The Devil's Bible

April 10, 2017
Mouse is a very special woman. She can see a person’s soul, compel people to do her bidding, and kill with one word. What she can’t do is remain in one place too long, because she must stay one step ahead of her father. It’s been almost 700 years since the events of Carpenter’s Bohemian Gospel, which took place in the 13th century. In the present day, Mouse, going by the name of Emma Nicholas, teaches history at a university. When she’s confronted by a former student who is obsessed with the Codex Gigas, aka the Devil’s Bible—and can also see that she hasn’t aged a bit since they last met—Mouse flees to Rome. She’s searching for the book, which may hold the key to defeating her father, who is not of this world, and in a moment of desperation, she meets a man named Angelo, who offers his friendship and help. To defeat the hellish creatures that stalk her, she’ll need every tool at her disposal. Carpenter’s narrative alternates between Mouse’s life in the late 13th century and the present day, weaving a frightening tapestry of a woman who’s been through so much tragedy and feels like she has nothing left to give. She must learn to trust Angelo even as she falls in love with him. Mouse is both strong and vulnerable, constantly struggling with the dark legacy of her father, her own powers, and her efforts to be a good person. This exciting, poignant novel continues the strong opening in Bohemian Gospel and leaves room for more in Mouse’s fascinating world.

March 1, 2017
Mouse is back to fight the forces of darkness with the help of a handsome priest in Carpenter's (Bohemian Gospel, 2015) sequel.Year 1278: after she kills thousands of men, including her husband and son, by accidentally unleashing her dark powers, Mouse seeks penance by scripting a single volume that contains all of man's knowledge. But though she goes into extreme seclusion to write, her father, Lucifer, begins to visit her and aids her in compiling stories and art for her book. Flash-forward 700 years: after centuries of drifting, hiding, and living with an almost unbearable guilt, Mouse has, for the first time, become comfortable in her invented life as a college lecturer. She even owns a cat. But when a former student shows up with information on the so-called Devil's Bible, Mouse finds herself again on the run from her father and his minions. Determined to end her own life before she can be used as a weapon, she retreats to Italy where she is saved by a young aspiring priest, Angelo. With his help, his trust, and, eventually, his love, Mouse finds the Devil's Bible and confronts the maniacal traps laid for her by her father--only to learn that he has created a new instrument of destruction. Carpenter's second installment in what will clearly be at least a trilogy contains much less historical resonance and fewer deep moments of horror than her first outing, but there are still riddles enough to please and break up the somewhat monotonous characterizations. Mouse seems less spunky and wild, tamed, we can assume, by her centuries of lonely survival, and Angelo is a one-note romantic lead. Squishy demons? Check. Restorative love? Check. Morally ambiguous Catholic army? Check. Nothing new, but it's darkly entertaining.

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