Wayward Pines, Season One, Episode Three: Our Town, Our Law

Beverley's body continues to hang on display and a child places a flower next to her body, as Beverley's body releases her urine. Pope gives a speech about how fortunate the citizens are because they protect each other, even sometimes from each other, in order to avoid their way of life being endangered.  Pope then admits that being sheriff is difficult but having the support and trust of the people gathered there tonight, is what keeps him going. Pope encourages the citizens to recite the rules of the town. Pope and the citizens start to chant, "work hard, be happy, enjoy your life in Wayward Pines." Pam has her true believer face on and chants along with everyone else.

While Pope has been holding court, Ethan has been trying to make his way out of town.  The search continues for Ethan.

Kate and Harold are back home and she heads into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, to help with what they're feeling.  Kate soon realizes that she is not alone in the kitchen.  Ethan tells Kate that he fell in love with her because she is fearless and strong but adds that what he saw tonight is evil.  Ethan however is certain that Kate isn't evil.  Kate offers Ethan a cup of tea which he refuses and instead asks her to come with him.  Kate simply says that Beverley was reckoned because she broke the rules. Ethan calls what happened to Beverley murder and adds that Kate sat there and watched.  When the kettle goes off, Kate whispers to Ethan that they didn't turn him in, only Beverley.  Unfortunately, Burke told everyone that Kate did turn them in as a warning because they are supposed to police their neighbours. Kate acknowledges that there's blood on her hands but warns Ethan that there are no second chances in Wayward Pines and he got one.  Kate hands Ethan his tracking chip and warns him to hold onto it, so that they won't know he took it out.  Kate's phone starts to ring and Ethan asks if she is going to answer but Kate is certain that the call is not for her.  Ethan again asks Kate to come with him but she simply warns Ethan that he will never make it out of Wayward Pines alive.

The next day, Ethan makes his way through the woods to the house where he found Bill's body.  Ethan marches inside and this time he finds Beverley hanging from the rafters.  Ethan takes her down and promises Beverley that he will find her daughter and tell her how much her mother loved her and how hard Beverley fought to get back to her.  Ethan covers up Beverley with a bit of lace.

Ben and Theresa have arrived in Boise.  Ben is incredulous that they are actually chasing after his father and wonders if driving 500 miles to find Ethan is futile.  Theresa says that it's strange that his father hasn't called but Ben suggests that Ethan is avoiding them.  Theresa makes it clear that what is going on between her and Ethan, is between her and Ethan and has nothing to do with Ben. Theresa finishes by asking Bill to never say Kate's name again, before getting out of the car.

Ethan has made his way to Beverley's old house.  When he walks inside, he finds it completely empty, with all traces of Beverley completely erased.  Peter McCall, the real estate agent in Wayward Pines, enters and Ethan is forced to hide. Peter tells the workers that they have a new family moving in today and that they should start upstairs.  When Peter sees Ethan, he whispers that Ethan is to remain silent.  Ethan takes the hint and heads outside, where he sees a delivery truck moving through the neighbourhood.  Ethan takes note of the license plate which says Wayward Pines, instead of a state.

Theresa speaks with a receptionist to try to find information on Ethan. Theresa explains her suspicion that Ethan is with Kate and immediately gains sympathy.  The receptionist agrees to check out if an informal inquiry has been stared on Ethan.  The moment the receptionist leaves her desk, Kate uses Ethan's ID to access the computer and uses Ben to stand guard.  Theresa learns that Ethan's last submitted receipt was at a gas station in small town Idaho.  Theresa and Ben decide to leave when they notice the receptionist on her way back to her desk.

Back at the Seattle Office, a member of the Secret Service calls someone in Wayward Pines and reports that Theresa used Ethan's ID to log into their files and might be making her way to Wayward Pines.

Ben and Theresa stop at the gas station to find out if anyone there has any memory of Ethan,.Theresa learns that he was with another guy and they both looked like they were going to a funeral.  A young boy pipes up that there was an accident near Wayward Pines.  Theresa thanks them for their help and leaves.  Theresa doesn't get far because she is pulled over by Pope.  On his way to Theresa's car, Pope leaves a trail of oil.  Pope informs Theresa that she has an oil leak and invites her to step out of the car to see for herself, ordering Ben to stay in the car.  Pope offers to tighten a valve so that Theresa doesn't breakdown.  Theresa is quick to say yes.  When Pope has the hood up, he snipes a wire which causes the car to leak some kind of fluid.   Theresa thanks Pope for his help and leaves with Ben.

