Review: Blood of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Blood of the Demon
Kara Gillian #2

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL, MAN AND DEMON, SHE’S ABOUT TO FACE THE ONE THING SHE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SURVIVE.

Welcome to the world of Kara Gillian, a cop with a gift. Not only does she have the power of “othersight” to see what most people can’t even imagine, but she’s become the exclusive summoner of a demon lord. Or maybe it’s the other way around. The fact is, with two troublesome cases on her docket and a handsome FBI agent under her skin, Kara needs the help of sexy, insatiable Lord Rhyzkahl more than he needs her. Because these two victims, linked by suspicious coincidence, haven’t just been murdered. Something has eaten their souls.

It’s a case with roots in the arcane, but whose evil has flowered among the rich, powerful, and corrupt in Beaulac, Louisiana. And as the killings continue, Kara soon realizes how much there’s still to learn about demons, men, and things that kill in the night—and how little time she has to learn it.

This book starts one month after the end of Mark of the Demon. Kara has to deal with the consequences that her two week disappearance has brought, like how some people on the police department think that she faked her death to win "popularity". Her new boss, Crawford, asks her to go over to a fellow police detective house to see why he wasn't at his job yet, and when Kara arrives she finds Brian, the detective, dead on the floor with a suicide note in one hand and his gun in the other.

Everyone suspects that he killed his wife and then himself out of guilt, but Kara finds something unusual has happened to him, he's essence was gone, and only something out of the ordinary could have done that. She normally would have started asking her aunt for information and advice, but she still was in a coma after the Symbol Man stole her essence and if Kara doesn't do something soon to recover it, her aunt will die.

The only bright side of her life is that FBI agent Ryan Kristoff has been transfered to Lousiana, but she isn't very clear on where their relationship stands. She knows that Ryan is keeping secrets from her, along side his partner Zack. When she's called to the scene of a second death, she realizes that this body also doesn't have an essence and that it was staged to look like an accident, so now she has to look for a connection between the two deaths. What or who could cause that? As the deaths escalate, she's going to need all the help she can get, including that of Rhyzkahl.

This was a great sequel to the first book. Kara starts making friends, the most important one being Jill, and her relationship with Ryan advances along with the story. We get more insight into demons and how they work with summoners. A big part of the book consists on Kara trying to find a way to restore her aunt's essence and I personally think that so much information on the subject wasn't needed. Also, the mystery on this book fell a little flat for me; I really didn't care for any of the characters - dead or alive ones- related to the case, so at the end I wanted that part of the book to end quickly. I really liked the interactions between Kara and Rhyzhakl; they are always very interesting to read. I would definitely recommend this book to people who liked the first one. I don't think you need to read the first book to understand the second, but I believe you would enjoy it more.

Memorable Quote:

I turned to Ryan's circle and lowered the protections, then I look up at him.
"Okay, possibly stupid question here, but have you ever encountered Kehlirik before? And what the hell is a kiraknikahl?"
He gave me an exasperated shrug as he stepped out of the circle. "How the fuck would I know?" Then his eyes widened. "Holy shit, I do know that demon!"
"You do?"
"Yeah, he was over at my house to watch the Super Bowl," he said, not bothering to hide his grin. "We shared a coupla brewskies. He's like my best bro!"
I rolled my eyes and headed up the stairs, though I couldn't help but smile. "Never mind," I said over my shoulder. "Kiraknikahl obviously means asshole."

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