Book Review: Deja Who (Insighter) by MaryJanice Davidson

Deja Who is the first book in the Insighter series by MaryJanice Davidson. Leah Nazir is an Insighter. Reincarnation is her business. But while her clients' pasts are a mess, Leah's is nothing short of tragedy. She's been murdered. A lot. If left to that bitch, destiny, it'll happen again. Leah wants to know who's been following her through time, and who's been stalking her in the present. P.I. Archer Drake has been hired by Leah's mother to keep an eye on her. But the more time he spends watching, the more he finds himself infatuated. Before long, he even finds himself agreeing to help find the person who wants her dead. Now going full-on "rewind," Leah hopes it can stave off the inevitable. After all, she's grown fond of this life, and even fonder of nerdy Archer. But changing her pattern means finding out who her killer is today. And that could be anyone she has come to know and trust. Anyone.

Deja Who has a little bit of everything. There is some worldbuilding, to understand the importance of past lives, and Leah's job to see and explain how those lives could be effecting the daily lives of her clients. The characters are all more than a little quirky, but self- aware of their flaws and idiosyncrasies, which made their conversations, thoughts, and expositions that much more interesting and strange. Leah, Cat, and Archer are all odd people, but in a way that makes them enjoyable to read- most of the time. I have to admit that on occasion it got to be too much and their quirks crossed the line between fun and cute to hit weird and annoying. I found that the mystery part of the book got off to a slow start, because of the world and character building that was necessary to get readers to care about our main players. However, once the mystery got going it was unstoppable and moved very quickly toward the resolution. I liked returning to the quirky writing of Davidson, but am not sure if I will keep following the series. I think that will depend on the blurb for the next book.

Deja Who is full of wacky characters, with a solid mystery interwoven through the insanity. Fans of Davisdon's Queen Betsy series, and other quirky characters she has written, will enjoy this book as well.