Helpful Score: 7
In Mark of the Demon, something was always going on, and the movement of the story from one scene to the next was seamless. With Kara investigating murders, interacting with demons, hiding her identity as a summoner, and dealing with men in the police department and FBI, it was only reluctantly that I put the book down. If I didn't have other review deadlines, I'd have read this sooner, because the first page really hooked me. It's this kind of book that had me enthusiastically informing my husband what's going on despite him trying to concentrate something else! The "About the Author" page says that Diana Rowland has worked in law enforcement as "a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant". It shows in the writing.
Overall: A very satisfying police procedural with demons and summoners thrown in. Kara Gillian is very human, despite her abilities, and it's nice to read an urban fantasy with this type of protagonist and where the case is the focus and magic is one of the tools to solve it. Recommended.
I've been trying to think of another author who writes police procedurals with supernatural elements and I came up with C.E. Murphy's Walker series. I certainly think if you are a fan of that series, you will enjoy this one.
Overall: A very satisfying police procedural with demons and summoners thrown in. Kara Gillian is very human, despite her abilities, and it's nice to read an urban fantasy with this type of protagonist and where the case is the focus and magic is one of the tools to solve it. Recommended.
I've been trying to think of another author who writes police procedurals with supernatural elements and I came up with C.E. Murphy's Walker series. I certainly think if you are a fan of that series, you will enjoy this one.
Helpful Score: 3
This book started out a little slow for me, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down.
I really liked the fact that Kara is just a regular girl (who's also a summoner, of course) who gets caught up in a crazy situation. Her normalness is one of the reasons you can't help but root for her. She's a cop, but she's not automatically a bad ass. She has to work out to battle the stomach bulge like most everybody else. She has a weakness for chocolate donuts and she doesn't have the best social life. She's just doing her best to catch criminals while trying to be fair.
I found the demon lord, Rhyzkahl, to be an interesting character. I liked that the author made him dangerous and kept him dangerous. The author reminds us right alongside Kara that he'll make you regret it if you try to use him. He's not human and he lives by a whole different set of rules. He kind of reminded me of Raphael in Angels' Blood. He's not some one to toy with. I'm interested in seeing more of him in the next book. He won some cool points for what he did for Kara at the end of the book.
I liked all the time spent on describing the different levels of demons and the difficulty summoning them. I appreciated that those facts seemed to get as much attention as the police facts. I found the explanation of the origins to be interesting. They're not demons in the sense of heaven and hell. They're from another world entirely.
The sex scene in the beginning didn't really seem to fit with the rest of the story. It was kind of jarring. Kara seemed like an intelligent girl, but her actions didn't really fit with what I learned of her personality. She's scared for her life (with good reason) but suddenly that doesn't matter because she's turned on and ready to do it? It didn't seem like a very smooth transition from in mortal peril to hot sex.
I thought the police stuff was very well done. I, of course, speak from the position of no personal knowledge of that sort of thing, but it seemed authentic. The crime scene and autopsy descriptions were interesting. I feared that I might become bored by the surplus of details about it, but the author kept me engaged. The one thing that I found really odd about the investigation had to do with the man who had a connection to the victims of the Symbol Man. Shouldn't she (as a well trained cop) have considered him a suspect long before she did?
I liked that I didn't guess who the Symbol Man was. I enjoyed being surprised by it right alongside Kara. I found her relationship with Agent Ryan Kristoff a little odd. I didn't find him very interesting or compelling, but I thought it was really weird that Kara was totally fine with him basically turning into her roommate. You don't know this guy from Adam, why are you so accepting of him? Because I found him bland and a little irritating I hope that she doesn't get involved with him. I guess I'll find out as I read more of the series.
I'm looking forward to reading more by this author and thought this was a great start to a new series.
I really liked the fact that Kara is just a regular girl (who's also a summoner, of course) who gets caught up in a crazy situation. Her normalness is one of the reasons you can't help but root for her. She's a cop, but she's not automatically a bad ass. She has to work out to battle the stomach bulge like most everybody else. She has a weakness for chocolate donuts and she doesn't have the best social life. She's just doing her best to catch criminals while trying to be fair.
I found the demon lord, Rhyzkahl, to be an interesting character. I liked that the author made him dangerous and kept him dangerous. The author reminds us right alongside Kara that he'll make you regret it if you try to use him. He's not human and he lives by a whole different set of rules. He kind of reminded me of Raphael in Angels' Blood. He's not some one to toy with. I'm interested in seeing more of him in the next book. He won some cool points for what he did for Kara at the end of the book.
I liked all the time spent on describing the different levels of demons and the difficulty summoning them. I appreciated that those facts seemed to get as much attention as the police facts. I found the explanation of the origins to be interesting. They're not demons in the sense of heaven and hell. They're from another world entirely.
The sex scene in the beginning didn't really seem to fit with the rest of the story. It was kind of jarring. Kara seemed like an intelligent girl, but her actions didn't really fit with what I learned of her personality. She's scared for her life (with good reason) but suddenly that doesn't matter because she's turned on and ready to do it? It didn't seem like a very smooth transition from in mortal peril to hot sex.
I thought the police stuff was very well done. I, of course, speak from the position of no personal knowledge of that sort of thing, but it seemed authentic. The crime scene and autopsy descriptions were interesting. I feared that I might become bored by the surplus of details about it, but the author kept me engaged. The one thing that I found really odd about the investigation had to do with the man who had a connection to the victims of the Symbol Man. Shouldn't she (as a well trained cop) have considered him a suspect long before she did?
