Freelance Felix Castor (The Devil You Know) badly needs a big payday. Of course, people in his profession (if you can call it that) can't be too picky choosing assignments; so he finds himself accepting a mundane, even silly case involving a missing ghost. But before he can mutter the words "swallow my pride," Felix slides feet first into trouble deeper than any grave. Sly dark humor; paranormal thrills and fun.

In Carey's fine second supernatural thriller (after The Devil You Know), FelixCastor, an exorcist with paranormal abilities who lives in a near-future England where ghosts and zombies are an accepted reality, is suffering from guilt after an attempt to separate a master demon, Asmodeus, from a friend, Rafi, ended with the evil spirit gaining even more control over Rafi. Fortunately, a new case provides distraction. Melanie and Stephen Torrington, who believe that their young daughter's ghost has been kidnapped, hire Castor to uncover some last trace of their child. The investigator soon finds that his employers haven't been fully truthful with him as he starts crossing paths with lycanthropes and other undead beings. Carey's imagined universe has some nice satiric touches (the term "zombie" has been designated a form of hate speech), and the well-developed main character appears more than capable of carrying a series for many books to come. (July)

Adult/High School

This follow-up to Carey's The Devil You Know (Grand Central, 2007) returns readers to a modern-day London where ghosts and zombies have become part of daily life. The novel revisits the lives of many characters introduced in the first book, including the protagonist, Felix Castor, but it stands alone. Castor has returned to his life as an exorcist and quickly becomes involved in a "missing ghost" case that isn't as open-and-shut as it first appears. Similar in style and subject matter to Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Brimstone (Grand Central, 2005), the book combines the detective thriller with supernatural elements to create a plot filled with suspense, ghoulish apparitions, and the Catholic Church. The narration provides a nice mix of dialogue and action, with humorous undertones sprinkled throughout, as Castor must rely on the help of zombies, werewolves, and a succubus to solve the mystery. Although the story begins slowly, it quickly picks up and comes to a satisfying end, finishing Castor's current adventure with a few subplots that are likely to be tied up in the next novel in the series.-Kelliann Bogan, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH

Comic-book writer turned novelist Carey (The Devil You Know, 2007) resurrects his hero, exorcist Felix Castor, for another throw-down with supernatural forces in this intricately plotted tale set in London. Although many second novels disappoint, Carey's fans have nothing to worry about. If anything, this book ratchets up the action, making it even more compelling than The Devil You Know. This time around, Castor is working from his own slightly seedy office when a couple visits him with a compelling story. They have lost their young daughter in a terrible accident-but even more distressing is what happened to the child's ghost following her death. Castor, moved by their story, takes their case and unwittingly mires himself in a complex and deeply dark plot that pits the worst Hell has to offer against a shadowy band of men who not only want to stop it, but also kill Castor in the bargain. At stake: one simple, innocent soul that could, if wrongly used, bring Castor's greatest nemesis to date to the pinnacle of earthly power. Castor and his usual bunch of cronies from the previous novel-his landlady, Pen; Nicky, a zombie who is right at home on the Internet; and Juliet, an alluring succubus who has hung out her shingle as one of Felix's competitors-are all once again caught up in Felix's case, which only turns more deadly at every twist and turn. The story line never falters under the author's deft plotting, and his main man Felix retains that all-important dark sense of humor that somehow matches the London he inhabits. Carey juggles characters and bits and pieces of plot like a man with a thousand arms, catching each word and positioning it in exactly the right place in this deftlycrafted, can't-turn-the-page-fast-enough read. Agent: Meg Davis/MBA Literary Agents

"Felix offers a darkly droll take on the circumstances of his world, which is just as familiar, intricate, and morally tangled as our own."—Entertainment Weekly

"A treat . . . Castor follows up his excellent debut with this even better sequel . . . Genre-bending at its best."—Booklist (starred review)

"[A] deftly crafted, can't-turn-the-page-fast-enough read."—Kirkus (starred review)

"The Devil You Know is a spectacular novel, one of the best supernatural thrillers I've read in years."—Douglas Preston, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of the Dead on The Devil You Know

"An imaginative spin on the hard-boiled detective . . . mixes horror and humor in a way that spells good omens for future Castor novels."—Entertainment Weekly on The Devil You Know

"Carey transcends his comic roots in this quirky, dark and imaginative tale that compels reader to keep turning pages long after they should have gotten to sleep."—Kirkus (starred review) on The Devil You Know

"Every bit as good as Jim Butcher, Carey hits his stride."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Dead Men's Boots

"The Felix Castor novels are splashed with color and texture, their characters are larger than life (or death), and the stories are, well . . . out of this world. Castor is a remarkably believable character... A wholly engaging blend of the detective and fantasy genres."—Booklist

Writer Mike Carey, known to comic fans for his work on HELLBLAZER, brings the same kind of chilling writing to his novels. VICIOUS CIRCLE follows the career of freelance exorcist Felix Castor in a scary world in which the barrier between the living and the dead has thinned so much that the government is considering a dead person's "Bill of Rights." Narrator Michael Kramer, who established himself as the very British voice of Castor in THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, once again proves adept at translating the dangers and quandaries facing an exorcist who is wondering if he has the right to banish spirits to oblivion. Kramer meets the challenge of giving voice to the deadly erotic demon Juliet, a creature of irresistible sexual allure, by making her sound a bit like Faye Dunaway. It works. M.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine