SECRETS OF THE DEMON - Diana Rowland
A Kara Gillian Novel
DAW
ISBN: 978-0-7564-0652-3
January 2011
Paranormal Suspense

Beaulac, Louisiana - Present Day

Though a detective with the Beaulac Police Department, Kara Gillian's latest assignment comes to her through her work with a task force that includes a New Orleans detective and two FBI agents. The task force is supposed to focus on financial crimes, but the truth is it's mostly a catchall for cases that are a little bit…other. For example, the case they are working on now has to do with the possible threat to a Goth band from a demon. Kara is a summoner—someone able to summon demons from the demon realm to our own—but she's also recently become oathbound to the demon lord Rhyzkahl, which annoys her partners on the task force to no end.

There are still a lot of things Kara doesn't know about her FBI teammates, Ryan and Zack, and while they understand some of her “weirdness” they aren't summoners. Yet, as their possible stalking case starts turning up murder victims, Kara's attention is divided between the mystery of her partners and the one surrounding her case. When the creature involved in the murders turns its attention to Kara, she'll have to figure out quickly just whom she can trust. Six months ago, life changed for Kara Gillian, and in SECRETS OF THE DEMON, she's learning to deal with it. To save Ryan's life, she bound herself to the demon lord, Rhyzkahl, promising to summon him every month in exchange for the answers to two questions. Of course, she's coming to understand that you have to word those questions very carefully or you don't really get an answer, and one of the things Rhyzkahl wants from her when in our dimension is plenty of very hot sex. Ryan isn't happy with any part of the arrangement, and Kara isn't sure if it's because of secrets of his own having to do with why the demons call him “oathbreaker”, or if he truly wants to be more than “just friends” with Kara and is jealous. In addition to all of this, Kara is also trying to deal with the case, the oddities in her aunt's behavior, and the possibility that her arrangement with Rhyzkahl has attracted the envious notice of other demon lords.

The third book in the series, SECRETS OF THE DEMON is pretty good as a stand-alone book. However, there are times when you may feel as if you are missing something by not having read the previous stories (MARK OF THE DEMON and BLOOD OF THE DEMON). While the case they are working on is contained within the book, the relationships between Kara, Ryan, Zack and Rhyzkahl all began in the earlier novels, as well as the background concerning other secondary characters. Still, SECRETS OF THE DEMON is an engaging tale with likable characters, and will answer some questions while leaving a few other mysteries still to be solved.

Jennifer Bishop