The Devil You Know by Mike Carey is crime noir with a supernatural twist. It was first released in the UK in 2006. Carey is well known in the world of comics and graphic novels as a master story teller. The “Lucifer” and “Hellblazer” books are his. This is his first prose novel – and it’s a gem! He creates stunning visuals with words in a tale that’s part urban fantasy, part classic noir.
Felix Castor is a down and out exorcist in London. His technique is unusual but effective. Unfortunately, he accidentally introduced a demon into his friend’s soul and now Rafi and his demon are confined in a mental institution. The experience sent Felix into retirement and he’s forced to perform magic tricks at children’s parties to make rent money. The plot thickens when he’s hired to exorcise a ghost haunting a British library. His investigation takes him into London’s sleazy underground where the humans are more dangerous than the spirits. A sleazy pimp sets a loup-garou on him to warn him off the case, but Felix is made of sterner stuff and won’t back off. The danger increases and it appears the library staff may be involved as well.
Mike Carey has added a fresh element to the genre to create a wonderfully entertaining thriller. If you like paranormal tales you’ll find plenty of supernatural creatures between the pages – ghosts, demons, zombies, and lycanthropes, to name a few. But Carey’s human villains are much scarier. The dark is tempered with the light – humor that is. The protagonist, a hard-boiled ghost hunter, narrates and his wry sarcastic humor is spot-on. The setting of a supernatural contemporary London feels authentic and the pacing is impeccable. There’s a tendency toward excess description and internal dialogue but there’s also plenty of action and surprising twists. You won’t want to put it down.
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Edition (July 10, 2007)
ISBN: 978-0-446-58030-4
Pages: 416
Price: $24.99
The Devil You Know - Dark Urban Fantasy by Mike Carey
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