here, and that the very superficiality of the portrait is offensive. The attempt of Richardson to "understand", then her dismissal of racial complexities, felt to me both patronising and obnoxious, even if well-intentioned. Otherwise, I was moderately engaged by the characters, especially Quinton, the tech nerd.

Despite its supernatural edge, the flow and pace of the story felt less like noir and more like golden age mystery--something by Sayers or Christie, perhaps. Standard noir typically has gangsters and gunfights galore. The noir PI doesn't detect so much as poke around until bullets start to fly. He (or she) is then catapulted from explosive scene after explosive scene, becoming increasingly embroiled in the politics of the dark underbelly of the city. Typically motives and methods, and even individual players, are not paramount--there are too many players with simple motives (power, money) and gangster guns behind them. The structure of Poltergeist, on the other hand, follows in the tradition of the whodunit. There is a mysterious death and a limited set of suspects. Blaine questions each one by one, trying to tease out motives and methods. Although danger escalates, there is plenty of time for exposition and conversation, and Blaine's main interest is the suspects rather than harrowing escapes and imminent doom. Perhaps the flow was a little choppy and slow, and despite some potentially dangerous circumstances, the story never made my pulse rise. I though Richardson's voice and tone fit the golden-age mystery style well. The most irritating thing to me was the constant repetition of the word "Grey" (capitalized). I'd guess that "Grey" pops up about 5 times or more each page. There needs to be a better way of describing things without the constant repetition of That Word. Although the characters are perhaps stereotypes, they still are potential suspects and therefore have inner motives and complexities.

I'll definitely be picking up the next book--I really enjoyed the mixture of cozy mystery and fantasy. Richardson also has a great deal of fun with the poltergeist, bringing in discussions of techniques for scams and mimicry, and even giving a shout-out to Dorothy L. Sayer's Strong Poison. How could I NOT love a book that does that?

[krumbs_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I keep trying to enjoy her books, but I'm having some issues with the writing style. Huge, long paragraphs of exposition relating information that isn't vital to the development of the story. I understand wanting to demonstrate the large amount of research done in pursuit of a valid backstory, but the reader doesn't always need to know the details. I think Kat Richardson does better with short stories--much tighter plot-lines with less opportunity to lecture the reader.

[puttocklibrary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this second entry in this series. Blaine leads an unusual life, and is drawn into an interesting mystery/haunting in this gripping story, while also learning more about herself, and her unusual, newly acquired "gift".The characters felt real and complicated, and very definitely didn't figure it out before the end. I'm looking forward to further installments!

[leannesf_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Second book in the Greywalker series. This follow-up was an improvement over the first book, with a better paced story and more interesting case. The idea of a group of individuals actually creating a poltergeist was unique and Harper's search for the truth behind its actions was tension-filled and action-packed. It had me guessing at the last minute (I was wrong by the way) and I would recommend this book to those who enjoyed Greywalker, and fans of Patricia Briggs and Jennifer Estep.

[talksupe3blogspot · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Since the story is from an investigator's POV we get a little education on effective illusion and all those technicalities that you hear being thrown in Ghost Hunters or other ghost tours? Yup Kat Richardson shared that background stuff with us too. And it's tight, all that EMF, telekinesis and the accompanying psycho babble was well researched and not some made up explanation to justify the story. Harper Blaine is like my other favorite heroine, Mercy Thompson. She's driven, a strong female and doesn't take crap from anybody. The plot is not as complicated either. Compared to Greywalker, Poltergeist is focused and didn't have the other distractions of its predecessor. Here Harper is just tackling her investigation and mastering the Grey with the help of Ben and Mara Danziger.

