(KARA GILLIAN 1): MARK OF THE DEMON.

ISBN 978-0553592351

I'd like to dedicate this to Mrs D. The very best friend anyone could ask for, sadly no longer with us. A huge fan of this genre, she would often recommend/pass on books, some of which we agreed upon, some of which, well, we agreed to disagree on. This was the last book I was ever to receive from her, how I wish we could discuss it in person 💓

MARK OF THE DEMON by DIANA ROWLAND.

Cop and conjurer of demons, she's a woman in danger of losing control—to a power that could kill....

Why me? Why now? That’s what Beaulac, Louisiana, detective Kara Gillian was asking herself when an angelic creature named Rhyzkahl unexpectedly appeared during a routine summoning. Kara was hoping to use her occult skills to catch a serial killer, but never had she conjured anything like this unearthly beautiful and unspeakably powerful being whose very touch set off exquisite new dimensions of pleasure. But can she enlist his aid in helping her stop a killer who’s already claimed the lives—and souls—of thirteen people? And should she? The Symbol Man is a nightmare that the city thought had ended three years ago. Now he’s back for an encore and leaving every indication on the flesh of his victims that he, too, is well versed in demonic lore.

Kara may be the only cop on Beaulac’s small force able to stop the killer, but it is her first homicide case. Yet with Rhyzkahl haunting her dreams, and a handsome yet disapproving FBI agent dogging her waking footsteps, she may be in way over her head...

- Back Cover Blurb

I could hear the intruder breaking into my house.

- First Sentence, Chapter 1

It didn't have the stench of decomposition, as one normally would expect in a morgue, but that was due to Dr Lanza's morgue tech, Carl, a self-proclaimed OCD cleaning fanatic. So instead of the vague odor of rotted flesh and formalin, it had the often-overpowering aroma of Pine-Sol and bleach and any other industrial-strength cleaner Carl could dig up. Doc often said that he was prepared for the day when he came into the morgue to find that Carl had died from some toxic combination of cleaning supplies.

- Memorable Moment, Page 77

MY THOUGHTS ... A kind of crime/urban fantasy hybrid (Kara is after all a homicide detective intent on capturing the killer known as the Symbol Man as well as a summoner of demons). The jury is still out as to whether or not this combination actually worked all that well (I'm guessing Mrs D would argue not) but for myself personally I kind of liked the mix of good old-fashioned police investigative techniques and the arcane; enjoying the detailed autopsy scenes as much as I did the time spent describing the different levels of demons and the difficulties in summoning each of them.

Not the fizziest bottle of pop in the fridge (one of my favourite ways of saying someone isn't all that clever) it has to be said BUT I did like that Kara wasn't your usual urban fantasy hottie (We all know the type from the book covers so common to the genre; the leather clad, stiletto wearing sex bomb with trousers so tight/heels so high that you wonder how she's able to walk let alone chase demons). 

If only the same could be said of demon lord, Rhyzkahl who (and I quote), 'angelic', his 'skin so perfect to be ethereal', is wearing (Uck! Typical of those covers that I find so off-putting) a 'shimmering white silk shirt that hung on broad shoulders and tapered down to a narrow waist' and (but of course, what else?) 'leather breeches that fit snugly to well-muscled legs'. (Phew! Thank goodness, he's not the only love interest; for those of us not into 'bad boys'/into a love interest that is altogether more human, there's a dishy Detective, Ryan.) 

Yes, as you'll have now gathered, there are two male leads, two very different male leads. Early days yet; there are any number of possibilities as to where these relationships might be going (just please, please, please not the whole Twilight Team Edward V Team Team Jacob thing again) but as it stands, Kara's relationship with Ryan is what you could call comfortable, whilst that with Rhyzkahl. Well! ... 

Thankfully the only 'real' sex scene in the book, Kara's first encounter with Rhyzkahl, one that saw her going from terrified for her life to having sex all within the blink of an eye despite her 'dark memory' of being abused as a child, left me feeling distinctly uncomfortable even though as she keeps reminding herself/us Rhyzkahl is not of this world, he is 'no human'.

OK, soooo, on the face of it, not exactly up there on my list of top reads of the year. As well as all the things to recommend it I have my reservations; the over enthusiastic usage of the F word is in itself enough to put me off BUT all things considered there was just something about Mark Of The Demon that I really enjoyed, so much so that despite my reluctance to begin any more books that form a long running series (and at nine books; the latest one, Rise of the Demon, as far as I can ascertain, yet to be published I think we can say this is a long running series) I have already added book 2, Blood of the Demon, to my Wish List. 

SUMMED UP IN A SENTENCE ... A mix of crime and Urban Fantasy; good world building, a plot that moves along nicely, characters with lots of potential, what better way start a series.