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dajoyofit's review
4.0
I enjoyed Diana Rowland's White Trash Zombie series soooo much, I decided to give her Kara Gillian series a read. If the fact that I immediately turned around after finishing Mark of the Demon and bought Book 2 as any indication, this was a great start to the series. The mix of police procedural and urban fantasy with a touch of eroticisim provided by a delicious and quite not trustworthy demon lord made for a great read.
Kara is a Summoner of demons and a homicide detective. I like how she's able to hold her own in a male dominated field. She's strong, competent, and smart with a touch of insecurity that any female reader can completely relate to experiencing at some point in their adult life.
There's definitely a lot of intrigue, which is slightly unnerving, because you're not sure who Kara can trust. It will be interesting to see how this series unfolds.
Kara is a Summoner of demons and a homicide detective. I like how she's able to hold her own in a male dominated field. She's strong, competent, and smart with a touch of insecurity that any female reader can completely relate to experiencing at some point in their adult life.
There's definitely a lot of intrigue, which is slightly unnerving, because you're not sure who Kara can trust. It will be interesting to see how this series unfolds.
katyanaish's review
4.0
Wow. I really liked this. It is an interesting world, with good twists and turns.
Yeah, there were a couple times where I thought Kara was a little slow on the uptake - especially for a detective - but all in all, she was really solid.
Lots of setup in this book. I'm interested to see where the characters go from here.
Yeah, there were a couple times where I thought Kara was a little slow on the uptake - especially for a detective - but all in all, she was really solid.
Lots of setup in this book. I'm interested to see where the characters go from here.
mbarrow's review
4.0
I was hesitant about this novel at first. I found it slow and it seemed a bit too contrived but eventually the plot picked up and the dialogue improved. Now the dialogue is always my favorite part of her novels.
witchylevy's review
5.0
I loved how the author created a logical multiverse. I never expected the person who ended up as the perpetrator. Great book with a captivating storyline. I'm interested to know if the demon lord loses interest in her now. And how her personal relationships develop.
melindavan's review
3.0
I wish I could remember exactly how I stumbled on this series. I’m delighted that I did, because overall I enjoyed this debut novel. If someone recommended it to me, please send me more! If I found it via Amazon’s “you might like this” feature well, kudos! They were right, I did like it. Now for some details:
First line: “I could hear the intruder breaking into my house. Unfortunately, it was in the same instant that the demon appeared before me.” Two things about this opening. 1. Something about the language really bothers me in that first sentence, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. I hesitate to bring it up at all but it was a major stumbling block. Too short maybe? Odd structure? No sense of time/place so I’m hanging in a void? Not sure. 2. The follow up sentence made me feel better about the first one. It gave me a sense of setting (a place where demons can appear) and a sense of personality (unfortunately…kind of a mild word to describe the appearance of a demon). Of course, anytime you mention magic or demon I’m hooked so that did it for me. I read on, because I simply had to know what she did with the demon and the intruder.
Mechanics: It’s basically a police procedural type story, with a twist. Like most of them, it’s in first person. It works. The parts that have details of forensics use so many buzzwords I have a feeling the author has either done investigations herself or has a close friend who does. Or she’s a genius with research. Whatever the case, those parts stuck out as feeling very science-like in the midst of a regular-girl-playing-cop feel. In other words, it felt like two different people writing. Had there been much more of the science bits my eyes would have glazed over and I would have skipped them. I’m just not the type that needs to know there is petechial hemorrhaging. I’m more the “look at that bruise!” type. But, as I said before, this is a police procedural so I suppose some of the jargon is a natural by-product.
Voice: The voice is easy going, and strangely not very cop-like. Strange, because the main character is a cop. I’m kind of glad for that, to be honest. That said, as this is a debut novel I felt like the voice is still finding a, well, voice. It’s on the way but not quite there yet. It’s nothing that would stop anyone from reading. On the contrary, it’s an easy read and great for a rainy afternoon.
Plot: The story centers around Kara, who is a cop by day and a demon summoner by night. It’s what happens when those two things mix in a murder/mystery/demon summoning/serial killer kind of way. I have to admit I did not see the twist coming; I was looking in a different direction. I should have, but didn’t. Well played Rowland, well played.
