The Naming of the Beasts

The pulse-pounding pace never slackens as Carey's superlative fifth supernatural thriller featuring London exorcist Felix "Fix" Castor picks up where its predecessor, Thicker Than Water, left off. Castor's closest friend, Rafi Ditko, who's possessed by the demon Asmodeus, has escaped from his jail cell and begun killing off people close to Ditko, starting with his former girlfriend, Ginny Parris. In order to thwart the evil spirit, Castor must be careful about his choice of allies, even as he struggles to predict his adversary's next move. Amid the grimness, Carey manages to slide in flashes of humor, as in his portrayal of the difficulties the British legal system faces with the increasing numbers of the dead and the undead, whose civil rights also need protecting. At this rate, Carey could give Jim Butcher more than a run for his money as the best living writer of dark urban fantasy. (Jan.)