I've generally been willing to read anything C.E. Murphy puts out, sight unseen, and I have yet to be let down. I still prefer her main series, The Walker Papers, but Truthseeker continues that trend. Lara is an interesting, human character, shaped by her nascent truthseeking powers in interesting and logical ways. The romantic interest has enough flaws to be multidimensional, but you can also see why he would immediately catch and hold Lara's interest. The supporting characters are also, as per Murphy's usual, lovely. My main complaint is that unlike most of her other books, this one is not really a standalone novel. There's certainly a climax and a sort of resolution of one of the main plot threads, but you absolutely will need to read the next book (Worldwalker, I think?) to get the full story. We are told at the outset of the book that The heroine Lara, has anodd ability to be ableto hear the truth of what is said to her and that any comment which is not exactly honest jars with her. Interestingly the author explores what this means in real terms for the heroine and she actually starts off as a rather odd and humourless character in that everything she says is totally literal - even common statements that people make in day to day society in order to be polite are difficult for Lara. Anyway she meets a mysterious tv presenter and it is immediately clear to her that not all is as it seems. It emerges that Dafydd is actually an elfin prince on a quest to find a truth seeker so that he can discover who killed his foster brother. He persuades her to return with him to Faerie in order to identify the killer. The seelie court is not as friendly as she would hope but she rules out Seelie involvement in Merrick's death. By this stage they are already at war with the Unseelie at any rate and they ride into battle. Lara is captured and makes discoveries about the true identity of the Unseelie King. Her magic grows in Faerie and she is able to escape of her own accord back to the ordinary world. The author plays with time and it emerges that Lara's return is months after Dafydd's return and he is in jail for her kidnapping/ murder. This has to be rectified but Lara struggles to provide any explanation for where she was. Whenever Dafydd is eventually released, they face an attack by magical monsters called night wings. A police officer is injured and Lara, Dafydd and two friends end upon the run. Dickson can not accept what Dafydd is and parts acrimoniously from the group. Dafydd is weakened through the lose of connection to Faerie and Lara and kelly have to manage the escape. They go on a search for a world changing weopon which they find but are then attacked by night wings again. Dafydd is rescued by the king of the Unseelie and returns to Faerie. Lara and Kelly are left behind and have to fight the evil on this side. They discover that Merrick's is still alive after all and is behind all the strife. He then returns to Faerie where he intends to try and conquer both Seelie and Unseelie. The book ends with Lara using her magic to take her bak to Faerie so that she can rescue her prince. The plot sounds somewhat convoluted when set out like this but actually i really enjoyed this book. It was an interesting read and I did not know what was going to happen next. The writing also made the book stand out from other similar urban fantasy books that are around at the moment. There was a lyrical quality to the prose and It came across as thoughful and insightful. The heroine grows as a character not only in power but also in terms of confidence and strength of purpose. The romance is present but muted and the reader is left with no guarantees as there is much to overcome in terms of the differences between Lara and Dafydd.
What do You think about Truthseeker (2010)?
I don't remember what I thought of it but I've read before and I couldn't get into into again
—Yreskimofriend
This series was okay...I liked it alright but I enjoy Murphy's Walker Papers more.
—Met
I liked it even better the second time around! On to the sequel!
—css2011