I should mention here the thing that bugged me the most about this story: the serial killer’s nickname. Symbol Man. Really? That’s the best you could come up with? It threw me right out of the story every time I read it because it seemed like a cartoon character name. It brought to mind images of the pi symbol on a cape or something. Superman with a rune over his chest. Dudley Do-Right with a puffed out chest and a symbol in red emblazoned on it. A bathroom door sign on a t-shirt. I don’t think any self respecting media would coin that phrase. Symbol Slayer maybe. Hatchet Killer. Something. I don’t know…anything but Symbol Man. Even one of the characters remarks on how cheesy the name is. Listen to your characters next time…they speak wisdom beyond the page. I hate to harp on a tiny point, but take that as a sign. If that’s all I can find to complain about, it must be a good story! I’m interested to find out if anyone else had this reaction. Maybe it’s just me.
Characters: Interestingly, the character I felt was the most developed was the Demon Lord. Love his development/description. His every action fascinated and terrified me at the same time. Kara, the detective, is trying her best to be accepted as a lead detective. I just feel like she’s stifling herself a trifle, and hope that she lets more of her inner strength shine in the next story. Every now and then there’s a tough edge, and then it hides again. Go ahead, let her be tough! She can hold her own. Her aunt is kooky, no nonsense and fun. Her forensic friend is awesome - smart, funny…the kind of friend any girl would like to have. The FBI guy is..very FBI like. It works.
After a bit of a clunky start, Mark of the Demon kept me captivated. I’d say about the time the Demon Lord showed up. He hooked me so hard I didn’t put the book down after that. If you give this one a try, keep with it until you meet him. You’ll be glad you did.
Note: Love the cover! Those runes you see are an important part of the story. It was nice to have a visual of them.
First line: “I could hear the intruder breaking into my house. Unfortunately, it was in the same instant that the demon appeared before me.” Two things about this opening. 1. Something about the language really bothers me in that first sentence, but I can’t pinpoint what it is. I hesitate to bring it up at all but it was a major stumbling block. Too short maybe? Odd structure? No sense of time/place so I’m hanging in a void? Not sure. 2. The follow up sentence made me feel better about the first one. It gave me a sense of setting (a place where demons can appear) and a sense of personality (unfortunately…kind of a mild word to describe the appearance of a demon). Of course, anytime you mention magic or demon I’m hooked so that did it for me. I read on, because I simply had to know what she did with the demon and the intruder.
Mechanics: It’s basically a police procedural type story, with a twist. Like most of them, it’s in first person. It works. The parts that have details of forensics use so many buzzwords I have a feeling the author has either done investigations herself or has a close friend who does. Or she’s a genius with research. Whatever the case, those parts stuck out as feeling very science-like in the midst of a regular-girl-playing-cop feel. In other words, it felt like two different people writing. Had there been much more of the science bits my eyes would have glazed over and I would have skipped them. I’m just not the type that needs to know there is petechial hemorrhaging. I’m more the “look at that bruise!” type. But, as I said before, this is a police procedural so I suppose some of the jargon is a natural by-product.
Voice: The voice is easy going, and strangely not very cop-like. Strange, because the main character is a cop. I’m kind of glad for that, to be honest. That said, as this is a debut novel I felt like the voice is still finding a, well, voice. It’s on the way but not quite there yet. It’s nothing that would stop anyone from reading. On the contrary, it’s an easy read and great for a rainy afternoon.
Plot: The story centers around Kara, who is a cop by day and a demon summoner by night. It’s what happens when those two things mix in a murder/mystery/demon summoning/serial killer kind of way. I have to admit I did not see the twist coming; I was looking in a different direction. I should have, but didn’t. Well played Rowland, well played.
I should mention here the thing that bugged me the most about this story: the serial killer’s nickname. Symbol Man. Really? That’s the best you could come up with? It threw me right out of the story every time I read it because it seemed like a cartoon character name. It brought to mind images of the pi symbol on a cape or something. Superman with a rune over his chest. Dudley Do-Right with a puffed out chest and a symbol in red emblazoned on it. A bathroom door sign on a t-shirt. I don’t think any self respecting media would coin that phrase. Symbol Slayer maybe. Hatchet Killer. Something. I don’t know…anything but Symbol Man. Even one of the characters remarks on how cheesy the name is. Listen to your characters next time…they speak wisdom beyond the page. I hate to harp on a tiny point, but take that as a sign. If that’s all I can find to complain about, it must be a good story! I’m interested to find out if anyone else had this reaction. Maybe it’s just me.