[les121 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Poltergeist is a good second installment in the Greywalker series. The world of the Grey is interesting and unique, yet it has a classic, dark, ghost story feel. The mystery is more complex than the typical urban fantasy, with a complex mixture of clues, motivations, and obstacles that Harper has to deal with. In fact, the plot is more like a crime novel with a strong paranormal flare. (Which reminds me, thank you for the reference to one of my favorite fictional detectives, Ms. Richardson. It made me smile.)My only critique is that I guessed the culprit halfway through the book. Harper gains a piece of info about one of the suspects that screams “Psycho!” but she completely misses that vibe. Still, it was an entertaining read. The premise of Poltergeist is so fascinating that I felt compelled to find out more about the Philip experiments, the real life research into paranormal phenomena on which the story is based. In addition, I love the atmospheric Seattle setting and the little nuggets of history embedded in the story. The scenes with Carlos were also compelling; he’s one of those characters that falls into the grey area - please excuse the pun - between good and evil, and that ambiguity is what makes him the story’s most interesting character.Overall, Poltergeist was a solid second book, and I’m greatly looking forward to reading the next Greywalker mystery.

[cmwilson101 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in the Greywalker series, and has our PI investigating a poltergeist at a local university. The Greywalker series is based on the interesting premise that there is a world parallel to ours; this world is called the Grey, and it is populated by ghosts and other supernatural creatures. The Grey is layered with slices of time, in which old buildings exist and ghosts act out parts of their previous lives. Most people cannot see the Grey, though some people can communicate with inhabitants of the Grey. Enter our heroine, Harper. She is a detective in Seattle who is attacked and dies for a few minutes before being revived. Afterward, she is able to see into the Grey and is called a Greywalker. Harper is helped by Quinton, an off-the-grid technician, and Ben and Mara Danziger, who study the Grey and help her understand what she is seeing and experiencing. This second story in the series was a bit more complicated than the first, and bogged down in detail a bit; however, it is interesting to learn more about the Grey . I also liked how Harper's relationships develop as she becomes more involved in the Grey.

[bibliojim · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story was too slow - not enough action. But then, I remember that some of Agatha Christie's books struck me that way, too, and they're pretty classic. This book comes across as a normal mystery, except for the visibility of the Grey. The protagonist doesn't seem to have much empathy for people, and for me, that makes her a lot less likeable. The author kept bringing mentions of a friends' child, as a diversion. But the child seems fairly obnoxious, and the protagonist doesn't react to the child in a positive way. I thought it was an undesirable distraction from the plot. This is the second book in the Greywalker series. I didn't read the first one, and I felt this book would have probably been better read only after reading the first of the series.

[jjlangel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Better than the first one, but still no Jim Butcher.

[krau0098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in the Greywalker series. Book 3 "Underground" and book 4 "Vanished" are already out. The fifth book "Labyrinth" is due out in August 2010. Right now there are six books contracted for this series. This book was a great addition to the series. I listened to this on audio book and the audio book was very well done.Harper Blaine is starting to get better at this Greywalker thing. Then she gets a call from a psychologist who is running a study with a group of people who are supposed to be using their mental energy to create a Poltergeist. Well the group has either created or summoned something and things are starting to get violent during their seances. The psychologist is convinced that someone in the group is faking the effects and wants Harper to find out who it is. When one of the group members either dies or is murdered the stakes are increased and Harper has to figure out if the happenings are paranormal, normal, or a combination of both.I really like Harper Blaine as a character. She is definitely not a bad-ass but she is smart. She approaches her cases with a very analytical mind, sets up great plans to solve her cases, and is very practical about it all. Mira and Ben as the couple that assist Harper with paranormal knowledge are great, and their little two year old boy Brian had me chuckling at his antics a number of times (maybe this is because I have a three year old son). I liked Brian's crazy two-year old stunts and thought they added some humor to the book.This book is definitely more of a paranormal mystery than any other genre; Harper doesn't really have a love interest in this book and Harper assumes mundane causes before fantastical causes. A lot of time in this book is spent going into technical details on how ghost phenomena can be faked. Another large chunk of time is spend going into technical detail on how the Grey works. I really enjoyed the technical discussions; Richardson has done her home work and I found a lot of the information around the faking of ghost phenomena to be very interesting. This is a warning to people who don't like this kind of stuff though; if you aren't interested in hearing all the intricate details behind the workings of things then this book might not be for you.I really loved how Richardson has expanded Harper's working with the Grey. I still enjoy the creativity behind the idea of the Grey and the idea of Harper being able to travel through layers of ghostly time is really interesting and adds a whole additional layer to the story. The story was very engaging, action packed and the writing very readable.My only complaint with this book was that Harper only had the one case to work on and, at times, her foot work on that case got a bit boring. It would have been nice to have Harper juggling a couple cases, as she did in the first book, to keep things interesting during the inevitable lulls in the one case. I enjoyed this book and look forward to listening to the next book of the series on audio book. If you like paranormal mystery that pays special attention to detail when explaining the workings behind the paranormal phenomena then I think you will really love this book.

