Mark of the Demon

Kara Gillian, Book 1

De: Diana Rowland

Narrado por: Liv Anderson

Cop and conjurer of demons, she's a woman in danger of losing control - to a power that could kill....

"Why me? Why now?" That’s what Beaulac, Louisiana, detective Kara Gillian was asking herself when an angelic creature named Rhyzkahl unexpectedly appeared during a routine summoning. Kara was hoping to use her occult skills to catch a serial killer, but never had she conjured anything like this unearthly beautiful and unspeakably powerful being whose very touch set off exquisite new dimensions of pleasure. But can she enlist his aid in helping her stop a killer who’s already claimed the lives - and souls - of 13 people? And should she?

The Symbol Man is a nightmare that the city thought had ended three years ago. Now he's back for an encore and leaving every indication on the flesh of his victims that he, too, is well versed in demonic lore. Kara may be the only cop on Beaulac’s small force able to stop the killer, but it is her first homicide case. Yet with Rhyzkahl haunting her dreams, and a handsome yet disapproving FBI agent dogging her waking footsteps, she may be in way over her head.

©2009 Diana Rowland (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Love Love Love

Any additional comments?

This is great start to a wonderful series. I couldn't download the second book fast enough!!! Great narration as well.

another so so book

I seem to have picked quite a few mediocre books lately. Not so bad that I want my time back, but not good enough that I want to continue with the series. This is a decent fantasy novel and the romance was not cookie cutter so that is good.

Oh, for Pete’s sake, folks, it’s not that much

The way the reviews talked about jumping into sex with demons, F bomb dropping and gruesome torture, I expected a jagged, grimdark, urban fantasy True Detective style. But, there’s only two sex scenes and they’re fairly quick and not detailed much beyond some grabbing of tatas. The F bombs were nowhere near Samuel Jackson territory. Even the mystery involving deaths with torture were more quantity than quality (the dead are rarely given names, much less backstories).

This was instead somewhere between YA and police noir. I liked the way it started more on the police procedural end (admittedly after the chapter 3 demon nookie), and then gradually let us in on arcane summoning, the nature of the demon realm, and the rigid demon code of honor.

I could have used more details on the world (apparently most are unaware of the arcane). This could also have used more action, humor, or a faster pace. But, the final third picked up, delivered a few good twists, and opened the series up for some interesting possibilities.

Series review: This ended up being neither a police procedural nor a romance series.
Books 5-9 brought diminishing returns on a muddled mess of a fantasy invasion arc.
Resolution depended upon late in the game introduction of new characters, magics, and factions.
It gave me the same bad taste as the resolution of the first GoT TV series.

Loved it!

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Aunt

Which character – as performed by Liv Anderson – was your favorite?

The Main

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

How to summon a demon

Any additional comments?

It was a really good book, the audio is nice and easy going. You really get into it.. And the twists are insane.

mark of the demon

book was entertaining, easy to listen to, cant wait to listen to the rest of the series. found out about author on facebook. post about her lawn dragons. more dragons!

A must read!

I really enjoyed the book. it had a really good storyline and it kept me wanting more. The main characters easy to relate to!

Rowland's Demons Are As Good As Her Zombies

I was drawn to the demon summoning aspect of this series because of its uniqueness within the Paranormal genre, and I also never miss an installment of Diana Rowland's WHITE TRASH ZOMBIES, so I knew that I'd make my way to KARA GILLIAN eventually. This story was way more serious than my previous experiences with this author's writing, but it was extra sexy as well which helped to even it out. At this point in time, I'm picking Ryan over Rhyzkahl, although neither has proven themselves yet, therefore things could go either way on the romance front. I liked Liv Anderson's narration, and have already purchased the second audiobook.

Fresh New Take on Urban Fantasy!

This is a fantastic read! I enjoyed this first book so much that I went ahead and bought the whole series. It's so well read by Liv Anderson, that I was instantly sucked into the world. It's gritty and dark at times, and several secondary characters die -- but that's to be expected since it deals with demon summoning as a practice of magic. I was riveted from the start!

The series revolves around a female cop who is also a secret student of demon summoning. She's the only one who senses the magic around several crime scenes, and is therefore the only one with any chance of solving them. She goes up against a bad guy summoner who's trying to bring on Armageddon for the usual twisted reasons.

Our hero is not extra tough, nor does she use a handy magic wand. She does use her wits to find out who the psycho is. While occasionally summoning a demon or two to help out, she does this reluctantly since demons are strong and unpredictable and if she loses control of them she's toast.

So yeah, it's dark, but it's also funny at times and it feels fully fleshed out. Some of the demons she summons are nearly mindless beasts, while one is a lord, a sexy angel like god. There is a little romance, some sex and a great plot.

While I don't get the negative reviews, and I won't speculate on why they seem so harsh, I will say that the negatives noted seem to be based on the kinds of things that books of this type usually contain. I just wonder what these readers were expecting from a Urban Fantasy about demons.

I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to more books in the series.


P.S. I've noted a troubling trend in reviews where people are using the word "heroin" when they mean "heroine." I don't want to be the spelling police, but come on people -- those are two very different words!

I will enjoy this series...

Read/Listened for Fun (Audible/Paperback)
Tracking Books Read Review (Short)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 4.00
Character Rating: 4.00

Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: I was thrilled to see that Mark of the Demon was a little bit Urban Fantasy and Mystery/Thriller! Glad I have 3 more of the series ready to go!

Overall Thoughts: I love Diana Rowland's White Trash Zombie series and have owned these forever. I was not disappointed. I really liked Kara--she was smart, interesting, quirky, and can kick butt. I loved that she was cop and has a past that makes her a better cop. The mystery was strong. I am very interested to see how things play out with Kara and all the craziness that is going on in her world. I have to say that last little bit about the naked pictures on the internet made me laugh out loud. You will just have to read it to figure out what that refers too!

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Liv Anderson / Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins


Liv did an excellent job with Mark of the Demon. I have never listened to her narrate a book before but I was impressed. I will be watching for books narrated by her in the future.

Final Thought: Need to squeeze book 2 in soon!

Out of this Dimension Who Dunnnit.

If you could sum up Mark of the Demon in three words, what would they be?

Nicely executed urban fantasy. Solid characters with a real plot that is engaging, sexy and unpredictable in the most interesting way

What other book might you compare Mark of the Demon to and why?

Most comparable to Faith Hunter and Patricia Briggs at their best. The creation of a believable world populated by demons and people with her mature views on good and evil make for an entertaining and thoughtful read or listen Liv Anderson did a great job.

Which character – as performed by Liv Anderson – was your favorite?

Liv does a very professional job of narration with this project. Her voice is pleasing and warm with a range that makes the characters distinct.

Any additional comments?

It's noteworthy that while the first in a series this book reads as a complete book with no cliff hangers or sinister underlying plots to presage the next book. I will read the next book because the characters and storyline are engaging and I want to see how they develop.