Secrets of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Published: January 4, 2011 by DAW

Series: Kara Gillian #3

Homicide detective Kara Gillian has a special talent: she can sense the "arcane" in our world, and there's quite a bit of it, even in Beaulac, Louisiana. She's also a summoner of demons, and works on a task force that deals with supernatural crimes. Her partners are attractive and smart FBI agents, but they're not summoners, and they're not telling Kara why they are on this special force with her. 


To make things worse, Kara has pledged herself to one of the most powerful of demons-a Demon Lord-who helped save her partner's life, but now expects things in return. Meanwhile, she's trying to solve a string of murders that are somehow tied together by money, sex, rock music and...mud. But how can she concentrate on the case when she's not even sure who-or what-her partners are? (Goodreads)

To being with I have to say that I have never been really big on reading mystery, or crime novels. Yet, when I was looking for Urban Fantasy novels I stumbled upon Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland which is the first book in this series. I had already read the Rachel Morgan series by Kim Harrison so I was intrigued by what types of demons Diana Rowland would present to me. I wasn't disappointed. I actually find the demon world that Diana Rowland has created as very interesting. I like the premise that there are different levels of demons that require different types amounts of power as well as the arcane generally being a secret within Kara Gillian's world. I like the relationships that Kara has with Jill, Ryan, Zack and her Aunt Tessa. We find out a lot about Zack and Ryan in this novel since there was a huge cliffhanger at the end of Blood of the Demon.

I was disappointed that there wasn't more action between Kara and Rhyzkahl. Also, I want more information about him: why is he so interested in Kara?, why does he want to be summoned to the human realm every month? I think there was a lot left hanging for readers in that department. The big hints about Ryan weren't really too huge but they kept me intrigued. Although, after a while I really got annoyed that we haven't found out what he is. Also, I have already mentioned my love/hate relationship with cliffhangers but at the end of this novel I didn't hate the cliffhanger as much as before. I really think the novel was ended well and it still left me wanting more and excited to wait for the next book to be released. 

If you haven't checked out the first two novels, you should read them before venturing into this one. I know some authors allow books to be stand alone as well as apart of a series but these books are more series based.

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