Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57173 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Customer Reviews

Colour me impressed (4.5 stars)
Well I'm impressed. I have to say this first off: this is NOT Paranormal Romance and you will find no romance here, there's a little bit of sex at the start and sexual tension but that's it. There's none of that irritating situation where the protagonist declares their undying love for the first idiot that comes along, and thank goodness! This book is Urban Fantasy. Although I would venture to say that it's a police crime procedural FIRST and then it's an Urban Fantasy. So it's safe to say that if one doesn't enjoy crime procedurals you will not like this book; since that makes up the bulk of the story.

As with most books, don't trust the synopsis on the back! The description is mildly asinine and melodramatic (didn't stop me from buying it though, heh!). It makes 'Mark of the Demon' sound like some sexy romp, but it isn't. Rhyzkhal is quite a minor character in the grand scheme of things and there's greater importance given to character development and plot. Indeed, the heart of this book is Kara's personal growth and the development of her friendship with Ryan.

Kara Gillian is a police officer that has just recently been promoted to Detective. She's a rather meek woman with a lot of insecurities and no social life to speak of -- she also finds herself thrown in at the deep end when her superior puts her in charge of a homicide case. An infamous ritualistic serial killer with a trail long gone cold has started leaving victims again; dubbed the 'Symbol Man' by the press. Kara has always had a special interest in this case and can hardly believe her luck when she's allocated this as her first homicide. Kara has to contend with a fair amount of sneering from jealous colleagues who don't believe she is capable of handling the job. On top of this she's assigned a special task force from the FBI: Agent Ryan Kristoff among them whose expertise lies in ritualistic killings. While Kara is grateful for the help, to her chagrin Ryan is somewhat disagreeable.

There's a reason for Kara's sequestered lifestyle. Kara is a summoner... that is to say someone who has the innate ability to summon demons. All these plot threads are nicely woven together and I thought Rowland did a superb job of a writing a well constructed mystery. The paranormal aspects are well built and the author has clearly done her research into demonology. Rowland has created an interesting system, one that I look forward to seeing become fleshed out in future books.

I prefer books that focus on character development and then plot (and then a small sprinkling of romance -- although it has to be surprising and not drearily obvious. Fussy? Yes). The characters and the plot definitely take centre stage here. Which made me happy. The fact that I read this book after finishing the latest Kate Daniels book by Ilona Andrews and still thought it was excellent says a lot. I really thought there was nothing I could possibly read after that book that would not look terrible by comparison. So I was both surprised and impressed.

I found Kara difficult to like at first, but around half way through I was captivated and admired her inner strength. I loved Agent Ryan Kristoff (the Fed) who was both a realistic male character and humourous to boot. His camaraderie and friendship with Kara was one of the best things about the book. I thought Rowland did a good job of building a believable friendship between them whilst maintaining their investigation of the Symbol Man together. Ryan's disgust at Kara's taste in cheese was amusing. Other characters like Kara's aunt -- the eccentric demon summoner, Tessa, also warmed my heart.

Not everything is resolved. It's hinted that certain characters possibly have more to them than even they realise. I look forward to finding out more. I'm guessing that future books will contain different stand alone cases to solve, and it will be the characters and demonic stuff that will be the overarching threads that tie the books together. Overall, a very well written first time novel and a promising start to a new series. I'll definitely be pre-ordering Blood of the Demon. Enjoy!

Excellent thriller/whodunnit, with added Demon summoning
I was dubious to begin with, but it is clear the author has a great understanding of crime, and criminal investigation and although she sometimes gets lost in the minute detail at the expense of the bigger story, really a damn fine book! Frankly impressed that the mortals are both the good and bad guys and the supernatural's are not automatically the saviours. I have preordered the next installment.

Part Urban Fantasy, Part Police Procedural
Kara Gillian is a demon summoner and a police detective. Her two lives intertwine as she tries to discover the identity of the serial killer known as the Symbol Man.

Rowland has put a lot of thought into the world-building, her magic system is intricate and policing is described in a realistic way. The story holds your attention from the first page. The greatest strength of this book is the characterisation. Kara is an engaging lead - lonely, sarcastic and driven. Ryzkahl, the demon, is enigmatic and believably inhuman. FBI Agent Ryan is another ambiguous character, and he makes a good foil to Kara.

Mark of the Demon is skilfully written, slowly drawing you deeper into Kara's story. The ending left me eager to find out what happens to Kara, Ryzkahl and Ryan next. Blood of the Demon can't come soon enough.