Mark of the Demon

Some people go gung-ho over angel UF, my thing is the darker stuff. Reeling from my encounter with the Hollows series, where the books carved a permanent place in my psyche, I itched for more demon themed Urban Fantasy stuff. Not easy to find done well, especially since so much of it is poorly done Paranormal Romance stuff that I have no interest in reading.

Mark of the Demon did scare me with its beginning. Jumps into a sex scene in the very beginning, which usually turns me off, and I worried dullness/cheapness would follow. Thankfully that's not the case as the sex scene that popped up so soon is promptly shut in the closet and hidden. The rest is pure story, thankfully with the absence of senseless nookie.

This one holds a unique show more touch - a blend of urban fantasy with the investigative crime scene. Sure all of them have mysteries and many heroines are in law enforcement of sorts, but this one more so. She's a homicide detective working her first case involving a serial killer in a small town of Louisiana, along with a yummy FBI agent who grows on you, forensics, morgue trips, you name it. The book focuses as much on police procedure as it does the arcane magic she investigates.

Kara is a genuinely likeable heroine - tough but flawed and insecure, not beautiful at all but yearning to have companionship, having to hide a large amount of what she is and can do to avoid enduring small town ignorance. Rhyzkahl was awesome - powerful, sexy, terrifying, and you never know where you stand with him. At first it seemed she was very valuable, then almost like she wasn't, so I suppose other books will fill in more of the secrets so I can finally catch on.

I'm a character-orientated gal, so this book totally works in that respect. Plot wise it's different, edgy, dark and demented. The ending was incredible, and there's nothing light and fluffy about this story and the evil man they're investigating. Again, awesome. show less

The friend who lent me this novel commented that one of the fine things about it was how well grounded in ordinary life it is. Detective Kara Gillian is just a normal policewoman, except for the small matter that she has the vocation of calling demons. Yes, the core of the story is about how she inadvertently calls a demon lord, and thus finds herself sucked into an ever accelerating series of serial killings, which tie into a family inheritance of a past summoning that went very wrong, but that the story is so well-grounded in lived-in detail that the sense of place and way of life almost overshadows the fantasy elements. This is not to mention that the costs involved in dealing with the looming menace are very high indeed, and very show more poignant. The interesting question will be whether the author can one-up this book, having obviously poured so much of herself into it. show less

A new author and a new series for me. Rowland's Kara Gillian urban fantasy belongs on the shelves right next Kim Harrison, Richard Kadrey, and Stacia Kane.

Kara Gillian is a cop, and a summoner, which is frowned upon by polite society. One night a summoning goes awry, and a very sexy demi-god appears. As do the return of occult related serial killings. While trying to pretend she is just a cop, Kara figures out the occult nature if the killings and sets out to find the killer, who turns out to be a big surprise to everyone (including me) for a twisted revenge fantasy.

Kara is as flawed as my favorite urban fantasy heroes. Rowland's writing is smart and funny. I'm looking forwrd to reading what happens next.

2.5 stars

I first have to say the cover picture is ridiculous. Her neck is about twice as long as a neck should be.

This is a quick read, not a lot of depth here and it's very linear. I liked the heroine and the mystery was okay but the most promising character, the demon from the first few pages is never seen again despite what appears to be a set up for him later appearing.

I actually liked FBI man love interest and just had trouble reconciling how he acted he first time they met with every other time. I mentally decided he'd had a very bad day. I think the demon lord was mostly well done, especially as the plot progressed.

I also think the book improved in quality as it progressed and the last couple of chapters had me glued to the show more pages.

I had a couple issues with how conveniently everything worked out and especially how much responsibility was heaped on a new detective. No police force would ever put a new detective as the primary on a resurfaced serial killer, not even if she'd written a dissertation on the subject. She would be in the team but never the primary. Which is funny considering the author used to be a detective herself.

But my biggest problem was the big sex scene. She was essentially being raped when she was able to get him to let her go. He said he wouldn't force her but he would still like to have sex with her. She new he was very bad but she said yes because even though the end result was the same, she had a choice. WHAT?!?!?! Clearly this author knows nothing about rape. I don't care how hot the guy is, and how little violence there is, if a woman is being forced and is finally let go she's not going to immediately jump in bed with the guy. This is an archaic and offensive notion and it pisses me off.

