Mark of the Demon

I have to admit, I am a urban fantasy snob. I have authors I love (Patricia Briggs, Jeniene Frost and Rachel Caine) and those I just like. Lately, I have been restless and unfulfilled. My favorite authors and finalizing their next installments of novels and I have desperately looking for new material. Unfortunately the results have been less than stellar and have left me totally disillusioned. So, I decided to take a chance on Mark of the Demon and boy, was I pleasantly surprised. I loved Ms. Rowland's writing style and the quirkiness of the main character, Kara Gillian. It was refreshing to see that the Gillian was not only strong but embraced her vulnerabilities as well. For once in a very long time I did not know who the killer was until the very last minute and was totally shocked and surprised.I waited to order the second book, Blood of the Demon, until I knew for sure that I was going to like the book. Now, I cannot wait to get my hands on it! Thanks Ms. Rowland! I needed a good read and boy, did you supply it and then some.

I was out of Jim Butchers & sick of Laurell Hamiltons. This was a crisply written detective story with a good plot & an effective twist - halfway in I felt a little disappointed at the predictability of the plot & then later found that I had predicted wrong. Very nice. The author did a great job of trafficking in the supernatural without succumbing to triteness, partly due to the extensive technical realism (the author has real life experience in police work & forensics) & the down-to-earth qualities of her characters. I do admit to wishing there was a little more substance to support the twist at the end & am puzzled by one (just one!) apparent loose end, but these are minor issues compared to the overall enjoyability of the storytelling. I think this was a very well done book.

Beaulac Homicide detective Kara Gillian likes her chocolate donuts a little too much for her waistline. She's short, a bit socially inept, tactless and a bit crude, and as persistent as a terrier with a bone. She's not terribly beautiful, isn't terribly strong physically, and she hasn't ever had a boyfriend stick around longer than three months. Her childhood wasn't a walk in the park, and she dealt with personal trauma in not always the best ways. She's smart, and dedicated to her job as a cop, oh - and she's got a nifty ability to summon demons from the demon plane. She's also the shining star of Diana Rowland's exciting debut novel, Mark of the Demon. Sarcastic and witty, Kara is just flat-out-fun to read, and she's so refreshingly real and layered, such a nice change from the leather-clad, kick-ass, superhuman, biker-type heroines of most urban fantasy series that I found myself pitching headfirst into this book, unable to put it down until the wee wee hours of the morning, after finishing every delicious page. An awesome blend of cop thriller and paranormal mystery, Mark of the Demon is exquisitely detailed, richly plotted, and well-paced. Her characters are human, with histories that aren't always pleasant, and personalities that sometimes match. FBI Agent Ryan Kristoff in particular was a yummy treat. Sometimes he was a total fed, sometimes he was like a goofy kid, and never did that dichotomy seem out of place or undefined. Rowland's life experience truly gave an absolute air of legitimacy to the police stuff and her imagination blew me away on the paranormal stuff. Her demons and the world in which they inhabit, glimpsed only briefly but so beautifully, are a breath of fresh air in a literary world gasping for it. Rowland does a totally kick ass job introducing you to them and to the world in which Mark of the Demon exists. It rocked MY world and made me rock with laughter. It made me ache for the girl who suffered a childhood trauma and fell down a path of self-destruction and cheer for the woman who pulled herself off that path and doesn't let her past define or cripple her, or use it as an excuse to be horrible to everyone around her (or to herself). There was strength of character in Kara Gillian, and I appreciated it. And there were such DELIGHTFUL teasers in the book, hints of what'll be further fleshed out (I hope) and explored in the next book, Blood of the Demon, to be released in February of 2010. I. Can. Not. Wait!! The only small criticism I have for the book was an early scene following the accidental summoning of Rhyzkahl, a demon lord. The subsequent scene seemed out of place and out of character, and the deeper I went into the book the more out of character it seemed upon reflection. I just don't see how Kara could go from being terrified beyond human comprehension and certain of her death to getting it on with the singly most destructive creature she'll ever meet, no matter how beautiful. I understood the compulsio

