Mark of the Demon (Kara Gillian, #1) by Diana Rowland
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Librarything / Goodreads
Rating: 2 stars
Pages: 370
Summary: Cop and conjurer of demons, she’s a woman in danger of losing control—to a power that could kill….
Why me? Why now? That’s what Beaulac, Louisiana, detective Kara Gillian was asking herself when an angelic creature named Rhyzkahl unexpectedly appeared during a routine summoning. Kara was hoping to use her occult skills to catch a serial killer, but never had she conjured anything like this unearthly beautiful and unspeakably powerful being whose very touch set off exquisite new dimensions of pleasure. But can she enlist his aid in helping her stop a killer who’s already claimed the lives—and souls—of thirteen people? And should she? The Symbol Man is a nightmare that the city thought had ended three years ago. Now he’s back for an encore and leaving every indication on the flesh of his victims that he, too, is well versed in demonic lore.
Kara may be the only cop on Beaulac’s small force able to stop the killer, but it is her first homicide case. Yet with Rhyzkahl haunting her dreams, and a handsome yet disapproving FBI agent dogging her waking footsteps, she may be in way over her head…
Thoughts: This was not the book for me.
Although an interesting mix of paranormal and procedural crime fiction – I could not get into Mark of the Demon. There was, literally, not a single character that I actually liked. There was a lot of show-no-tell when it came to the heroine – we had to sit through her telling people that she “gave a shit” about the victims about 30 times… *groan* Not to mention she was dull as hell. Even the hero – who I can usually appreciate in any circumstance – was pretty boring.
I suppose the ending had one hell of a twist – but, frankly, I was barely paying attention by this point. The Louisiana setting nearly saved the book… but ultimately failed. Despite the constant references to the heat, bugs and Katrina – I felt like this book could have been set anywhere.
Diana Rowland is not a bad writer – but I just don’t think she is a writer for me. I could, however, appreciate well the book was crafted from beginning to end. With some writers *cough*Stephenie Meyer*cough* you can tell that they have no idea where they are going – Rowland is not one of these.
Bottom line? This was not my kind of book. But if you are looking for a twist on your standard crime novel, you might as well give this a shot.
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Good review!
That’s too bad that you didn’t enjoy this book. I really liked it…not a favorite but I found it very enjoyable anyway.
@Ruthann – I’m glad you enjoyed it. I felt a bit bad giving it only 2 stars – but it just really wasn’t my sort of book. Alas!
Whew! and here I thought I was the only person who didn’t love it. I read it in July of last year and was so unimpressed that I gave it to my brother’s fiancee. Apparently she liked it so much that she didn’t believe me when I said she could keep it. *shrug* oh well, it’ll just have to be her birthday present this year. lol.
@Hannah – Is it wrong for me to say that I’m glad you didn’t like it? Cause I kinda am. Your brother’s fiancee must not be at the top of your friends-list, huh? ♥
I started with the second one, and wow, there seems like there’s a big difference! while I agree that the characters are a little lackluster, I thought the plotting was tight and interesting, and the building triangle between the demon, Kara, and Ryan has promise. That’s the second book though.
@Nicola – Maybe I should have started with the second book… which just sounds odd! I am surprised she kept the demon as a love interest though, as the ending of the 1st book made me think he was off the list of contenders!