Seizing an opportunity to escape, Ethan hops into the back of the truck when the driver leaves to make a delivery.  The truck doesn't travel far before stopping.  Ethan looks out the back window and when he doesn't see anything, he chooses to get out of the truck.  Ethan finds himself inside some sort of giant factory.  When an alarm of sorts goes off, Ethan takes off running and hides as he watches a cube van pull in. Ethan manages to find the car he was a passenger in when he got into the accident that led him to Wayward Pines.  Now we know where there is no DNA in the car that the Secret Service has.  Ethan finds a plastic bag with his name on it, holding his effects.  When the lights suddenly go out, Ethan hunkers down and tears into the bag and finds a picture of him and Theresa.  Suddenly, the window of the car he is sitting in is broken by Pope, who injects Ethan with something.  Ethan gets out of the car and a fight starts between him and Pope.  The sedative starts to take effect and Ethan tries to get away from Pope, with Pope laughing about there being nowhere to go. Finally, Ethan collapses to the ground, as Pope say that he doesn't know what they see in him.

Ethan awakes to a ringing phone.  When he answers it, Ethan is informed that his family was just discharged from the hospital.  Ethan asks where his family is but the woman hangs up the phone.  Ethan leaves the room to look for his family and learns that he is inside the hospital.  Ethan approaches Nurse Pam, and asks for Ben and Theresa, and is told that they are safe and sound at home.  Nurse Pam snarks that the house is free because the prior occupant had a sore throat.

West Coast Witch (American Arcane #1) by Justen Hunter

Eric’s life was pretty simple – he had his job as a bar tender and his books.

Until a vampire attacks him and an ex girlfriend of his goes missing and he meets Amy who introduces herself as his Guardian because of a pact with his family. Now he’s up to his eyeballs in vampire politics, werewolf gangs and so much more than he ever dreamed of

Above all the fact that he has magic – he’s a witch, one of the few left in the world, and a challenge, asset and threat to the other Arcane of San Francisco.

This is the first novel of a new series – which means as much as it is about telling a story it’s also about introducing a world and cast to convince us that we want to play in it – and I think this book has done a pretty decent job all round, albeit perhaps not a stellar job

The world is a good one – but not an especially original one. We have vampires in all their ancientness and werewolves in all their furriness with assorted shapeshifters around the periphery for funness. The characters themselves are interesting (the werewolf mob boss, the vampire club owner) and it’s all presented well with bonus extras that we don’t see a lot elsewhere – the undefined Guardians and the hinted at Red Angels with extra mystery brought by the fae

I think when these are developed – along with the whole near-extinction of the witches and their nature – have potential to throw in lots of new angles. I also think it’s probably a good idea not to overdevelop them at this stage so the book can spend more time focusing on introducing Eric, the protagonist. This means the world is decent, fun, interesting and also very very very very similar to a lot of worlds out there. That’s not inherently a bad thing – I liked those books, I like big worlds full of the supernatural, but until these extra elements are developed there’s little in the world to make it stand out in the genre.

The primary role of this book is to set up Eric, the protagonist – and I have mixed feelings about him

Eric has lived nearly his entire life without any real familiarity of the supernatural. Sure he’s aware that vampires and werewolves exist along with the rest of the population since they’ve recently had a Masquerade breaking a few years ago, but otherwise he’s quite clueless. Yet he doesn’t let that stop him leaping into the supernatural world head first without much in the way of hesitation. He often steps in things completely against the advice of his friend/mentor/guardian/totally-not-an-angel. He’s reckless, he’s foolish and if he weren’t the protagonist with a truly epic level of plot armour, he would be dead several times over.

