Mark of the Demon (Kara Gillian, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Apr 04, 2012 Kelly (Maybedog) rated it liked it

Shelves: what-cover-me-up, what-modern-fantasy, what-demons, where-grr-mine, what-mystery

2.5 stars

***Warning: this book has a scene of dubious consent***

I first have to say the cover picture is ridiculous. Her neck is about twice as long as a neck should be.

This is a quick read, not a lot of depth here, and it's very linear. I liked the heroine, and the mystery was okay. The characters were good, but the most promising one, the demon from the first few pages, is never seen again, despite what seemed to be a set up for him to later appear.

I actually liked the FBI man love interest 2.5 stars

***Warning: this book has a scene of dubious consent***

I first have to say the cover picture is ridiculous. Her neck is about twice as long as a neck should be.

This is a quick read, not a lot of depth here, and it's very linear. I liked the heroine, and the mystery was okay. The characters were good, but the most promising one, the demon from the first few pages, is never seen again, despite what seemed to be a set up for him to later appear.

I actually liked the FBI man love interest and just had trouble reconciling how he acted he first time they met with every other time. I mentally decided he'd had a very bad day. I think the demon lord was mostly well done, especially as the plot progressed.

I also think the book improved in quality as it went on, and the last couple of chapters had me glued to the pages.

I had a couple of issues with how conveniently everything worked out, especially how much responsibility was heaped on a new detective. No police force would ever put a new detective as the primary on a resurfaced serial killer, not even if she'd written a dissertation on the subject. She would be on the team but never the primary. The fact that this is in the book is funny considering the author used to be a detective herself.

But my biggest problem was the big sex scene. (view spoiler)

Despite this, I did like the story and will probably read the next book, which probably makes me as evil as the male mentioned in the spoiler. ...more

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May 03, 2010 Alisha rated it really liked it

Settling on a numerical rating for this book was a toughie. I'd give it 3.5 if I could, but didn't mind rounding up.

All in all, this book was fairly enjoyable. The story takes place in a world where, according to public belief, the paranormal does not exist. This is the furthest from the truth as far as Louisianan detective Kara Gillian is concerned. She's a summoner of demons (not the heaven/hell kind but rather otherworldly creatures), and as such has a wealth of knowledge about all things abn Settling on a numerical rating for this book was a toughie. I'd give it 3.5 if I could, but didn't mind rounding up.

All in all, this book was fairly enjoyable. The story takes place in a world where, according to public belief, the paranormal does not exist. This is the furthest from the truth as far as Louisianan detective Kara Gillian is concerned. She's a summoner of demons (not the heaven/hell kind but rather otherworldly creatures), and as such has a wealth of knowledge about all things abnormal.

When the book begins, she's only a few months into her promotion to the Violent Crimes division of the Beaulac PD. One would think that it would mean a dearth of cases: the sleepy southern town doesn't get much in the way of extreme crime. But this changes drastically when an previously unsolved string of brutal serial murders is seemingly renewed after a three-year hiatus. Kara is given this case, which is just as well because she realizes very quickly that these murders somehow involve the arcane…her (secret) specialty.

Kara Gillian herself is quite interesting as she's portrayed. She's more or less a loner, with no friends to speak of other than her aunt and maybe a fellow officer or two. There was a lot of "self-evaluation" going on in addition to the actual main plot thread, and it was interesting to watch her wrestle with her identity in the "normal" world. As a cop she's extremely sharp, and through her eyes one is privy to a compelling evaluation of these serial violent crimes.

There's a good amount of "P" in this paranormal romance (through Kara), but I must admit that I found the "R" to be quite lacking and…dare I say, random? Not outright unwelcome, but rather unnecessary as portrayed. The element added almost nothing to the story, being introduced rather abruptly and with limited believability. The "love" interest here, Lord Rhyzkal, was terribly one-dimensional…it felt almost like his role in the first two-thirds of the story was an afterthought to the last one-third.

That last one-third though…rocked. I couldn't get through the story fast enough. The police investigation took on many dimensions, and tied together much of the story such that it all ended satisfyingly. It's the reason why I rounded my rating up, quite frankly. By the time I finished the book, I was looking forward to how the next one was going to continue Kara's adventures.

This book definitely has some elements of the so-called "first-book-in-a-series syndrome," but it's worth reading, particularly in order to get the background for book number two (which as of this writing I've read and liked very much). ...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Christal rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, magic, pi-detective-cop, female-lead, murder, demons

Really enjoyed this one. Not sure why I waited so long to read it. One question though, how do you pronounce Rhyzkahl?

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Jun 19, 2013 Alisha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Second Readthrough. I think I would rate it just a smidge higher this time around, in part because with hindsight I can see why some elements were included, ones I'd once thought were weaknesses but were just very, very delayed payoffs.

My first readthrough is reviewed here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/101131848 ...more

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Dec 25, 2010 Thenia rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, series, mystery, paranormal, 2013, r-ab

Kara Gillian is a detective and a demon summoner and her skills as both are needed to solve her first solo homicide case. She is cautious but determined to catch the killer, even more so after confirming that he's using the arcane powers on his victims.

A powerful demon lord and a persistent FBI agent are complicating things for Kara who struggles to find balance and is unsure of who to trust.

Interesting, original world and a mystery that left me curious to read more and find out how the events o ...more

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