Book Review: Pale Demon

By Sandy Amazeen Feb 27, 2011, 21:26 GMT

Condemned and shunned for black magic, Rachel Morgan has three days to get to the annual witches\' conference and clear her name, or be trapped in the demonic ever-after . . . forever after. But a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car going across the country? Talk about a recipe for certain disaster, even without being the targets for assassination. For ...more

Rachel Morgan is finding life difficult since she has been condemned and shunned for performing black magic. In hopes of clearing her name and reputation, to say nothing of her business, Rachel is to appear before the annual witch’s conference taking place in three days. While Rachel never expected the trip or her testimony would be easy, she could not possibly have anticipated the challenges she was about to face. Fortunately, she wouldn’t have to go it alone; roommates Jenks, a pixy and Ivy, a living vampire were going too. Unfortunately, so was Trent, an elf that shared a long contentious history with Rachel and was no stranger to practicing the black arts. Even worse, the entire group would be forced to put up with each other in close proximity during the long car trip to San Francisco.
 
At the conference, nothing goes as planned and Rachel is found guilty but that is only the beginning of her problems when the sentence involves Trent’s brilliant “rescue” plan involving a demon curse. The solution may prove more deadly then the punishment, as the demon in question wants Rachel and will destroy all of San Francisco to achieve its goal.

Old friends and new star in Harrison’s fast paced ninth book of the Hollows series that focuses on issues of trust, especially between Rachel and Trent. Surprisingly fast paced considering the road trip, there are plenty of twists, turns and spins that grab your attention while delivering an excellently thought out storyline. Al and Trent’s characters are expanded upon, as is demon culture thanks to an interesting peek at life in the ever-after. The conclusion leaves Rachel with the rare gift of being able to choose exactly what kind of future she wants and it remains to be seen what she does with it.