[sheiladeeth_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Poltergeist is Kat Richardson’s second Greywalker novel. It’s now sitting on my husband’s bookshelf waiting for him to finish Turn Coat, Jim Butcher’s latest Harry Dresden offering. Once he finishes, I’ll start…But I was the one to read Poltergeist first, and I really enjoyed it. The two series (Harry Dresden and Greywalker) really do fit well together, with both authors slowly adding to their mysterious worlds, both giving the feel of a protagonist who doesn’t know it all but is wise enough to learn. Harper Blaine learned to see into the edges of the Grey in Greywalker. Now she learns more control over what she sees and how she perceives it. Her friends’ small child provides light relief with disastrous consequences, and a group of interested recruits in a paranormal research experiment provide the odd dead body and wounded hand.All the old characters are here, even the world-trotting boyfriend carrying on his long-distance relationship. Quinton remains as mysterious and intriguing as ever. The scared vampire and the scary vampire continue to rack up debts owed and paid. And those who think they know it all end up learning they really don’t, which seems fair to me.Poltergeist is a fascinating mystery with dark undertones and exciting chases set in an absorbing world. But it’s only number two in the series, so I’m pleased to know I’ll have plenty more to go.Now, if my husband would just hurry and finish Turn Coat…

[justchris_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Harper Blaine is the stereotypical hard-boiled detective, and in the opening chapter of the first book Greywalker she is viciously assaulted by someone she's been investigating and is clinically dead for about seven minutes. When she recovers, nothing is the same. She sees things that aren't there, she's propelled into some sort of misty, dark otherwhere, she's seeing the things that go bump in the night. In effect, that misty borderland between the natural and the supernatural is called the Grey and she now has a permanent passport to travel there. There's no going back to regular life.All of these stories are essentially fast-paced action movies on paper. While all of the characters are distinctive, all are without depth, including the protagonist herself. This isn't really a series about personal growth, simply the growth of supernatural superpowers. Which is a shame, because so many of these characters have potential. And the romantic subplots--are there to add the mandatory sprinkling of spice, not depth.Poltergeist deals with just that, but it is apparently created as part of a university experiment. This is where we meet apparently Harper's only friend from before her accident and new life: Phoebe Mason, a bookstore owner whose family immigrated from Jamaica. I think the main reason for creating a black friend was to bring in the Caribbean version of the poltergeist--the duppy. It's nice that Kat Richardson isn't relying solely on European legends for her material. The final showdown takes place in Chinatown, so more local history and cultural diversity to the story. The romance is limping along through long-distance phone calls with Europe, since Will took a job with Sotheby's in London.So what do I like about the stories? She does her homework and does a good job with the scenery and exposition to give readers a feel for the locales. She has a fair sprinkling of different cultures and racial groups--detective Solis is a Colombian by birth, then there's the Jamaican Mason family, the various Native Americans who show up in Underground. Harper owns a ferret. She does a great job portraying ferrets as pets, and it is certainly a nice change from all of the cat owners in mysteries.What don't I like? The characters are shuffled in and out of stories with no real pacing or development, just sudden left turns and departures. Each story is entirely crisis management, there's no sense that Harper has anything approaching a normal routine, even if the normal has been redefined. Never any visits with friends or plans for a restful weekend or calls from annoying relatives. So the characters are essentially cardboard cutouts that are moved around the board as needed without any sort of convincing motivation or sense of inevitability.And most commonly, Harper's reactions to the Grey and to vampires and to whatever else is nausea. But boy, she keeps trooping right along with the nausea and other physical discomforts. As someone who's gone through chemotherapy, it's kind of disturbing to have nausea tossed in there as the most common physical symptom Harper contends with, and yet she just shrugs it off. Shit, there's whole suites of pharmaceuticals and endless brochures and books of advice for how to cope with nausea, which can be quite debilitating, and continue to get vital nutrients and survive. I don't think the author has any grasp of it, really, and every time I read about the nausea in the story it makes my guts twinge.Similarly, her interactions with the vampires. She has profound physical reactions to them, admits they scare the pants off her, but then she just blithely handles them. Once again, doesn't convince me. And as a friend pointed out, they have such prosaic names: Edward, Carlos, Alice, Gwen, and so on.So if you want quick entertainment that will occupy you for a few hours, with characters you aren't really going to become attached to, this is the series. It's kinda like the John Grisham of urban fantasy. Kat Richardson is certainly better than some others I've read in this style. I'm not going to go out and buy any of these books though, and I'm returning the ones I borrowed.

