Blood of the Demon

Engaging Police Procedural mystery amplified by the involvement of the demon realms and a well thought through system of magic.

'Blood Of The Demon' is the second book in Diana Rowland’s series about Kara Gillian, a Police Detective in Beaulac, Louisiana who has a talent for summoning demons. The novels are a mix of police procedural and a magic system involving summoning demons, beings from a parallel plane of existence, spiced a little bit of sexual frisson.


I read the first book. ‘Mark of the Demon’ back in 2014 and, although I enjoyed it, it didn’t light me up the way the Angel Crawford books did and it's taken me a while to get to the second book.


I thought this book was stronger than the first, mostly because there's a fairly show more complicated and engaging murder mystery to solve. Most of the book is straight police procedural made more complex by the involvement of demons of various kinds who Kara Gillian can't even tell anyone about.
The magic system is original and well thought through and there are hints that it will continue to evolve with the series.


The action scenes are very well done. The scene where Kara is in danger of drowning which was very vivid. The police procedural things are very down to earth and believable and the plot was complicated enough that it took quite a while to work out who had done what.


The only thing that didn't work for me was the scene where Kara has sex with the Demon Lord. It was so badly written, it made me reach for the fast forward on my audiobook. The sex wasn't gratuitous, it made sense both for the story and for the characters, but it read like amateur erotica. It was supposed to be a power exchange scene with the Demon Lord as the Dom and Kara as the willing Sub, except none of the participants, including the writer, seemed to have their hearts in it. If we'd had had the lead-up and the analysis afterwards with only a few words in between, not only would we not have mussed anything but I wouldn't have felt as if I'd wandered into a different novel for a while. show less

Better than the original, and the original is fun. The demon mythology world Rowland created is interesting to follow and easy to be sucked into, the Urban Fantasy is so mixed into police procedural that it’s more of a dual-drama. Blood of the Demons story was clever and twisted, delving into another supernatural creature and as Kara learns about it, we do too.

The mystery element was gigantic as well, since many of the twists and investigative leads made little sense on how they could be intertwined. That is, of course, until the end where it’s discovered – tada! – mystery solved, and a clever one at that.

Pacing stays consistent from start to finish, the story didn’t tire itself out, and there’s still plenty left to be show more discovered about the main characters. The ending isn’t an annoying cliffhanger, but the final events were exciting morsels that make me hunger for the next book.

For a nice, surprising change I loved Kara’s personality. She is not the typical, overly bitchy heroine with something to prove like most UF protagonists. This stereotype is usually true when the women are cops. Instead she’s actually sweet, funny, fair, understanding, and strong when she needs to be. The author is clearly not afraid to show vulnerabilities (which makes her more realistic.)

The sex is again limited, but the scene where it’s shown…triple wow. The mystery with Ryan is still strong and just enough tidbits are given where I’m curious but have no idea what’s going on. The ending is a cliffhanger.

The demon lore is particularly well developed – not the Christian version, different hierarchies, summoning and arcane magic. Rowland writes well and plays out good characters, even if I do find Ryan a bit dull still. Her blend of mystery, humor, and action blend well.

I have not put this one as five material yet – it’s exciting, fun to follow, but there is an element about it that lacks realism. Better than the first. show less

Blood of the Demon
4 Stars

When a fellow detective at the Beaulac PD is found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Kara Gillian, demon summoner, is the only one to see that her friend’s essence has been ripped from his body. And so begins a series of disturbing murders linked to the upper echelons of Beaulac society and perhaps to Kara’s personal life as well…

Once again, Rowland has successfully merged the suspense elements with the paranormal to create engaging characters and a gripping story.

The murder mystery is well-written with an interesting pool of suspects and motivations. The resolution is satisfying, although I did manage to guess the culprit a few minutes in advance, and the final confrontation is somewhat show more Deus Ex Machina.

The demonology of Gillian’s world is detailed and fascinating. One thing that is a little unbelievable is the fact that several secondary characters suddenly have connections to the Arcane - how convenient!

Despite the fact that she is completely clueless about men and needs to brush up on her police procedure what kind of cop leaves their gun in the car?, Kara is a very appealing heroine and it is fun seeing her slowly opening up to people and allowing them to get closer to her, as she is a rather lonely person.

There are also developments in Kara’s relationships with the two men in her life. Although he has one or two judgmental jerk moments, Ryan is turning into a very compelling character and I look forward to learning more about his mysterious identity. I’m more conflicted about Rhyzkahl as he obviously has ulterior motives when it comes to Kara. Moreover, the fact that Kara had sex with him just to spite Ryan feels wrong even though they are not technically together.

On a final note, there is still an excessive use of vulgarity, but perhaps I’m getting used to it as it doesn’t bother me as much as in the first book. Lastly, Liv Andersen’s narration remains slow but this is easily solved with 1.25 speed.

All in all, this series is an entertaining combination of mystery, humor and romance. show less

I am so happy that I recently discovered this series. The Kara Gillian series is about a police detective who can also summon demons and see and manipulate the arcane. In the first installment we got to know Kara (a realistic, down to earth, all around likeable character) and her world. We also met her demon summoner Aunt Tessa, a demon lord named Rhyzkahl, and the uber sexy and endearing FBI agent Ryan.

In "Blood of the Demon", bodies are starting to turn up in which the bodies's souls or essences have been stolen. Kara is one of the few people who can actually see the missing souls and thereby can tell that fact alone links the murders. Again the actual mystery is so interesting and entertaining I don't want to spoil the details or show more give anything away. Take my word that the plot is well paced and fully developed. There are plenty of surprises and excitement to intrigue any urban fantasy or paranormal fan. Rhyzkahl is still ready and willing to offer Kara affection and attention but she hesitates to call on him due to his powers. Now he is asking her to be his summoner, a link Kara isn't sure she is prepared for.