Characters: Interestingly, the character I felt was the most developed was the Demon Lord. Love his development/description. His every action fascinated and terrified me at the same time. Kara, the detective, is trying her best to be accepted as a lead detective. I just feel like she’s stifling herself a trifle, and hope that she lets more of her inner strength shine in the next story. Every now and then there’s a tough edge, and then it hides again. Go ahead, let her be tough! She can hold her own. Her aunt is kooky, no nonsense and fun. Her forensic friend is awesome - smart, funny…the kind of friend any girl would like to have. The FBI guy is..very FBI like. It works.
After a bit of a clunky start, Mark of the Demon kept me captivated. I’d say about the time the Demon Lord showed up. He hooked me so hard I didn’t put the book down after that. If you give this one a try, keep with it until you meet him. You’ll be glad you did.
Note: Love the cover! Those runes you see are an important part of the story. It was nice to have a visual of them.
amber1989's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this. Yes I was completely wrong with my guess of the killer but I like that I was wrong. I hope we get more of Ryan in the next one
katelin00's review
4.0
Originally posted to A Bookworm's Confessions
4.5 stars
I've been meaning to read this book for the longest time. I bought it ages ago and then forgot about it. But I finally got to it and read it in about a day. It's so interesting and something I've not really read about before so I found myself enjoying the uniqueness. It was the perfect combination of a police procedure and urban fantasy.
This book is written in first person, from the view of Kara Gillian. Kara is finally a homicide detective and she gets her first case, the Symbol Man. 3 years previously, the Symbol Man killed 13 people and left their bodies covered in arcane symbols. The killer only chose victims who wouldn't be missed; drug addicts, prostitutes, etc. Kara had only been a street cop when Symbol Man was working but she did get a glimpse of something arcane on one of the bodies while she was guarding the crime scene.
Kara is a summoner. She summons demons from another sphere into this world. There are 12 different levels of demons and then you have the Demon Lords. Kara has finally graduated because she was able to summon a 12th level demon. Her Aunt Tessa is her mentor and taught her all about the arcane. Kara's parents died when she was really young and Tessa became her guardian. Kara has a tragic past that we learn about gradually. I think we will learn more.
That night, the Symbol Man hit again. Kara is given the lead on the case. While she examined the first body, she saw arcane symbols and runes hovering over the body with her othersight. The Symbol Man is definitely someone who knows the arcane.
Kara was trying to summon an 8th level demon when all of a sudden a gorgeous man lands in her circle. He's obviously a powerful demon because he easily brushes away all of her protections. He could have killed her but instead he seduces her and she has a super hot one night stand with him. We later learn that he is a Demon Lord and she is lucky to be alive.
Kara gets a little task team to work on the case. The Symbol Man is working up to something and his kills are becoming more frequent. Enter Agent Ryan Kristoff. He's from the FBI and he likes to work the weird cases. He's kind of the love interest in this story but not quite. It's obvious that he is attracted to Kara but since Kara lives such a crazy life, having boyfriends is not an easy thing. I like Ryan. Kara eventually tells him about her being a summoner and we learn that he has some of the othersight but not enough to be a summoner. I like Ryan. He's a great addition and provides some comic relief.
The ending part of the book was insanity. Seriously, there were so many twists that I was getting whiplash. I was thinking it was one thing and it turns out to be something different. It was a brilliant mystery and I love the surprises Rowland threw in there. The last chapter is pretty crazy and I can't wait to see what's coming in the next book.
Diana Rowland's website has a kind of glossary about the demons in her book to help with pronunciation if you want to check it out. The names can get pretty complicated.
4.5 stars
I've been meaning to read this book for the longest time. I bought it ages ago and then forgot about it. But I finally got to it and read it in about a day. It's so interesting and something I've not really read about before so I found myself enjoying the uniqueness. It was the perfect combination of a police procedure and urban fantasy.
This book is written in first person, from the view of Kara Gillian. Kara is finally a homicide detective and she gets her first case, the Symbol Man. 3 years previously, the Symbol Man killed 13 people and left their bodies covered in arcane symbols. The killer only chose victims who wouldn't be missed; drug addicts, prostitutes, etc. Kara had only been a street cop when Symbol Man was working but she did get a glimpse of something arcane on one of the bodies while she was guarding the crime scene.