I don’t know what frustrates me more, the lack of good decision making or the fact that his decisions nearly always work without any real consequences

Eric also trusts extremely easily – like Amy. Sure she saved his life but she won’t even tell him her last name, what exactly she is, what her relationship with his mother or his family is but has already declared herself to be his guardian and follows him around. And if he does trust her so much could he at least trust her enough to listen to her advice?! Like she tells him it’s very important he not let the world know he’s a witch and I don’t think the echoes of her warning have died before he’s told half of San Francisco.

He’s so blasé and careless – he falls in with the vampires (after going to see them. Alone. Against all advice. And still not getting eaten) and even starts dating Teresa - again against advice and just a few short days after being attacked by a vampire and describing the whole experience as traumatic and violating. In fact, Eric’s life changes a lot very quickly and becomes a lot more violent and messy but he rolls with it incredibly easily. Now, I’m no fan of drawn out angst, reading my past reviews will make that clear – but some reflection or pause would have helped a lot here.

Wayward Pines, Season One, Episode Two: Do Not Discuss Your Life Before

Pope orders Ethan out of the car and demands Ethan turn around and place his hands on the vehicle. Pope puts a gun to Ethan's head and informs him that he is a guy with no ID or badge, who just stole a car. Pope then hits Ethan in the back of the head, telling Ethan that he just restrained a suspect who was resisting arrest.  Pope then adds that after calling the Seattle office, there's no record of Ethan.  Ethan offers to help with the investigation  but Pope not only wants no part of Ethan but orders him to stay in his hotel room.  Alex and Larry ride by and Larry stops long enough to inform Ethan that rule number one is that he shouldn't try to leave.

Ethan lies on his motel bed until the alarm goes off, before heading downstairs.  He rings the bell for attention and when no one answers, tries to start up the computer.  The manager finally shows up and Ethan asks about working computers and is told they don't have any.  Ethan asks for a newspaper and there's only The Wayward Chronicle, which hasn't printed an issue in two weeks.  A frustrated Ethan leaves the hotel and heads back to the house where he found Bill's body.  Ethan breaks a window to get inside and finds that no evidence has been collected and that Bill's body is still lying there, except now, it's surrounded by flies.  Ethan finds a notebook on Evan and is forced to leave it there because Pope arrives.

Pope is not at all pleased to see Ethan, particularly because Ethan was ordered to stay in his motel room.  Ethan points out that Evans is his colleague and that he cannot just let this go. Ethan tells Pope that he believes Evans was killed in the woods.  Ethan demands to know about forensics and is informed by Pope that they are coming from Boise.  Pope orders Ethan back to the hotel until the professionals can do their job.

Instead of the hotel room, Ethan heads to the bar and finds Beverly mopping the floor.  When he starts to ask questions, Beverly turns up the music and asks Ethan to dance. Beverly warns Ethan that there are mikes under the barstool.  Beverly tells Ethan that she and Evans had a plan to escape and that she was going with him.  Beverly says that the plan was in a notebook.  The two decide that they are going to meet up later and Ethan leaves when Stan the owner arrives.

Ethan then tries calling home and gets the answering machine again. Ethan then tries to call Adam Hassler again and is told that Adam is not in the office.  Ethan asks Marcy, the woman who answered the phone, if she is sitting at the seventh floor reception desk in the Seattle office, and when Marcy says yes, Ethan informs her that there is no such desk.  Ethan demands to know who Marcy really is and she simply hangs up the phone. Ethan then asks Ruby at the donut shop about Kate Houston and is told there is no such person living in Wayward Pines.  Ethan then asks about Kate using her married name and is informed that Kate works at the toy store.

In a flashback scene, Ethan is talking Theresa about the fact that he is late from work.  Theresa is suspicious but Ethan says that it's over between him and Kate.

In the real world, Ben and Theresa are watching the news hoping to learn what is going on with Ethan. Ben says that everything is classified when it comes to his father and he wonders if Ethan is dead because he has been missing for five days.  When Theresa assures Ben that his father is still alive, Ben wonders if Ethan is with Kate again.

