The Devil You Know (Felix Castor, 1)

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW is set in London in a world pretty much like our own with one notable exception: the risen dead are an accepted part of life. They won't be found working the register at Tesco's--they still stick to the fringes for the most part--but they are around, and that means there's a need for people like Felix Castor, a man with an innate ability to commune with the dead, a professional exorcist and amateur magician. Castor is hired by the administrator of a museum archive to rid it of a ghost that's been haunting its halls. But not content with simply getting it done and over with, he decides to dig a little deeper. Why is the ghost tied to the archive to begin with? And what's its connection with the strip club/brothel where Castor receives a threatening offer? Castor does some occasionally less-than-legal investigation while his employers grow all the more impatient, and finds there's more to this job than just casting a spell. Despite the presence of several supernatural creatures, the story fits squarely into the mystery genre. It's a complex whodunit, although there is far more to the story than simply finding the guilty party, written with a black sense of humor even in the direst of situations. I would particularly recommend this book to mystery readers who don't mind a touch of the fantastic in their reading. Also, anyone who enjoys Carey's comics work (Lucifer, Hellblazer, Crossing Midnight, Faker, etc.) or Neil Gaiman's writing. I see a lot of similarities between the two writers; high praise indeed, and well-deserved.

I just finished the book 10 minutes ago. Mike Carey hit on every cliche of the hard-boiled detective genre. And I mean that as the highest possible compliment. All the best hard-boiled detective stories are ultimately about the murder victim, and a flawed champion seeking to lay his or her troubled ghost to rest by exposing the culprit. (For the record, I'm aware of how pompous that last sentence was. I've got a few beers in me. Give me a freakin break.) Carey adds a new layer with the supernatural element, making the victim's ghost a real rather than a metaphorical presence. The casting of an actual succubus in the femme fatale role was a nice touch, too. And no matter how outlandish the story became, Carey's feel for realistic settings and characters kept the whole thing grounded. It was gritty, disturbing, funny and surprisingly tender. At the end, Carey seemed to be laying the groundwork for a continuing series. I hope I'm right, because I'd like to read more.

Maybe I don't give comic books enough credit or Carey is extremely gifted, but this book was like nothing I'd ever read before. He talks about stuff I hadn't read anywhere else and provides a leading character that I felt like I'd known all my life. He writes with such a unique perspective and original plot that the whole time I was sort of blown away. Above all that he didn't try intertwine lots of theology and religion in the plot, he kept it as neutral as possible and added a comical flair to top it off.

I am a big fan of Mike Carey, admittedly. I love Lucifer and HellBlazer, both comic books written by Mr. Carey. It excited me to see a comic book writer writing a novel, because I always hope it will shed more public light on what amazing writers are in the comic world right now. (There have been some great cross overs, such as Neil Gaiman, but we can always use one more.) Anyway, when I first picked up The Devil You Know and read the jacket, I thought perhaps this would be a soft-boiled version of John Constantine. I was wrong. Felix Castor is close to Constantine, no argument there. They share an attitude that is grim and at the same time blackly humorous. They're both working in the trade of the spirit world, and they both have friends with chips on the shoulder, chips pointed at them. However, "Fix" has no place for magic in his exorcisms, and does his best to be an atheist. Constantine's bread and butter is magic, and he knows too well that there is a heaven and a hell. The Devil You Know is a witty mystery with delightfully dark characters. I read it in a day, sucked into the story as sure as if Fix was playing the whistle into my ear. I loved it, I loved each character, I loved guessing at the next plot twist, and being pleasantly surprised when I was right, and more pleased when I was wrong. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good ghost story, a good murder mystery, or just good writing, great characters, and a twisting storyline.

Felix Castor, free lance exorcist is working in London at a time when the supernatural is becoming more a part of everyday life in London--business is booming. Felix is cynical and smart, sort of a modern-day Philip Marlowe, with the snappy observations and occasional bad manners. He has reservations about the exorcist business but needs to pay the bills. The latest job, a simple haunting, is turning into a bigger job than Felix can handle. He has to do some major snooping to figure out why this ghost has such a hold on the living. In the process he finds out that evil is done by the living and the dead can only re-enact it. If he gets too close to the truth, Felix may pay with his life. Carey has created an interesting character who fits perfectly in modern day London where the ghosts are coming out of the woodwork. The Devil You Know is possessed by the spirit of noir fiction. The story is atmospheric, shadowy and at times disturbing. Felix is the prototypical hard-boiled detective with mordant wit, living in a violent and pessimistic world.