Lara Jansen is not your typical Urban Fantasy heroine, and there is no doubt that Truthseeker by C. E. Murphy, the book Lara stars in, is pure Urban Fantasy. There are Seelie heroes, Unseelie royalty, creatures from your nightmares, all set in Boston and the Barrow-lands.

When we first meet Lara, she’s meek, but internally strong, surrounded by a core group of friends who accept her “oddity”. Lara, it seems, cannot tell a lie, nor can she stand to hear lies, or even half-truths. They resonate in her body as wrong, setting off a musical alarm. When she meets Weatherman David Kirwen, she notices two things – he’s extremely attractive, and he’s living a lie.

David is in fact Dafydd ap Caerwyn, a prince of the Seelie court. He’s lived in our world for a century, searching for a means to uncover his brother’s murderer, and Lara is just what he’s looking for. It seems she’s a Truthseeker, a rare talent for a mortal to possess, and she may be the key to more than a murder. She has the ability to unite the fae — or incite a war that could destroy the Barrow-lands.

Truthseeker is far removed from the other books I’ve read by C. E. Murphy. It still holds the fantastic worldbuilding and lovable characters, but it’s a much lighter read. Not light as in lacking substance, but it reminds me more of a moonlit walk on a sandy beach than a battle to the death under a scorching sun. The romance is an integral piece of the plot, but it’s overshadowed by Lara’s journey of discovery and her realization that she is much more than a person who can hear a lie—she holds the power to break worlds, or mend them, depending on which decision she makes. This makes her more powerful than any gun-wielding heroine, and it instantly endeared her to me.

I recommend Truthseeker not only to fans of Murphy’s other work, but fans of fantasy novels in general. You have an unlikely heroine, a witty sidekick, and an honorable hero who is in need of a good rescue.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (August 31, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345516060
• ISBN-13: 978-0345516060

To purchase a print copy of Truthseeker from Amazon click here.
To purchase a Kindle copy of Truthseeker from Amazon click here.

To purchase a print copy of Truthseeker from Barnes & Noble click here.
To purchase a Nook copy of Truthseeker from Barnes & Noble click here.

To purchase an eBook copy of Truthseeker from OmniLit click here.