Ethan walks down the street and looks at Kate through the toy store window. Ethan pauses and has a series of intimate memories of his time together with Kate. Ethan stops in to tell Kate that he hasn't been able to get in touch with anyone, cannot seem to leave Wayward Pines and that the only reason he's in Wayward Pines is to find her and Bill Evans.  Ethan asks Kate what happened to Evans and what happened to her.  Kate doesn't get answer because they are interrupted by Kate's husband.  Ethan starts putting key chains on the counter and asks Kate to ring it up, as he pulls money out of his wallet.  It seems that the money in Wayward Pines is all counterfeit and Ethan says that any trained agent can see this.  Ethan asks Kate what she is hiding and Kate says that what happened to Bill is really sad, particularly so for his widow Patrica.  This shocks Ethan because as far as he knows, Bill Evans was not married.  Kate continues to smile, as she tells Ethan that she used to see Patricia watering her pink hydrangeas in front of their light brown house every morning.

Wayward Pines, Season One, Episode One: Where Paradise Is Home

Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke wakes beside a river and has obviously been hurt in some kind of accident.  He stands, then makes his way out of the woods. Ethan recalls a session with his psychiatrist about an incident involving a girl.  Burke admits withholding what happened from his wife because it's classified, but admits that he did however discuss the Easter Bombings with his partner.  The psychiatrist makes it clear to Ethan that he is not to blame for the bombing and asks about hallucinations. 

Ethan has made his way into the small town of Wayward Pines and all the residents stare as he walks past.  He makes it into a bar and is told he is in Wayward Pines, Idaho, before collapsing on the ground. Ethan wakes up in the hospital with nurse Pam checking out his vitals. 

In a flashback, we see Ethan in a car with Agent Rick Stallings.  They talk about the fact that Ethan has been ordered to find Kate and because of the affair between Kate and Ethan, Ethan didn't tell his wife about his assignment.  Ethan justifies keeping his wife in the dark by reminding Stallings that the mission is classified.The truck which hit them seems to come out of nowhere.

Ethan asks about Stallings, and is informed he didn't survive the accident.  Ethan requests to call home and is informed that the sheriff's department got into contact with his family after the accident. Ethan then asks about his things and Pam says that the sheriff's office has everything before leaving.  The hospital seems pretty empty even for a small town.

At the Secret Service Headquarters in Seattle, Washington, Stallings body has been discovered but as far as the agency is concerned, Ethan is missing.  At this point they are trying to figure out if Ethan is missing, or if his body was so badly burned that the remains are gone.

Having not heard from Ethan, his wife Theresa calls him but the call goes straight to voicemail.  Ben asks his mother she is calling and when Theresa says Ethan, Ben immediately becomes concerned about how things are going.  Ben believes that Theresa is lying when she says that all is good because she paused and looked to the left.  Theresa's phone rings and it's Adam Hassler from the Secret Service office, to inform her that there's been an accident.

In the hospital, Ethan pushes the button to get Nurse Pam's attention.  Ethan demands to see the doctor and asks why the hospital is so empty. He asks about his things and then asks for a phone when Pam gives him noncommittal answers to his questions.  Pam says that there are no phone jacks in the patient rooms and promises to return in an hour with Ethan's dinner.  A frustrated Ethan gets out of bed and gets dressed the moment Pam leaves the room. When he pushes the button for the elevator, Nurse Pam tries to stop Ethan saying that he is not thinking clearly.  Ethan has to get insistent with Pam to be able to leave the hospital. Once outside, Ethan heads to the sheriffs office to find that it's closed.

A concerned Ben confronts his mother about the call and Theresa informs him that Ethan was in an accident and yet there's not race of him at the scene.  Theresa does her best to assure Ben that everything is going to be okay.

Ethan makes his way into a bar and asks the barmaid Beverly for a phone.  Ethan then orders a cheeseburger, saying that he lost his things in the accident and was told that they were at the sherfff's office but when he went to collect them, the office was already closed. Beverly agrees to give Ethan the burger for free and he calls her the first normal person he's met in this town. Ethan reveals that he is in town on business and is a member of The Secret Service. Ethan calls home but gets the machine, so he is forced to leave a message. Beverly questions what Ethan is doing in town and Ethan says that he is looking for some missing agents.  Unfortunately for Ethan, he is the only new face Beverly has seen.  Beverly  writes up a receipt and instead of a bill it's her address.  Beverly suggests that if Ethan runs into trouble he should look her up.  On the back of the receipt, Beverly has written the words, "there are no insects in Wayward Pines."

