In a world where ghosts are commonplace, a freelance exorcist can earn a very good living and Felix Castor did. Until he barely survived a close encounter with a demon and retired from the game. A little more than a year later and he finds himself in need of some fast cash and so takes on what appears to be a simple exorcism.
But nothing about the supernatural world is ever simple and the more he learns about the ghost he’s been called in to eradicate, the more he becomes entangled in a supernatural underworld of demons, were-beings and ghosts who all want him dead before he can complete the job.
But complete it he does, solving a brutal murder and losing the closest thing he’s had to a girlfriend in a long while, along the way.
I liked the premise of this story and thought the characterisation excellent. Even the minor characters were three dimensional.
I found the pacing a little off with short bursts of intense activity divided by long stretches of nothing much happening and the denouement, plonked in a large slab of exposition near the end, felt unsatisfactory for all it tidied up the bulk of the plot.
Overall I found this to be a competent first novel with an interesting premise and great characters that were enough to outweigh problems with execution, problems I hope the author will overcome with greater experience. I’m not entirely sold on Carey’s style but will certainly try another Felix Castor novel before I decide whether or not this series is for me.-Lynn
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