[ibeth_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Slightly more interesting than book one, but the Harper character still disappoints. I just can't believe in Harper's unwillingness to learn more about the Grey--she is an investigator, for goodness sake, yet she displays very little curiosity about phenomena she is fated to live through. I also don't understand why this obviously assertive woman would meekly accept whatever conditions her client sets. And then there is the boyfriend that she cannot bring herself to confide in (she doesn't even try, preferring instead to repeatedly p*** him off). The university events aren't believable either--this study would never get IRB approval, let alone grant money (perhaps most readers wouldn't mind that, but I did). This book gets very close to being an "idiot" plot, where the plot wouldn't happen if the protagonist didn't behave like an idiot. Quinton is the most interesting character yet we see very little of him. At least Harper has a cell phone now and not that anachronistic pager. I don't think I'll be reading any more of this series--too many other books on my "to read" list.

[reannon_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I ripped through the first book in this series, Greywalker, which affected me very strongly on an emotional level. This book I enjoyed, but it was a wholly different experience. The emotional reaction was muted, but the intellectual stimulation greater. In this book a psychology experiment that showed that convincing a group of people that a ghost exists would allow them to create manifastations of a ghost... and they do, but one of the members of the group dies. Harper Blaine, who can see ghosts in the Grey, a dimension next to ours, knows that the group is affecting and being affected by Grey phenomena. Can she stop other killings?I found the experiment a fascinating one. Recommended.

[selfmanic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While a great read, it did not live up to the sweeping flow of the first book in the series. Still a good book that I will be keeping in my library and looking for the next in the series.

[extrajoker · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

first line: "I sat in a boxlike office for twenty-three minutes as Professor Gartner Tuckman told me that he and a motley group of strangers had made a ghost."While I think Richardson does a better job describing the supernatural in this book than she did in the first, it wasn't as engaging overall. I can't say exactly why, except that it felt much more like a mystery novel with paranormal aspects than it did an urban fantasy. Also, I'm not sure she handles the minority characters (some of whom seem stereotypical) and racial tensions as deftly as might be desired. Still, I have every intention of sticking with this series, the third installment of which is due to be published in 2008.

[theniceone · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good continuation of the Greywalker series, this left me wondering what would happen next. This book seemed a little more assured than the last one, which is a good sign. Richardson's descriptions of the Grey, how it works, and how magic works were good, although she doesn't quite achieve the solid realism that an author like Deborah Grabien does. But the book was a good read, and I'll definitely buy the next in the series when it comes out.

[imayb1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The sequel to Greywalker is much less grey, and much less contrived than the first book. In her second book, Kat Richardson continues with the good parts of her debut novel and builds new characters and new history for her setting. Still, if you're looking for something that grabs emotions or thrills you, this isn't it. It's the reading equivolent of a kiddie roller coaster: it has rises and dips rather than suspensful climbs and fast downhill drops. It is essentially a mild version of the wild ride it could have been.The story is a more classical whodunnit, albeit with the inclusion of paranormal ghost/grey powers on the part of the private investigator, and psychic powers on the part of the suspects. Harper, the main character, is hired by a psychologist who is convinced his people-and-paranormal experiment has a saboteur. When she investigates the scene, Harper comes to a different conclusion-- one full of trouble with a mysterious murder on top. For those who enjoy seasonal or holiday-related books, the story took place during Halloween.