Deal with the Devil

Circles in Hell, Book 3

By: Mark Cain

Narrated by: Michael Gilboe

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

A kidnapping, a dangerous new devil: Steve and Orson confront another mystery, involving their closest friends, while Satan tries to recruit Steve to the Demon Corps.

Steve, Hell's Super, and Orson, his trusty assistant, are back in another comic romp through the Underworld!

The Lord of Hell has a staffing shortage; there aren't enough devils and demons to torment the ever-swelling ranks of the eternally damned. Satan thinks Steve is an ideal candidate for the Demon Corps. He's smart, tenacious and able to dish out punishment when the need arises. But as Old Nick tries to recruit Hell's handyman in chief, Steve gets distracted by a more pressing issue: Florence Nightingale, his on-again, off-again girlfriend, is missing, possibly kidnapped.

With a little help from his friends, like BOOH, the storied Bat out of Hell, Steve must solve the mystery of her disappearance, manage Hell's unending flow of maintenance requests, while fending off an aggressive devil chief of police ...not to mention a succubus who is determined to steal Hell's Mr. Fixit away from Flo.

Deal with the Devil is the third volume in the fantasy comedy series, Circles in Hell. It has been compared to other works of "Hell Fiction", including The Screwtape Letters and Good Omens and to the paranormal humor of Tom Holt, Christopher Moore, and Douglas Adams.

©2015 Mark Cain (P)2016 Mark Cain

Deal with the Devil

Another great story. I love the narrator, his take on delivering the story is amazingly great. This is a fun series.

even better than the first two

Any additional comments?

( Received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.)

Even though I got the punchline early on in Steve’s story this time, I still wanna know what is going to happen to him in the next book. (Unashamed begging Mr. Cain to bestow another audio upon me when the next one is available.)

I’m not gonna tell the ending here. I never like reviews to contain spoilers and avoid them at all costs in my own meanderings. I have to say even though this is third book my appetite is suitably whetted in curiosity for what the hell happens next.

By now, we know the world Mr. Cain has invented for us and none of the details should surprise us, i.e., the name droppings, the descriptions of the levels of hell, etc. The surprises come in the story itself. The chuckles come from knowing what’s going to happen and finding out character reactions.

Other reviews of the previous two installments have lamented on the tedium of the storyline, how random bits of description or the fact that Steve has to do his “job” rather too frequently. If you’ve read the first two and are thinking of reading the third, but are put off by this occurrence, do not let it keep you from reading this one. Mr. Cain has streamlined the events in book number three to carry the reader/listener seamless through to the end. Just about every single scene is essential even if most of them oh so subtly reinforce and foreshadow the ending.

I know I’ve appreciated Michael Gilboe’s narration in other reviews. I believe that this one highlights his talent for entertainment. I think his narration of Deal With the Devil is even better than the first two books of Circles of Hell.

In my opinion more people need to read this and drop some reviews (either positive or negative, both are usually helpful). I do not feel as if enough of those who would appreciate this type of humor have even heard of this series. So into the swarming abyss of the internet my words go.

Such a fun series! :)

Deal With The Devil is the third book of the series, and was just as great as the other two. This author has created such a fun series! You can't help but to laugh throughout the whole book, and I absolutely love that. All the characters we have gotten to know were included in this story as well. I really enjoy how each book has a different mystery that needs to be solved. There was a great twist at the end of this story! Micheal Gilboe was the narrator of the audiobook, as well as the rest of the series. He does a fantastic job with all of the voices, and does quite a few different ones. I can't wait to see what Steve does in the conclusion to the series! I hope to get the final book very soon. I highly recommend this series to anyone that likes a funny mystery, with great characters.
**I was provided this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in any way

Brilliant

Thus far my favorite of the series. An absolutely riveting listen. I highly recommend it.

what the HELL minion !

great series. steve gets himself into more trouble in Hell. Its Hell being in Hell. Demon Minion!

Do yourself a favor and read these books!!!

Love the story, can't wait for the next one in the series! Really felt sad for Steve at the end of this one, though.

Hell IS super but I wouldn't want to live there

This series is hard to describe, but I like it. It's funny, heartwarming, bittersweet . . . just interesting to listen to. I've listened to all 3 books one after another and I've become familiar with and invested in the characters. Good narration, great story and now I'm flipping out because book 4 isn't available yet! THAT'S some torture right there, especially since this book sets up the next in a big way. Far more engaging than any audiobook I've listened to so far, if you are into quirky, definitely give it a go.

Not My Favorite Of The Series

What did you love best about Deal with the Devil?

How Minion tries not to be persuaded to be come a demon

What other book might you compare Deal with the Devil to and why?

The first two Circles in Hell books.

What about Michael Gilboe’s performance did you like?

All of it. He does great voices and is easy to listen to.

If you could take any character from Deal with the Devil out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would like to say Lilith but that would be too easy. I would have to say Orson because I have questions about "Citizen Kane".

Any additional comments?

My headliner for this comment is a bit misleading. I loved the book but I didn't like the ending. It was sad and frustrating.

Great as always! Can't go wrong with Hells Super!

This is the 3rd book I finished in the series I want more! I'll be picking up the fourth as soon as possible. This is a good comedy series with fun characters and a lighthearted take on Hell. Highly recommended!!!

Funny Read

Another Super day in Hell with things breaking, people disappearing, pies in the face and the always sort of funny movie lines. The narration was, of course, excellent.
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."