Well, this series is picking up steam for me.  It started clicking in #2, and this one, the 3rd in the series, keeps going strong.  This one deals more with the Convergence, a cataclysmic event that brought the fey into the human world, with no foreseeable way to get back.  No spoilers intended, but yes - big stuff happens - after all, it's Samhain:)

 

Connor is still detecting, but as the mystical events start getting bigger and bigger, I doubt he’ll be able to do as much police procedural work as he did.  That’s ok, though, because the further along this series go, the more interesting the backstory of a lot of the characters are. 

 

Another good installment in the Connor Grey series. Like orannia, I didn't think the romantic relationship added anything to the story.

As usual, the book starts a little slowly but the pace increases soon and by halfway through, I couldn't put it down. I love Connor. I love how del Marco is able to show me Connor's deepest feelings with very little telling. I love how equal the genders are. I love Meryl and I know why Connor cares about her. (Frequently in UF, I have no idea why the main chars are attracted to one another.) I feel Connors confused emotions around just about everything in the story. I love that he stands up and is snarky when he wants to be and feels pushed and not just any time he is angry and annoyed.

I love how in each book he find himself in a situation or two where he's being his old self-absorbed self and that when he realizes it, he feels like crap. I love how in each book there is something that wiggles into his head and allows him to think for awhile about going back to the old job and that maybe it would be okay. If he had changed 100%, it would be too unbelievable. This Connor, who is struggling to be the good man who's come to the surface while being caught by moments if his former self, is real to me. I also love how in this book we hear about the good man he was before he lost his abilities despite being an arrogant ass.

I also really like how del Marco usually recognizes that his readers are smart and knowledgeable about fae things and what they don't know they'll look up or figure out. So he doesn't go into long descriptive passages about what Ogham runes are (unlike the previous book I read) nor does he have the protagonist be ignorant in order to make the reader feel better. Connor is a Druid raised by fae and he would and does know what Ogham runes are.

I just love Connor Grey. If del Marco would just get into it faster (and bring a gay character permanently into the storyline) these would easily be 5 star books for me.

Just don't look at the covers. The guy on the cover looks too old for a Druid Conner's age: they live much longer and their bodies age more slowly. Plus, Connor's way cuter than that. ;)

Plot Summary: In the alleys of the decrepit Boston neighborhood known as the Weird, crime scenes show signs of residual magic, but the Guild, which polices the fey, has more “important” crimes to investigate and dumps the case on human law enforcement.Boston police call in Connor Grey, a druid and former hotshot Guild investigator — whose magical abilities were crippled after a run-in with a radical environmentalist elf.As Connor battles red tape and his own shortcomings, he realizes that the murders are not random, but part of an ancient magical ritual. And if Connor can’t figure out the killer’s M.O., the culmination of the spell might just bring about a worldwide cataclysm.For a century since the Convergence of Faerie and modern reality, the Ways between this world and the next have been closed. But now signs point to the chance that the veil may lift again.Connor Grey has enough problems with a vengeful Queen of Faerie and the return of his old Guild partner. Add an occult string of murders, and it's another case that just may kill him.Review: Between Connor's disability, (the black mass in his brain), the political instability among the Fae and even Connor's relationship with Meryl, which ends in a romantic entanglement for like 1 page, Unfallen Dead gives some much needed spark to the series. Connor's latest case involves two humans murdered by a druidess that link back to an old case of Keeva's. Keeva's got her own problems. She's on suspension for being manipulated against the Guild. Connor is stunned when his old Guild partner, Dylan MacBain, arrives from New York to temporarily take over her position. Connor and Dylan have unresolved issues that goes back 10 years to an incident on a Ferry. To top it off, the Faerie royal court sends Ceridwen to Boston. It seems Maeve has taken an interest in Connor and Meryl because of the events at Forest Hill and the malignant essence, Taint (book 3). Neither Connor, nor Meryl remember anything that happened that night, and the Seelie Court believes they are lying, or are traitors.The other storyline is that Samhain, or day of the day is arriving and the veils between earth and TirNaNog are opening they haven't for a very long time. Which makes this a perfect time for Connor's nemesis Bergen Vize to make his attack on Tara effective.I have to say, yes, the action and storlyline in this book was a bit better than the previous ones. Yes, Dylan's presence in this book was actually a relief since Connor and he had a partnership in the past and they also share a mentor in Briallen. However, I really wish that the author would stop with the temptations of a relationship between Connor and Meryl. I truly thought he was going to cross into the realm of my angry reader area by forming a relationship between Dylan and Connor. Luckily, he didn't. Sorry, but, I'm not interested.I think one of the better characters remains Joe the Flit, or Stinkwort. Keeva is also starting to become more likable with each installment. I guess getting suspended will have that effect on someone.There are several villians in this story. Rhonda Powell aka Ronwen ap Hywel, who was supposingly killed by her lover. Bergen Vizes attempt to storm across the veil with a coalition of Fey who hate Maeve was probably the best part of the book. I would difinitely like to see that storyline come to an end soon.Rating: 3 stars.

In the third book of the series, damaged druid Connor Grey finds himself juggling between: a series of investigation by the representative of High Queen Maeve about the events that happened in Forest Hill (the previous book), a moving forward of his relationship with researcher extraordinaire Meryl Dian, a blast from the past in form of his former partner in New York, Dylan macBain, and a look into a couple of murders with his friend Murdock that seems to somehow linked into a plan to attack Tara during Samhain celebration, when the Dead can walk into the human world.--My, My, I start to love this series VERY MUCH!! In a world of UF, where the only male protagonist I read that clearly rules is Harry Dresden, I find Connor Grey as a great addition. He might not have Dresden's witty sarcasm remarks but I love Connor's voice as well. I love how he still struggles with his damaged condition, after losing all of his abilities -- except for sensing essence -- as well as being not respective towards the authority :). I love his roundabout friends: Meryl, Joe, and Murdock.In this stories, we see more progress on Connor's dark mass that resides on his head and what it can do. It seems like the dark mass gives Connor's new abilities -- and I feel there are more to it than just dampening his other abilities. There is also a new development in Murdock's power, I think he is no longer just plain human. He must have developed some kind of stronger essence. AND that oreo-loving flit, Joe, adds the humor sense to the whole story with his attitude, especially when he's drunk (he's so cute!) The climax of this book, when Connor and his company try to stop the attack to Tara as well as stopping the Dead from flocking Boston makes me glue to the story. It's heartpumping action and there is one scene that just makes me say to myself, "No, THAT does NOT happen!". I can't WAIT to start reading book #4.