I liked that I didn't guess who the Symbol Man was. I enjoyed being surprised by it right alongside Kara. I found her relationship with Agent Ryan Kristoff a little odd. I didn't find him very interesting or compelling, but I thought it was really weird that Kara was totally fine with him basically turning into her roommate. You don't know this guy from Adam, why are you so accepting of him? Because I found him bland and a little irritating I hope that she doesn't get involved with him. I guess I'll find out as I read more of the series.
I'm looking forward to reading more by this author and thought this was a great start to a new series.
Helpful Score: 2
Detective Kara Gillian of the Beulac, LA police force is also secretly a summoner of demons. Newly promoted to Homicide, she finds herself assigned as primary to a murder that looks suspiciously like a series of killings from years ago, a cold case that she had researched out of personal curiosity, thus making her the resident "expert" on the killer nicknamed the Symbol Man. But she has other problems to contend with - one of her summonings has gone wrong, and a Demon Lord seems to have become inexplicably sexually attracted to her. While she realizes the danger this places her in, she is also tempted to seek his help in solving the murders as the perpetrator appears to be killing for some arcane ritual.
This was an ok read but really falls short when compared to much better mystery fare out there. While the demon sex actually had a reasonable place in the story, it still felt too gratuitous, and the police procedure a little shaky. I did enjoy several lines of biting wit delivered by the heroine, but there were also instances when a scene felt contrived just to give the heroine a chance to be a bad-ass bitch. The convolutions of the mystery leading to the final resolution were also a tad contrived to keep the reader guessing, but enjoyable enough. Overall a good light read, but while I might read more of the series if I came across the books, I have no inclination to actively seek them out.
This was an ok read but really falls short when compared to much better mystery fare out there. While the demon sex actually had a reasonable place in the story, it still felt too gratuitous, and the police procedure a little shaky. I did enjoy several lines of biting wit delivered by the heroine, but there were also instances when a scene felt contrived just to give the heroine a chance to be a bad-ass bitch. The convolutions of the mystery leading to the final resolution were also a tad contrived to keep the reader guessing, but enjoyable enough. Overall a good light read, but while I might read more of the series if I came across the books, I have no inclination to actively seek them out.
Helpful Score: 1
I picked this book up on a whim after reading the synopsis, and I'm glad I did. Ms. Rowland does a magnificent job of combining a crime novel with an urban fantasy.
Kara Gillian is a detective with the Beaulac PD. She's also a demon summoner. After years of working financial crimes, she finally got the break she needed, and was assigned to homicide. But so far, there have been no homicides for her to work on.
So, she picked up the case files for an old cold case, and began studying those. The case involved the arcane, which, as a demon summoner, was kind of her specialty.
As soon as she starts working on this case, sure enough, murders start happening, and they appear to be related to the cold case! The Symbol Man, as he's called, because of the symbol he carves into his victims' flesh, appears to be back, and Kara is assigned to the case.
Also, Kara decides to do a demon summoning to help her figure out part of her case, but she pulls through the wrong demon! Rhyzkahl is a Demon Lord who is very yummy to look at, and very nice in bed. But he wants something from Kara, and she doesn't know what.
Will Kara be able to crack her first case? Will she figure out what Rhyzkhal wants? And will she ever go on a date with the yummy FBI agent that is assigned to the task force working on the Symbol Man case?
Ms. Rowland blended this book wonderfully. There is crime, there is urban fantasy, there is some wonderfully hot sex, and overall, it makes for a great read! I didn't figure out who the killer was thanks to the way Ms. Rowland was able to keep it concealed, and I kept fighting my feelings about Agent Kristoff (yummy FBI agent), and Rhyzkahl, the yummy Demon Lord.
All in all, this is a great book that definitely deserves a read! I can't wait for book two! :)
Kara Gillian is a detective with the Beaulac PD. She's also a demon summoner. After years of working financial crimes, she finally got the break she needed, and was assigned to homicide. But so far, there have been no homicides for her to work on.
So, she picked up the case files for an old cold case, and began studying those. The case involved the arcane, which, as a demon summoner, was kind of her specialty.
As soon as she starts working on this case, sure enough, murders start happening, and they appear to be related to the cold case! The Symbol Man, as he's called, because of the symbol he carves into his victims' flesh, appears to be back, and Kara is assigned to the case.
Also, Kara decides to do a demon summoning to help her figure out part of her case, but she pulls through the wrong demon! Rhyzkahl is a Demon Lord who is very yummy to look at, and very nice in bed. But he wants something from Kara, and she doesn't know what.
Will Kara be able to crack her first case? Will she figure out what Rhyzkhal wants? And will she ever go on a date with the yummy FBI agent that is assigned to the task force working on the Symbol Man case?
Ms. Rowland blended this book wonderfully. There is crime, there is urban fantasy, there is some wonderfully hot sex, and overall, it makes for a great read! I didn't figure out who the killer was thanks to the way Ms. Rowland was able to keep it concealed, and I kept fighting my feelings about Agent Kristoff (yummy FBI agent), and Rhyzkahl, the yummy Demon Lord.
All in all, this is a great book that definitely deserves a read! I can't wait for book two! :)
