“The Devil You Know” by Mike Carey (Grand Central, 2007)

Mike Carey, a well-known writer for the successful comic book series Lucifer and Hellblazer, makes his debut in the world of novel writing.  The Devil You Know includes story and character elements from his comic book writing, but also has its own individual feel about it; Felix Castor is a similar character to John Constantine, but this is also Carey style’s and one big reason why people enjoy his work.

Welcome to a somewhat alternate world where it seems to be the present day in cold and gloomy London, except that in this world ghost and zombies exist.  Now I’m not saying they’re walking around like ordinary people, well, actually, in some cases they do just that.  It’s a world where those who know about the reality of some of the dead coming back to life pretend it isn’t going on.  In most cases, the zombies are more dead people who aren’t exactly sure why they’re still alive, but keep themselves well hidden from being recognized for what they are; while ghosts have a reason for not being able to move on to the next life, are trapped where they are, to relive the suffering they experienced at their deaths.

Enter Felix Castor: a ne’er-do-well, down and out, alcoholic, depressed, impoverished exorcist who is currently taking a break from work after his last exorcism leaft a close friend doomed with a demon trapped inside him.  And yet he needs money to pay for things like food and a place to stay, so when an opportunity is offered to him, he takes it and finds himself investigating a ghost sighting at the prestigious Bonnington Archive, where the incorporeal spirit has recently physically attacked one of the archivists.

The Devil You Know takes a few pages to get up and running, but as Castor puts more and more pieces together, the mystery expands and becomes more complex, as more characters and details are added, and the conspiracy begins to grow.  Near the end it seems like anyone and everyone could be to blame, and it will be up to Castor — who is everyone’s enemy at the moment — to solve the case and hopefully free the ghost.  The Devil You Know is the first in the series with the recurring character of Felix Castor, much like Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, and with the second book in the series, Vicious Circle, already out in Britain, with the third, Dead Men’s Boots, due out in September, it’s merely a case of time before they get published on the other side of the pond.

If you liked this review and are interested in purchasing this book, click here.

Originally written on June 23rd 2007 ©Alex C. Telander.

For an interview with Mike Carey check out BookBanter Episode 16.