Review--Speak of the Devil

FOR A KICK ASS EXORCIST, IT'S ALL ABOUT STAYING ALIVE...

Morgan Kingsley, America's most successful exorcist is paying the price for an exorcism gone wrong. The victim's family is suing the daylights out of her, the Exorcism Board has suspended her, and now she's living on a diet of ramen noodles and bad coffee. But Morgan has a few good men at her side. One is her current boyfriend, nice-guy legal eagle Brian, who's suddenly starting to reveal his inner bad boy. The other is Philly cop Adam White, who's trying to help Morgan find out who sent her a little present--a severed human hand--and why someone seems determined to destroy her.

As her stalker turns more violent, leaving dead bodies in his wake, Morgan turns to the dark side of her life: a group of demons steeped in secrets, sinful eroticism, and otherworldly family feuds, including one sexy beast who shares Morgan's body--and some X-rated fantasies. Soon Morgan must choose between her friends, her enemies, and her libido to escape a mad demon determined to destroy her completely.

Trying for a catchy title instead of using the book's title for the post. Not the best title I suppose, but oh well. It gets the point across. We have demons in the Morgan Kingsley series!

This is definitely one of the best books in the series so far, at least it was my fave. In it we get to see more of characters, such as Adam. For awhile we've only seen him as being a bit more cruel, but since he is a demon possessing a human that's to be expected, but we get to see a different side to him in Speak of the Devil. Granted it's nothing monumental, but I liked it. I liked seeing this side of Adam, he's more helpful than not in this book.

Morgan, as usual, finds herself in a bit of a pickle. Of course that is putting it lightly. Being sued for performing an exorcism and having the possessed die is not something Morgan was expecting, but it is what's happening. Maguire--the man suing Morgan--is a relentless man, angered by the death of his possessed son and blames Morgan for it, but could there be something more to the case than meets the eye? There is definitely something hinky going on here and Morgan is going to have to ask for help from her friends. Sometimes knowing a few demons of her own can be a good thing.

Reporter Barbie also makes her return in this novel and has a much more prominent role. We get to know more about her and her "deal". It is definitely quite an interesting part of the tale.

Jenna Black writes in a fabulous way, I love Morgan's saucy attitude, but there are times when I feel like strangling her for her actions or words. But she's still an awesome protagonist. I must say I really love the way she writes, especially by building this foundation of a world where demons exist and are sometimes viewed with respect and awe by some, and open hostility and hatred by others. It really does feel real at times, I love that about reading. When the writer can make the world believable and still add in the fantastical aspects, it's just amazing. It's like how can we not know that Philadelphia is a demon hot spot?

I am definitely looking forward to the next book, The Devil's Playground, coming out February 23 2010--the same day as Kim Harrison's, Black Magic Sanction! I really can't wait to see how this series comes to its final conclusion with the demon war and Lugh battling his brother!