Later that evening, Ethan stops when he hears a cricket chirping.  When he bends over to investigate the sound, he finds some kind of device emitting the chirping noise. Ethan places it back.  The next day, Ethan awakes in bed with a loud knock on the door.  It's the hotel manager to inform Ethan that he has slept past check out time.  Ethan asks if the phones are working yet because he couldn't get a call out and is told that there's nothing wrong with the phones and that there were no calls for him.  When Ethan explains that he is unable to pay because he hasn't gotten to the sheriff's office yet, the manager demands Ethan vacate the premises immediately.

Back on the street, Ethan decides to check out the address Beverly gave him the night before.  When he arrives, the house looks abandoned and completely run down. Ethan calls out for Beverly and when he gets no response, he decides to enter the house. Once inside, Ethan finds Evans body rotting tied to a bed.

Ethan returns to the police station, introduces himself and asks to see the sheriff.  Ethan tells Sheriff Pope about a bartender giving him the address to the house which contained the dead body.  Ethan then asks about his things, having been told by nurse Pam that Sheriff Pope would have them. Sheriff Pope informs Ethan that he doesn't have his things and so Ethan asks for a phone to make some calls. Pope agrees to Ethan's request, as long as Ethan provides information on the body.  Ethan says that he found agent Evans and that he was sent to Wayward Pines to find to agents but with the death of agent Evans, he is now only looking for Kate Houston.  Ethan gives a general description of Kate.  Pope makes it clear that he will check out the house without Ethan's help.

Wickedly Dangerous (Baba Yaga #1) by Deborah Blake

Three children have gone missing from the little town of Clearwater.  Sheriff Liam McClellan has been searching for some kind of clue as to who took the children and if the kids are dead or alive but no matter where he looks, he finds no answers.  When Mary Elizabeth Shields goes missing, her desperate grandparents send for the Baba Yaga.  Barbara Yager arrives in her Airstream, with her companion dog/dragon Chudo-Yudo.  After making a the typical request that Mary Elizabeth's mother perform the three impossible tasks required for the aid of the Baba Yaga, Baba gets to work on the case.  Baba quickly finds herself drawn to Liam, even as she does battle with an Otherworldly creature to save the town of Clearwater from environmental damage, the Otherworld from destruction, and to save the missing children.

I began the Baba Yaga series with Wickedly Magical, which has absolutely no hint of romance.  It is on the strength of that book that I decided to read Wickedly Dangerous.  Had I known that Blake would turn the Baba Yaga into a love story, I never would have picked up Wickedly Dangerous.  It feels quite a bit like a bait and switch.  I went into Wickedly Dangerous expecting a wilily protagonist, who is grumpy, awkward but yet extremely powerful.  What I got is a Baba Yaga who spends much of her time lamenting the fact that she doesn't possess good social skills, doesn't fit in because she isn't quite human and is obsessed with Liam.  Baba is barely competent in the investigation. Despite all of Baba's whining about not fitting in, the people of Clearwater take to her immediately, which is weird because small town people are normally a little resistant to strangers.  It's only when some of Baba's herbal medication backfires due to interference of the evil protagonist  that they become suspicious. 

I quickly became frustrated with Baba mooning over Liam.  Despite the fact that her life is in danger, he seems to be all she can focus on.  I had trouble believing at times that she is supposedly a very long lived supernatural.  I couldn't stop my frustration at the repeated commentary about how good Liam's T-shirt looks on him or the brown flecks in his eyes. Yes, focus on the hot guy while your life is in danger, that's just the most appropriate way to handle things. If this had just been Baba, it would have been bad enough but Blake includes Liam's perspective, so there is a ton of internal monologue about how frustrating Baba Yaga is and his fascination with her amber eyes and long dark hair. This naturally leads to the will they or won't they be a couple scenario because Baba Yaga's life is one where she travels around when called and Liam, having lived in Clearwater all of his life, is reluctant to leave.

iZombie, Season 1, Episode 13: Blaine's World

Blaine has Major locked in the freezer because he really wants to know where his prime astronaut brains are. Of course Major is defiant. And cold. I have to admit Blaine is a kind of awesome villain. He also feeds Major brains.

