Night of Demons

"Night of Demons" is the second installment in the dark fantasy series of Raine's Landing, a town forever cut off from the outside world. Ages ago, the original Salem witches settled there, then cursed it so no one could ever leave, lest they reveal their location to those who feared them. Veiled by magic, those passing through barely notice the town, newcomers don't stay long and soon forget their visit, while most are compelled to stay away completely. Evil has threatened before; however, and now it looms again. Something dark prowls the streets, a malevolence from without that has infected an already damaged mind within. While those versed in magic can protect themselves, Raine's Landing is also home to thousands of regular people. Two of those are former cop Ross Devries and Cassandra Mallory, a gun-toting Harley-riding maverick with a knack for tackling the supernatural. United by their devotion to their fellow townspeople, bonded by shared scars, Devries and Mallory have often worked together to protect Raine's Landing from supernatural threats. They stand ready to do so again. This threat is different, however - powered by an insane mind and a corrupt soul twisted by years of abuse. It works beneath the skin, finds the darkness in everyone, and gives life to people's hidden demons. Having lost both their families to magic, with everything they cherished ripped away from them, both Devries and Mallory are far more appealing targets than they are threats, making Raine's Landing's fiercest protectors two of their weakest links. "Night of Demons" is well written and entertaining. Utilizing a split narrative that transitions back and forth between Devries' first-person narrative and the third-person omniscient narratives of supporting characters, Richards avoids the common downfall of bogging his story down in only one perspective. Perhaps the story's only downfall: it's simply just one more offering of "urban fantasy" in a "boom" genre, just another story following in the footsteps of much better series, such as the "Dresden Files" and others. Richards' handling of the craft rises above this, however, and urban fantasy fans are sure to enjoy.

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

Cornelius the Shadow Man believes the Old Ones speak to him; directing him to kill whole families. They praise him informing him that his serial killing spree is bringing about the Apocalypse. On the back roads in Massachusetts to escape the police, he enters Raine's Landing, a town protected by ancient magics cast by witches that should have prevented his entry. Cornelius enters the home of adept Lucas Tolburn while the witch is working with the magical Wand of Dentiere. The practitioner uses the wand to stop Cornelius, but he kills Lucas and grabs the rod. Believing in magic, the sentient artifact turns Cornelius into mist that allows him to enter any body he chooses. He enters a father who he uses to kill the whole family and make it look like the father committed suicide. He begins a killing spree and soon has a partner; Lucas' ambitious granddaughter Millicent who uses a spell that ties her to the wand and Cornelius and they go on a brutal killing rampage. Former town cop Ross Devries and Boston Police officer Laura Brennan investigate the serial killings that the outsider says is the work of the Shadow Man. They must prevent the mists from destroying the town and potentially the country. This is an exciting good vs. evil horror thriller that cleverly keeps the audience wondering about whether Cornelius is a psychopath or is the voices from some outside evil essence. His magical partnership with Millicent will remind readers of Michael J. Fox's The Frighteners. Ross suffers from visions, but seems more attuned to Cass than he is the townsfolk he once protected and is doing again. Character driven, NIGHT OF DEMONS is a super horror thriller with the twist of the champions are the non practitioners in town. Harriet Klausner