The Demonists

Sniegoski (The Raven's Child) introduces a fast-paced present-day adventure series that winks at horror tropes: the obligatory journey to Romania, tattoos that move, an absorbed fetal twin, and tentacled demons out of Lovecraft. During a live Halloween television special, Massachusetts-based ghost hunter John Fogg and his psychic wife, Theodora Knight, unleash a jar of imprisoned demons. After the demons pour into Theo's body, John must quickly find a spell to exorcise them before they take over Theo and then the world. John learns of the Demonists, a millennia-old coalition dedicated to defeating evil, led by Elijah, a former Vatican exorcist. Elijah agrees to help John if he collaborates with the Demonists to fight against the interdimensional demon lord Damakus, whose disciple is abducting children in preparation for a terrible ceremony of summoning. John gets help from unlikely sources, including pragmatic FBI agent Brenna Isabel, who is investigating the missing children, and John's compassionate, ghostly Nana. All the plot threads weave together into an intricate, creepy, and entertaining escapade. (Apr.)