Poison Fruit

August 25, 2014
Though some whimsy still comes through in the final book of Carey’s Agent of Hel suburban fantasy trilogy (after Autumn Bones), a darker, wintertime mood pervades the intimate story. A persuasive demonic lawyer begins to purchase large pieces of tiny Pemkowet, Mich., in the service of an unknown power, leading Daisy Johannsen to wonder whether she should claim her half-demonic heritage, an act that would give her more power to defend Pemkowet but might destroy the world. As eldritch advisor to the town police and liaison to the goddess who lives underneath the town, Daisy also confronts the unpleasant backlash of Pemkowet’s encouragement of supernatural tourism. On the personal front, she debates the relative benefits of two possible romantic relationships. Fans of the lighter parts of Carey’s world will enjoy the continued influence of the town’s quirky coven and the introduction of beer-swigging bogle Skrrzzzt, while those more interested in Daisy’s personal arcs will be happy with the emotionally satisfying closure to the series.

September 15, 2014
Third in Carey's supernatural urban fantasy series (Autumn Bones, 2013, etc.) set in Pemkowet, a small resort town on the shores of Lake Michigan.In summer, tourists pour in to marvel at Pemkowet's eldritch community-fairies, ghouls, vampires, bogles and so forth-whose benevolent supervisor is Hel, the Norse goddess of the underworld. Now it's November, and things are quieter, so Daisy Johanssen, hell-spawn daughter of a demon and a human mother, Hel's enforcer and designated liaison to the Pemkowet Police Department, devotes her energies to unscrambling her sizzling but problematic personal life. First up is her partner, red-hot werewolf Officer Cody Fairfax; the lust is mutual, but traditionalist Cody wants a family and so must mate with another werewolf. And then there's equally red-hot Stefan Ludovic, 600-year-old Bohemian knight and leader of the ghouls, or Outcasts, who, rejected by both heaven and hell, are immortal and feed on emotions. However, with Stefan away in Poland on private business, Scott Evans, a veteran with severe PTSD, complains to the Pemkowet PD that he's being haunted by a witchlike, soul-sucking Night Hag. And then hell-spawn lawyer Daniel Dufreyne wallops the town with a massive lawsuit. The really bad news is that Dufreyne, having accepted his birthright, has demonic powers of persuasion. Daisy isn't sure how that works: She's refused to claim her own birthright despite frequent urgings from dad, the lesser demon Belphegor, lest she unleash Armageddon. Steamy sex, meddling monsters and a hell-spawn heroine with a volcanic temper: Even in the off season, there's nothing dull about Pemkowet.What more could series addicts ask?

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September 15, 2014

A slick lawyer in Pemkowet, MI, is buying up property, and Daisy Johanssen (half-demon agent of the Norse goddess Hel) is tasked with uncovering what purpose he has in town and whom he represents. Her investigation is diverted by a predatory creature of the fae who feeds on nightmares, literally scaring one poor person to death. As the liaison between Hel and Pemkowet, Daisy is responsible for managing any supernatural dangers to the human residents, but the distractions of two very different men in her life make it difficult for her to do her job. VERDICT This third urban fantasy series outing (after 2013's Autumn Bones) is the opposite of Carey's epic fantasies (Kushiel's Dart), but it is light and fun. With Daisy's romantic triangles, she will appeal to readers who miss Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse. The small-town setting and variety of inhuman creatures keep things lively.

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