Name of the Devil: A Jessica Blackwood Novel

In Mayne’s exciting second Jessica Blackwood novel (after 2014’s Angel Killer), the cunning FBI special agent applies her magician training to investigating a bizarre explosion, which tears apart a church in Hawkton, W.Va., and leaves all but one of the congregation upside-down and naked in surrounding trees. Missing is Sheriff Carson Jessup. An early hint points to the man who is now the pope. The FBI uncovers clues that suggest a supernatural link, in particular to the demon Azazel. Jessica, who becomes the target of the dangerous gang X-20, survives more than one attempt to kill her as she tries to figure out the motive behind the Hawkton attack. The death of a young boy, a plot to kill the pope, and the powerful reach of a vengeful drug cartel leader test Jessica’s abilities in a fast-moving thriller in which illusions are weapons for both good and evil. Agent: Erica Spellman-Silverman, Trident Media Group. (July)