In the morgue, the gang looks at Teresa’s body. She called 911 but they didn’t get there in time – she was bludgeoned to death. They also found Cameron’s blood in the motel room (after Clive does a quick recap of the last episode and it’s many murders)

Time for Liv to chow down on Teresa brains before she and Ravi talk about the cured rat. Liv wants to take the cure now, Ravi wants to be sure it’s not lethal first being sensible while Liv is dealing with her best friend thinking she’s a monster and Major wanting to kill everyone like her. She’s not sensible but she’s understandable. But Ravi points out they only have one cure – and if this cure works then the next step has to be replicate it. He wants to turn Liv human but they also have to be able to cure the other zombies as well. She has to concede this –and also has a vision

The vision, as she tells Clive, incriminates Max Rager since Teresa got her hands on the memo accusing their energy drink of causing mass murders.

Over to Max Rager where evil boss guy Vaughn is showing his new head of research a video of the old head of research interviewing zombie Sebastian – which is fascinating and gruesome since Sebastian kills the old scientist. They also know that Liv is a zombie which I why they’re eager to have her there to interview them.

Vaughn ducks and weaves and reveals he knows quite a lot about what has been going on though he seems quite unfazed by Liv’s blasé admission of stabbing Sebastian to death. But the case takes them away which leaves Vaughn to be rather excessive in his praise for what his new head of science will do for his product – which seems to involve turning it into every drug under the sun. Oh and remove the little zombie-causing issue. Of course for those zombies that actually exist, Vaughn intends to deal with them

Back to the case, between a hit on Cameron’s credit card and some CCTV, Clive and Liv conclude that Cameron has been kidnapped but not where he is. Ravi has some evidence though (and he and Liv have some quality snark – of course Ravi is right about English games). They’re interrupted by a 911 call from Cameron which abruptly cuts off

Tracking down the phone they find it in a junkyard where cars are crushed. Which also what happened to Cameron’s phone. But Clive is a clever cookie and figures out Cameron is scamming things and pulls up traffic cams to show Cameron himself drive his car to the junkyard.

The Whispers, Season One, Episode Two: Hide & Seek

Sahara Desert Three months ago

 A child plays with a toy stuck and pauses when some sort of meteor shoots across the sky.  There seems to be a detonation when it lands.  The child then makes his way across the sand with a single torch to guide him and finds some sort of ID patch with the name Sean Bennigan. 

In the present, Claire and Henry start their morning routine.  Henry tells his mother that he has made a new friend and when Claire leaves to answer the door, the microwave flips on and off while the light bulb flashes.  When Claire checks the door, she finds no one standing there.  Claire brings up Henry's friend again and says that she cannot wait to meet him.

Having escaped from the hospital, Amnesia guy walks through the park and the parents pull their children out of his path.  He heads into a wooded area and reclaims his bag which contains clothing and a shard of whatever the government is investigating in Africa.

Still at home, Claire calls Rollins to request he wait a bit before releasing the sketch. Rollins asks why, pointing out that they are partners. Claire affirms that she is not shutting Rollins out.  Claire then asks Rollins to meet her at the hospital to interview the only person they know who has talked to Joe.  Claire then calls Wes's house and it's Lena who picks up the phone but she doesn't answer.  When Wes wakes, he explains that all the calls he is getting are about what happened in the desert.  Claire, who is not completely interested in his reasons, simply moves onto their daughter Minx, who whom Wes needs to discuss his affair with.

In the meantime, Minx has been cahtting with her imaginary friend again and this time she informs her friend that she cannot print what he is requesting because her father has returned home.  Minx cuts her conversation short when Wes enters to discuss his lecherous ways. Wes asks to meet Drill and is informed that grown ups cannot see him and only the kids who have been chosen can see him. Wes decides to move on and affirms for Minx that no matter what happens, the three of them will remain a family.