Romance to me is a secondary part of any novel I read. I want the mysteries and the kick butt action. I want to learn about supernatural worlds and the creatures that inhabit them. That said, the romance (or would be romance) between Kara and Ryan is a highlight of this series. I love her, I love him. They work together so well because they are friends first. The author has done an excellent job of naturally bringing the two together. This isn't a love at first sight plot device at all. The tension between them crackles. They are obviously into each other but they both skirt the issue, neither willing to risk their friendship. Still I love every scene and every interaction. I want them together but I dread the moment we lose this chemistry.

So far I really enjoy the fact that each case has been completely resolved by the time the last page is read but yet there are plenty of ongoing storylines to keep the reader waiting for more. I have the third book at my bedside and I can't wait to read it and be caught up on the series. I have to say that this has earned a place on my pre-order 'must have' list. show less

I see character development on the rise.

I mean, sure, it's fun and all to come back from the dead, deal with a co-worker's murder/suicide, get courted by one the kings of hell (or whatever PC version you want to call it since demons aren't really evil, they're just morality-challenged), or just try to live your life without having to use the arcane version of Google because the price is just too high.

Or is it?

Despite everything, Kara seems to be hanging on by her fingernails as she explores the wide world of human and demon politics. Honestly, I don't really see that much difference. It *IS* a shame that she isn't getting a few unexpected powerups other than the occasional help from her demon lover's yes men, but she's still trying to show more find her way. A few tidbits of skills from hell does seem to be helping her a bit.... oh wait... she's on the arc I expected. :)

Fun stuff! Demons and Detectives for the romantic win! Now if only we could get rid of that third wheel Ryan... :) show less

Summoner/Detective Kara Gillian returns in Blood of the Demon, or, playing off the common nickname for the book's predecessor, Mark of the Demon, CSI: Demonology 2. This time around, Kara investigates the strange murder of a rich and powerful member of her southern Louisiana town. The trophy wife is the obvious suspect, but, once Kara discovers that the victim's essence was ripped out, the arcane come into play. The mystery unfolds in exciting, action-paced twists that thicken with each page. As the body count rises and more victims have their essences ripped out, Kara must get to the bottom of the crime while juggling a growing relationship with her partner and the continued attention of a sexy demon lord.

Even better than Mark of the show more Demon, Diana Rowland spins a wonderful and exciting tale. Rowland's writing abilities have certainly sharpened since her previous novel, as has her ability to overcome some of the small issues in the Mark of the Demon. The summoning world becomes more strongly developed, and the characters' relationships and personalities grow. I particularly liked Kara because -even more than other female characters out there, and more-so than in the previous novel -I felt like I could relate to her somewhat. She felt like a realistic character rather than the perfect butt-kicking heroine or angsty character who was always complaining about something. Kara exhibited a wide range of real, believable emotions that made her a multi-dimensional character.

Kara's relationship to the sexy demon lord Rhyzkahl also progresses (and I was concerned that this wouldn't happen for the sake of keeping mystery for no real reason). I would have liked to have seen a stronger focus on it though and hoped for answers to all the questions surrounding Rhyzkahl -but at least the steamy romance scenes helped make up for it!

A noticeable improvement from the previous novel, Blood of the Demon is perfect for fans of paranormal romance and police procedural. Can't wait for the next book in the series. show less

Word of advice: don't wait a month to write your reviews. I mean, I know better. Anyway, the short and simple is that I found this series through a cheap first book, one that was fun enough to lead me to the second. Not sure I'll read on.

It is a solidly written urban fantasy about a woman who is a police officer who also has necromancy skills. The positives to this series was that it seemed like a not-incompetent police investigation. The author, if I remember correctly, claims experience in these things and I'd have to say that it reads like it. I also enjoyed the idea of summoning and necromancy as a power/skill, which seems very useful when you are investigating deaths and murders.

I could feel a headache forming between my eyes. show more “Hair? Eyes? Anything?” She gave a firm nod. “Yes, he definitely had hair. And his eyes were kinda light. I think maybe they were green. Or blue. Or they mighta been like a light hazel.” She beamed at me, clearly thrilled to have been such help. I couldn’t make my mouth form words at first. “Your powers of recall are … amazing,” I finally managed.

Unfortunately, the author also ties in an extremely powerful, other-worldly attractive demon who wants to develop some kind of bond with Kara, and then has a male FBI agent who also seems to be in the dual role of best friend and potential love interest--Kara can't tell. In other words, it's the dreaded Urban Fantasy Luv Triangle™ that we all love to hate. And hate it I do. Kara is fairly immature and is very governed by her feelings. It disappointed me that she wrote off an 'accident' as such instead of a targeted attack (not going to lie; people that have been in police work very long tend to be suspicious). This book has us seeing her 'power-up,' removing limits that were constraining her from using power and instead forcing her to presumably use her brain, which augured poorly for future series direction. There are some mistakes that would benefit from better editing. For instance, I'm not sure 'mood' is the noun she wants here:

"My mood swung wildly between confusion and terror."

And though I heartily appreciated the sentiment, the phrasing rankled:

I sighed as my nose suddenly started itching fiercely. Never failed: As soon as I knew I couldn’t touch my face, I was overwhelmed with the need to.

This is the book equivalent of a Hershey's kiss: something to eat when you want chocolate, but there's nothing better around.
When it comes to kindle books, I've decided that five dollars is my cut-off point--about the cost of a latte, perhaps?--in whether or not it's worth buying a book I may or may not enjoy. I might consider trying another book in the series, as this is only book two, but not enough to cross that cost threshold.

Two and a half stars, rounding up. Because I'm nice. show less