Mark of the Demon Review

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 thriller that grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go! Run and get this book when it releases June 23rd. The next book, Blood of the Demon is due out January 26, 2010.