Wes is headed to work but doesn't get far because Claire pulls up in front of him and cuts him off. Claire wants the details of her husband's status  change but Wes cannot confirm or deny anything, adding that Sean's plane was found thousands of miles from where it disappeared.  There's also evidence that someone walked away from the crash site but no proof that the person in question is Sean.  Claire decides to share the sketch with Wes, explaining that the man was seen moments before the bombing.  Wes is confused because the sketch looks like Sean. Claire questions why Sean did not come home, if he did indeed survive.  Wes reminds Claire that Sean is now a national security threat and that even talking to her is treason.  Clearly, every word they say to each other is loaded the history of their affair.

Sean has now made his way to a storage facility. The walls of his locker contain newspaper articles and pictures of the kids who have an imaginary friend.

At the hospital, Dr. Maria Benavidez walks into Amanda's room to check on her and finds Harper.  It seems that Harper is not fooled by what her father has been telling her about her mother's condition and is sure that Amanda is going to die.  Dr. Maria Benavidez assures Harper that they are doing all they can and that Amanda is fighting. Harper however is adamant that the Dr. Maria Benavidez cannot help her mother and that her imaginary friend informed her that he is the only one who can. 

Sean is still at his locker and now he is removing everything he has tacked to the walls.

Claire and Rollins arrive at the hospital and Rollins affirms that the imaginary friend is real and is getting the kids to do things.  Talking about the sketch again, Claire agrees that someone might know the subject, adding that this is why they are there.  Rollins and Claire question Harper about the sketch but Harper says that she cannot say anything.  Harper does not believe that Drill is dangerous and is certain that Drill is going to save her mother's life, again affirms that she is playing the most important game of all.  Claire then tries to get Dr. Maria Benavidez to question Harper but Harper seems to hear something and refuses to speak to the doctor.  Claire then shows the sketch to Dr. Maria Benavidez, who affirms that the man in question is indeed coma guy.

Imp Forsaken (Imp #5) by Debra Dunbar

Near death, Gregory is forced banish Sam to hell.  Unsurprisingly, it's not a great homecoming for Sam, who is immediately captured by elves. Once again, Sam cannot help but empathize with the humans who have been slaves to the elves for centuries.  Sam quickly finds herself embroiled in an elf war with the future at hell at stake. If that were not enough, Sam must fulfill her breeding contract with the ancient demon Ahriman, who wants their offspring to have the ability to devour - a skill that could very well bring about the end of creation.  How will Sam survive this time?

Imp Forsaken is easily my least favourite of the Imp series to date.  Because Sam is banished to Hell, there is very little interaction with Wyatt and Gregory and absolutely none with her friends.  These interactions are what have drawn me so deeply into this world and I sorely missed them. Sam has changed so much that I barely recognize her anymore.  In Imp Forsaken she was so caught up in freeing the humans and avoiding capitulating to Ahriman for much of the novel, she didn't do anything Imp like.  Why does developing a sense of morality mean that Sam has to give up her trouble loving ways? Other than chucking chickens at an elf, Sam has no wild antics in this novel.

Much of this book focuses on the angel Gabriel's investigation into the island that Sam blew up and the activities of the dead angles and their unauthorized visit to earth.  The problem with this is that before Imp Forsaken, Gabriel has always been a side character at best, making it hard to really relate with his struggles to understand what is happening and why.  He has a slight shift from contempt for humanity to tolerance but it's hardly enough to be interesting.  Gabriel's change of heart is very much married to Angel politics but I found myself not caring in the least little bit.

 We also learn that though higher vibration angels are supposedly largely androgynous, they are beginning to appear in their preferred gender, and only some retain the ability to appear as either.  Uriel for instance, despite presenting as female by choice is alternately referred to by both male and female pronouns. I did however find it interesting that Gregory express a desire to be female but for some reason not having the ability to. Hmmm...this however did cause me to pause.  Unfortunately, Dubar didn't expand on angels and gender beyond this statement by Gregory and Gabriel's affirmation that while he has changed his gender, he now chooses to present as male.  These changes were unfortunately blamed on Sam and I wish Dunbar had taken it one step further to maybe perhaps discuss more in depth why these formerly gender non-conforming angels are suddenly so determined to uphold gender norms and the gender binary.