Despite this I did like it and will probably read the next which probably makes me as evil as the rapist. show less

Now I typically don't dig on romance in my UF or paranormal, but I made an exception here. There is plenty of action, demons, and a hunt for a serial killer that made this a superb mixture of urban fantasy and police procedural, so a wee bit of HOT romance scenes didn't put me out at all. It probably also helped that Diana Rowland can write superb HOT romance scenes.
This was an excellent mixture of UF and a thriller with the hunt of a serial killer. Neither the paranormal story or the thriller mystery got lost to the other, the complemented the other. I am not sure I've read one like this before. And I really hope the next in the series, BLOOD OF THE DEMON, is more of the same.
What I dug even better was the ending...the WTF?? moment show more when the killer was revealed...whoa....did NOT see that coming at all and I liked that!
Five whoa beans..... show less

I just want to squeal about how much I adored this book. It has been on my TBR shelf for years, literally. On a whim, I pulled it off the shelf and I can't emphasis how glad I am to have done so. This book is the first that I have read that really does a top notch job of mixing police investigation/CSI type storytelling with the paranormal. The story is about Kara Gillian who gets the lead on a murder case which echoes a previous case from years ago. Is it the same killer or a copycat? But Kara sees something on the bodies that most people wouldn't see. She sees the Arcane or magic. Kara has certain 'extra' abilities. She can summon demons and bind them to do her bidding for a price. Adding to the drama, Kara accidentally summons a show more Demon Lord Rhyzkahl. Rhyzkahl does something very...surprising when he visits Kara.

For starters I absolutely adored Kara. She was smart and funny and just normal, very girl next door (who can summon a demon). She has a little more pudge than she'd like. She is smart as a whip and caring and loyal. I also wasn't a big fan of Rhyzkahl, although I am not sure whether I was supposed to be or not. I did really like Ryan, the FBI guy. But I liked him for the same reasons I liked Kara. He was just an average guy in very non-average circumstances. And he is handsome and witty. The mystery was hard to figure out and there were more than a few breath taking twists and turns. Overall I was spellbound.

I can seem to go on and on in reviews about books that I don't care for but with books I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed this one its more difficult to write a review. I don't want to give a single surprise away. I knew nothing about "Mark of a Demon" other than what was on the back blurb. I can just encourage others to read this one because it is written well, has delightful characters, and shocks and thrills along the way to a very satisfying conclusion. show less

Mark of the Demon
4 Stars

Alongside her day job as a detective with the Beaulac PD, Kara Gillian is also a demon summoner. Now her two vocations are about to collide when the Symbol Man, a dormant serial killer, returns with a vengeance and marks his victims with demonic symbols. Kara will need to use both her wits and her powers to combat a killer bent on accumulating power.

Excellent amalgamation of of paranormal elements with forensic investigation.

The serial killer plot is well-written with numerous twists and turns and several red-herrings cleverly woven into the story line. It is possible to follow the clues to the villain’s identity although my guess was incorrect. The story builds slowly but surely, and the climax is fast-paced show more and exciting.

Kara is an engaging heroine. Socially awkward and professionally insecure, Kara nonetheless stands her ground with her chauvinistic male colleagues and works diligently toward solving the crimes. She does have one or two TSTL moments but that is not unexpected given her lack of experience.

The two male leads are comprised of Ryan Kristoff, the suspicious FBI agent who gets off on the wrong foot with Kara, and Rhyzkhal, the seductive yet dangerous demon lord who has his own agenda and reasons for coming to Kara’s aid. At this juncture in the series, it is unclear where Kara’s relationships with these two very different men are going. As someone who really dislikes love triangles, I sincerely hope that they do not develop in this direction.

My one issue with the writing is Rowland’s excessive and unnecessary use of vulgarity. This is not something that typically bothers me when it is used effectively and in appropriate context, but here is is simply out of place and jarring.

Liv Anderson’s narration is adequate if somewhat slow, which led me to listen at 1.25 speed. Her tone and inflection are decent and her voices are quite distinct although there is a decided lack of Southern accent, which is a pity as the story is set in Louisiana.

In sum, a promising beginning to the series and it will be interesting to see what happens next. show less