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A review by laurenjodi
Secrets of the Demon by Diana Rowland
3.0
Secrets of the Demon
3.5 Stars
Now a member of an FBI task force investigating cases with a supernatural element, Detective Kara Gillian and her team members are called in when the lead singer of a popular Goth band receives death threats with demonic overtones. It soon becomes clear that someone is targeting members of the band and as the body count starts rising, Kara must uncover the truth before she turns into the next victim.
The mystery is slow to develop and the first half is bogged down with a great deal of recapping. The pacing picks up in the second half with numerous twists and turns, however, the mystery never quite reaches the levels of intrigue and action as the first two installments. While the identity of the actual villain comes as a surprise, other aspects of the crime are very predictable.
The character development is the highlight of the book and there are several significant revelations related to the different people in Kara’s life. Nevertheless, these details only raise more questions and it will be very interesting to see where the ongoing story arc is heading.
In terms of the romance, Kara is still conflicted about her relationships with Rhyzkahl and Ryan. Despite her physical attraction to the Demonic Lord, it is her friendship with the FBI agent that she would most like to move in a new and more intimate direction. Personally, I find Ryan to be far more appealing in the hero department for several reasons. To begin with, there is something smarmy about Rhyzkahl and his reasons for bonding with Kara are highly suspicious. In contrast, Ryan’s brooding stoicism resonates with my appreciation for the dark and tortured type, and his snarky banter with Kara is very engaging. Ryan’s developing connection with Kara also receives more page time and this may contribute to my preference.
I still feel that the vulgarity is excessive and one particularly grating issue is Kara and Jill’s tendency toward calling each other “b*tch”. There is nothing endearing about this and only serves to undermine their friendship in my eyes.
Liv Andersen’s narration has improved and there was no need for me to speed up the audio with this one.
All in all, the characters and the story has me hooked and I look forward to finding out what happens next.
3.5 Stars
Now a member of an FBI task force investigating cases with a supernatural element, Detective Kara Gillian and her team members are called in when the lead singer of a popular Goth band receives death threats with demonic overtones. It soon becomes clear that someone is targeting members of the band and as the body count starts rising, Kara must uncover the truth before she turns into the next victim.
The mystery is slow to develop and the first half is bogged down with a great deal of recapping. The pacing picks up in the second half with numerous twists and turns, however, the mystery never quite reaches the levels of intrigue and action as the first two installments. While the identity of the actual villain comes as a surprise, other aspects of the crime are very predictable.
The character development is the highlight of the book and there are several significant revelations related to the different people in Kara’s life. Nevertheless, these details only raise more questions and it will be very interesting to see where the ongoing story arc is heading.
In terms of the romance, Kara is still conflicted about her relationships with Rhyzkahl and Ryan. Despite her physical attraction to the Demonic Lord, it is her friendship with the FBI agent that she would most like to move in a new and more intimate direction. Personally, I find Ryan to be far more appealing in the hero department for several reasons. To begin with, there is something smarmy about Rhyzkahl and his reasons for bonding with Kara are highly suspicious. In contrast, Ryan’s brooding stoicism resonates with my appreciation for the dark and tortured type, and his snarky banter with Kara is very engaging. Ryan’s developing connection with Kara also receives more page time and this may contribute to my preference.
I still feel that the vulgarity is excessive and one particularly grating issue is Kara and Jill’s tendency toward calling each other “b*tch”. There is nothing endearing about this and only serves to undermine their friendship in my eyes.
Liv Andersen’s narration has improved and there was no need for me to speed up the audio with this one.
All in all, the characters and the story has me hooked and I look forward to finding out what happens next.