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland, 4.5 stars, Great Debut Novel This book easily piqued my interest and kept me turning pages to find out what happened next. To the exclusion of all things, I finished it in one day. If you enjoy urban fantasy, you'll love this urban fantasy suspense thriller. In Mark of the Demon, I got lost in the magic and didn't analyze the writing, dialogue, characters and world building-although all these things are skillfully managed. I loved this book because it took me AWAY from thoughts of writing and just let me enjoy. I had no choice. I was sucked in! The main character, Kara Gillian, is a witty detective by day, a demon summoner by night. She's worked hard to get where she is and she's good at it, but the character is sympathetically written with vulnerabilities. She isn't the perfect, beautiful heroine doing the job with a tough obnoxious attitude, unrealistically killing multiple baddies three times her size. (I don't like those kinds of characters.) Kara is totally believable as a demon summoner detective with Fraggle Rock as her ring tone. The story opens with her successfully summoning one of the highest level demons. She's finally getting the break she's been waiting for in the police department: heading the task force for the Symbol Man's serial murder case, and she must learn to handle herself among the men assigned with her, and solve the crime as quickly as possible. But something goes strangely awry during a routine summoning, and Rhyzkahl, an intensely powerful, angelic creature appears. Oops. The plot is original, and the suspense had me going all the way to the end. The story was perfectly paced, not long winded. Knowledge of police work is evident, and I loved the interactions between Kara and FBI Agent Ryan Kristoff. Just an all round sexy, exciting, fun read! Blood of the Demon will be out in Spring, 2010, so I'm sure some pressing questions will be answered. I hope. Congratulations, Diana!

Detective Kara Gillian is a bit of a loner because of her secret life as a demon summoner. It's hard to get close to someone when you have a summoning circle drawn on your basement floor and you leave your candles and tools laying around for anyone to see. When not summoning demons, Kara works as a Detective for the Violent Crimes unit. She is recently promoted out of Property Crimes and is very excited to be working some homicide cases. During a summoning to complete her Summoner Training, the wrong Demon comes through the portal and into Kara's house. He doesn't seem all that bad, especially when he shows Kara what she's been missing from not having a man lately. But after her encounter, Kara realizes what a huge mistake she has made and that this Demon is not one to play around with. When he starts invading her dreams and the line between reality and dreaming is confused, Kara starts to regret ever doing the summoning in the first place. A serial killer dubbed The Symbol Man killed thirteen people when Kara first joined the police academy. He was never apprehended and now three years later, he has begun his killing spree once again. Kara has always been interested in the case since first sensing arcane power around one of the deceased bodies. She has studied the case files and is the most educated on The Symbol Man out of everyone in the police force. So when Kara is given the lead on the case for her first job in Violent Crimes, she is thrilled to be given such a big opportunity to prove herself as a Detective. The FBI has joined forces on this case and with them comes a gorgeous but obnoxious man named Agent Kristoff. Kara works side by side with him while trying to keep her knowledge of the occult under wraps so everyone doesn't peg her as a crazy satanic worshipper. When the case turns out to definitely involve the world of the occult, Kara is at a crossroads on what to do. Does she keep her occult knowledge and position as a demon summoner a secret and try to solve the case herself or does she put her trust in a member of the FBI in the hopes that he doesn't think she's a lunatic? If Kara doesn't entrust in someone for some help, more people could end up killed. Will Kara's decision turn deadly or will she solve the case and come out alive? Mark of the Demon is a delightful collaboration of genres including urban fantasy, suspense, romance and police procedural. Debut author Diana Rowland takes everything that I love in a book and puts it all together to write an outstanding novel. Take a dash of Charmed mixed with some Dexter and you have Mark of the Demon. Mark of the Demon demands to be read in one sitting and is impossible to put down. There are some graphic scenes in this book so it is definitely not for the faint of heart. I enjoy the gritty and grimy aspects and was indeed shocked and scared while reading this book and it's not easy to scare me! Mark of the Demon is a breath taking, heart stopping, white knuckler thrill