Kara is a summoner. She summons demons from another sphere into this world. There are 12 different levels of demons and then you have the Demon Lords. Kara has finally graduated because she was able to summon a 12th level demon. Her Aunt Tessa is her mentor and taught her all about the arcane. Kara's parents died when she was really young and Tessa became her guardian. Kara has a tragic past that we learn about gradually. I think we will learn more.
That night, the Symbol Man hit again. Kara is given the lead on the case. While she examined the first body, she saw arcane symbols and runes hovering over the body with her othersight. The Symbol Man is definitely someone who knows the arcane.
Kara was trying to summon an 8th level demon when all of a sudden a gorgeous man lands in her circle. He's obviously a powerful demon because he easily brushes away all of her protections. He could have killed her but instead he seduces her and she has a super hot one night stand with him. We later learn that he is a Demon Lord and she is lucky to be alive.
Kara gets a little task team to work on the case. The Symbol Man is working up to something and his kills are becoming more frequent. Enter Agent Ryan Kristoff. He's from the FBI and he likes to work the weird cases. He's kind of the love interest in this story but not quite. It's obvious that he is attracted to Kara but since Kara lives such a crazy life, having boyfriends is not an easy thing. I like Ryan. Kara eventually tells him about her being a summoner and we learn that he has some of the othersight but not enough to be a summoner. I like Ryan. He's a great addition and provides some comic relief.
The ending part of the book was insanity. Seriously, there were so many twists that I was getting whiplash. I was thinking it was one thing and it turns out to be something different. It was a brilliant mystery and I love the surprises Rowland threw in there. The last chapter is pretty crazy and I can't wait to see what's coming in the next book.
Diana Rowland's website has a kind of glossary about the demons in her book to help with pronunciation if you want to check it out. The names can get pretty complicated.
bmg20's review against another edition
5.0
‘Mark of the Demon’ is the first in Diana Rowland’s Kara Gillian Series. Kara Gillian is a newbie Detective in small town Beaulac, Louisiana. She’s also a skilled summoner of demons who uses her occult skills in her cases. She’s put in charge of a case of recent murders that appear to be the same killer, The Symbol Man, who killed 13 people but hadn’t killed anyone in over 3 years. All of the victims show evidence of being killed for demonic purposes so Kara attempts to summon a demon to assist her but ends up summoning something else: a powerful Demonic Lord, Rhyzkahl.
I am SO glad that I decided to read this series. For those of you who don’t know, I started out a huge mystery/thriller fan and that’s about all I read. Then I discovered urban fantasy and realized I loved that as well. Well this series combined by two favorites. This had demons, crazy serial killers, hot cops, crazy CSI shit, and a demonic lord to boot… right up my alley. I don’t typically read back to back books in a series, I like to mix it up a bit every now and then, but I’m going straight to book number 2.
I am SO glad that I decided to read this series. For those of you who don’t know, I started out a huge mystery/thriller fan and that’s about all I read. Then I discovered urban fantasy and realized I loved that as well. Well this series combined by two favorites. This had demons, crazy serial killers, hot cops, crazy CSI shit, and a demonic lord to boot… right up my alley. I don’t typically read back to back books in a series, I like to mix it up a bit every now and then, but I’m going straight to book number 2.
blodeuedd's review
4.0
Yay another UF series to enjoy :D And one that already has a few books out so that means no waiting...ok it does mean waiting for me to get them. But not years I hope.
On to the story. It's the old but awesome story of a detective trying to solve a case. But Kara is also a summoner and summons demons in her basement. So she is cool.
The case in hand is a serial killer that leaves strange markings, so it's up her alley. To her help she has a handsome Fed, and well....a super sexy Demon messing with her. I do like a being that I do not know if he is good or bad or just...everything at once.
Police work, demon business, a nasty killer and just a good book to read. I love a book i can finish in a day (being sick works ;)
Yay, I want more.
On to the story. It's the old but awesome story of a detective trying to solve a case. But Kara is also a summoner and summons demons in her basement. So she is cool.
The case in hand is a serial killer that leaves strange markings, so it's up her alley. To her help she has a handsome Fed, and well....a super sexy Demon messing with her. I do like a being that I do not know if he is good or bad or just...everything at once.
Police work, demon business, a nasty killer and just a good book to read. I love a book i can finish in a day (being sick works ;)
Yay, I want more.