Sorrow’s Edge Review (Horror Fantasy)

Finding the truth can sometimes be harder than exorcising a demon…

Jimmy Holiday, defrocked priest- turned- exorcist, is trying to make sense of his life. With his on-again-off-again witchy girlfriend moving in, Lucy- the spirit from his last exorcism hanging around, and a secret organization of exorcists hounding him, Jimmy is feeling the stress.

When a stranger calls in the middle of the night asking for help with a possession, Jimmy is puzzled. Especially when the dude on the phone says he got his number from Jimmy’s old mentor. Too bad his mentor has been dead for several years.

After a mysterious silver flask arrives at his doorstep, Jimmy is left with two options: either ignore the phone call and the flask, or listen to Lucy and travel to Arizona to solve the mystery before all hell breaks loose- literally. – Goodreads

–S&S–

Sorrow’s Edge Review

Jimmy’s back, and he’s gonna get in trouble. Luckily, he has two lovely ladies on his side to help him out. Now if only he could stop ticking one of them off. The events of Sorrow’s Point are barely behind him, and there is still one pressing problem from it that needs fixed. He’s trying to get his life in order again when he gets another call in the middle of the night. Against his will, but with the offer of a paycheck he can’t refuse, he’s drawn into another situation where he has to pit himself against evil. Unfortunately for Jimmy, his success with Lucy’s exorcism may not be easily repeatable this time.

Sorrow’s Point had a dangerous air, heavy with tension and ripe with evil. Sorrow’s Edge is a distinctly different read. It’s a laid back traditional paranormal thriller in a lot of ways. Yes, there’s a big bad and you know a showdown is going to ensue, but that does’t really feel like the point of the book.  It’s much more character driven than the first book. Jimmy, Taby, and Lucy form a slightly odd family unit that seems very believable, obvious issues aside. The person they’re called in to help isn’t a particularly likable character. I actually think this works for the book in two ways. In making you root more for Jimmy than the saving of the person’s soul, and in giving you a victim the complete opposite of Lucy.

The setting of the book is one that I first became familiar with in Dev Jarrett’s Casualties. It was interesting to see it explored again in Danielle DeVor’s vision. The pacing is good. It doesn’t feel nearly as fast as what happened in the first book, but it suits the story. There are some new characters, both ones that most people will recognize, that are introduced. (I find it interesting to ponder why, when a demon possesses a body, the evil corrupts the appearance completely, but when a demon exists independently they can appear quite beautiful.) The familiar is awesome, and I highly approve of the little furry overlord.

Sorrow’s Edge is a good, non-scary read. It entertains, but doesn’t creep you out. (I will admit to being a little disappointed by this.) Its an exploration of human evil, greed, and laziness. The supernatural elements were hard to pin down at first, but I liked how things ended up working out with at least one portion of it. The overall lesson that I took away from the book is that things aren’t what you expect. Ever.

Danielle DeVor gives the readers a set of characters that they can’t help but root for. It may not be your traditional trio of characters, nor your typical family unit, but they’re wonderful nonetheless. This second book makes you more invested in the characters overall, and curious to see the outcome of their story. Distinctly different isn’t necessarily a bad thing, even when it doesn’t scratch quite the itches you wanted it to scratch.

Title: Sorrow’s Edge | Series: The Marker Chronicles #2  | Author: Danielle DeVor (site) | Publisher: City Owl Press | (Re)pub Date: 2016-10-11 | Pages: 246 | Genre: Horror & Dark Fantasy | Foul Language Level: Low |  Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 4 out of 5 | Date Read: 2016-10-3 | Source: Received a copy from the author for review consideration.