Dark Rain

Ever since I read Dark Rain, I've been looking forward to reading its sequel. I even said so in my review of that book. Now, I've had my chance and I wasn't disappointed. Night of Demons can be best described as Law and Order meets the X-files, and then it escalates into sheer terror and mayhem. Once more, Tony Richards takes us back to Raine's Landing for a few fantastic days in the lives of detective Ross DeVries and the magically-inclined inhabitants of that locked-away town. The story begins like a police procedural with serial killer Cornelius Hanlon, dubbed the "Shadow Man," escaping from Boston police, taking a wrong turn and ending up in Raine's Landing. His first act upon arriving is to murder one of the town's leading adepts and steal a mystical wand--the Wand of Dantiere. Created by a madman, no one is aware it was created to bring about the Apocalypse and can only bond with someone who is insane. In Hanlon, it meets its soulmate, and soon more deaths ensue, ordinary people turning into psychotic killers who are reluctantly gunned down by the Landing's police. When Hanlon joins forces with Millicent Tollburn, who has her own reasons for hating the townsfolk, the crimes, which up until this point are merely those of people running amok, become full-fledged horror, and before it ends, a rift in dimensions showers thousands of demonic creatures upon the town as Hanlon's version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse thunder down its streets. Enter Lauren Brennan, Detective Lieutenant of the Boston Police, a woman so obsessed with tracking down Hanlon, she ignores the subliminal warnings to stay away from the Landing. By this time, Ross DeVries and his associate Cassie and Landing police Lieutenant Saul Hobart are on the case. Though Lauren at first treats them like country bumpkins, once she's exposed to what passes for everyday life in the little town, she quickly changes her opinion. The Outsider joins forces with the Landing's PD in fighting what Hanlon has become. At the crucial moment, the adepts themselves refuse to help; accepting the power of the Wand, they're huddled together to await the End, so it's up to the townsfolk to save themselves. One again, we're introduced to characters from the first book--Ross, Cass, the Little Girl, Willets, Saul Hobart, and the by now totally insane and agoraphobic Master of Raine's Landing, Woodard Raine. Numerous mention is made of events occurring in Dark Rain--the attack by the demon Saruak and Ross' part in defeating him and the fact that Ross has been designated some kind of Defender for the town, though he has no idea why--which helps set the stage for what is coming. There is delving into the mental processes of both heroes and villains alike. Millicent Tollburn had been a victim of her grandfather's excursions into sorcery, suffering magical child abuse, if you will, and she erroneously believes her grandfather's colleagues were aware and did nothing. To her, revenge u

During the Salem Witch Trials, the real witches chose to escape to Raine's Landing where they settled in and interbred with the locals, giving their descendants magical powers--all except one who got herself burned to death for the trouble she stirred up. Her dying curse condemned the inhabitants to be imprisoned forever with the town--anyone born in Raine's Landing can never leave and those from outside who enter will forget it exists as soon as they exit its boundaries. Only two people have ever come to Raine's Landing from outside; one opened a dimension which took away both himself and Ross Devries' family, the other is a college professor who came to study magic and killed a dozen people with his megalomania. This year, a third entity has come to the town, Saruak, an evil spirit dwelling in the shell of a mortal, one the Native Americans in the area had long ago recognized and avoided. He intends to take over Raine's Landing, using the magic the inhabitants possess against them. Only one person in town has no magical ability and has never tried to gain any and that's Ross himself, and when all the magic in Raine's Landing fails, it appears that he is their last chance for survival, though he may have to die to save them. Dark Rain is a tense, thrilling story. The story of Ross' meeting with Saruak, his recognition that the man is a danger, though at first he isn't certain why he know this, interspersed with flashbacks explaining the loss of Ross' family leads inexorably to the conclusion that he, the one unmagical person in a town of adepts, has been chosen to save them. His interaction with the congenitally magical inhabitants, as well as the delineation of their characters, is well thought out. None of them is a villain, for all their pride or shallowness or power. The ending practically says, "Sequel on the way!" and I certainly hope that's true because there would seem to be much more to the story of Ross Devries and the others, and I know readers are going to want to see it.

There really were witches in Salem and they escaped the burning times by quietly moving into the village of Raine's Landing. They kept a low profile, but one of them Ragan Farrer was accused by the townsfolk of causing harm to others; she was burned at the stake. Before she died she cursed the town and its people; saying they and their descendents will never leave Raine's Landing. In the present the town is hidden from view; anyone who enters leaves forgetting the place exists. Sarauk, a tree spirit inhabits a human body and comes to town and he intends to become ruler of Raine's Landing. He is not strong enough to take over the entire town yet but as he makes the inhabitants afraid of what he will do, he grows more powerful in a vicious circle. If the trend continues he will soon overpower the townsfolk making them bow to his wishes. Only Ross Devries might be able to neutralize Sarauk, but though he has received information to succeed from allies, his chances remain grim. This is a modern day gothic urban fantasy that mesmerizes the audience into a one sitting read. The characters make the tale as the reluctant hero must battle overwhelming odds to defeat a 200 proof evil villain. With a strong alternate earth world-building (or at least village building) setting, Tony Roberts provides an exhilarating dark horror thriller. Harriet Klausner