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Along Came A Demon Review

First in a new urban fantasy series, Along Came a Demon introduces Tiff (don't call her Tiffany) Banks and the world she and her friends inhabit with a smooth, first person POV narrative, and a tightly compact plot that fits about as well as anyone could hope for in its limiting novella-length book. I have to give credit where it's due; Linda Welch did an excellent job maintaining the intrigue and tension in this bare-bones plot and didn't skimp on developing Tiff as she did so. There was a more noticeable fall off in the character development of the characters around Tiff, but with a story of this length, something has to be compromised, the question is only which aspect of telling a complete story will feel the most squeeze from that compromise.

Tiff sees dead people - well...some dead people, anyway. Anyone who died a violent or surprised death usually sticks around the area they were killed vainly hoping for someone to see, hear, and interact with them. And Tiff does it. She's sort of a psychic, she supposes, but she's never really put a label on what she can do any more than she knows why she can do it. She also sees demons, as if the whole dead victim thing wasn't bad enough. They're not exactly the classic fire and brimstone type demons, but they are certainly working with their own playbook, and Tiff both fears them and avoids them as much as possible. Unfortunately, the cop she's shackled with while she tries to find an abducted child, is one of THEM and she trusts him just about as far as she can throw him. And he's really big. And heavy.

Very nicely done novella, and honestly, one of the most complete story arcs I've read in a book of this length. Yeah, there were some points that didn't get wrapped up neatly and a lot of questions I had left to ask, as well as things that didn't make TOTAL sense given the shortness of time given to explain them, but overall I'm very pleasantly surprised by this title. The only significant criticism for the title is twofold, the first being the odd sexual/emotional relationship development between Tiff and Royal. Frankly, I wouldn't have minded that being left out of the story entirely and instead just alluded to until the first full length novel had been done. That wasn't the case and I muddled through it, but it wasn't my favorite aspect of the book and I found it very discordant with the flow of the rest. I know it's difficult to successfully nurture a romance in so short a novella, but it's been done before and done well.

The second drawback was the wrap up at the end. Again due to the length of the novella in combination with the intricacies of the non-relationship plot, the author seemed to run out of room to write long before she ran out of story to tell, so the last chapter and epilogue seemed forced and abrupt and not organic to the story line. Along Came a Demon wasn't flawless, as you can see, but it's definitely one I'd recommend to fans of the UF and paranormal romance genres. The issues I have mentioned held back a perfect score, but I feel comfortable with a 4.5 star rating and am very much looking forward to the second book in the series. Nicely done!

Along Came A Demon Overview

I'm told the dead are all around us, but I wouldn't know about that. I see only the violently slain. They could be victims of hit-and-run, innocents caught in a cross-fire or the murdered. They whisper to me and they never, ever, forget the face of their killer. They aren't the only supernatural things I see. No, they're not vampires, werewolves or fae - those things don't exist. We live side by side with what some call the Otherworldy, but that's too much of a mouthful for me. I call them demons. If you saw them as I do you'd know why. Right now I'm trying to find Lawrence, the missing son of a murdered woman. Or was she murdered? But Clarion PD gave me a partner I would rather shoot than work with. I can't tell them he's a demon. They'd think I'm crazy.

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Customer Reviews

Definitely a must read! - HP Mallory - Ventura, CA
I really enjoyed this book. It was very well written and you really got into the head of the narrator. I also really enjoyed the unique take on demons and how they aren't all bad. One of the great parts of this book is the interaction Tiff has with the various ghosts she meets.

The descriptions of all settings and characters are fantastic and allow you to really imagine Tiff's world around her and I really loved the repartee between Tiff and the other characters she comes into contact with, especially Royal. And how great is the name Royal?

Tiff is a very strong and independent heroine who I really admired but I also loved the fact that she had a soft spot, especially toward the children ghosts she comes into contact with.

I thought the pace was perfect and there is never a dull moment. I literally had to fight with myself to put the book down at night! I'll definitely be reading the follow up book and would recommend this book to anyone who loves Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.

Great start to a great new urban fantasy/paranormal series - A. Von Bosen - California
I recently read "Along Came a Demon" and was captivated by its heroine Tiff Banks (please not "Tiffany"). As a voracious reader of urban fantasy and fiction, I wasn't sure what to expect, but was really pleased by the well-edited, well thought out plot structure and character development. Welch has done a great job of creating her milieu with all the characters fully developed, and I especially like the way she handles the relationship with her new, hunky "demon" boyfriend. So many current fantasy writers believe they cannot sell their books without pages and pages of gratuitous and often bloody sex (which can occasionally have a justifiable reason) but it can detract greatly from a reader's enjoyment of the story. A little is good, too much not so good. This is great, and I expect a little subtle development of the romance will come with future books in the series. This book is a bargain--I would have paid full Kindle price for it. Grab it now, as I am pretty sure a publisher is going to snap up the series and reissue it. I also enjoyed the second book in the series, and will leave a review for it also.

A quick Diversion - Wolfy - N. Cali
A very fast read, which should have possibly been part of anthology or short story. The writing was mediocre at best, the plot was rather disjointed in some areas, and the romance was more than a little disappointing. At the end I felt somewhat dissatisfied and I wouldn't have read the next book, if hadn't already pre-ordered before finishing the 1st. I do have to comment the 2nd book was much better than the first, in both the writing and plot. But again, the romance was rather lacking.

Fast paced and suprisingly good.... - R. Smith - Dallas, GA
I really enjoyed this story and look forward to checking out more by this author.

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Books Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sunday, August 29, 2010