Product Description

Possession was never this much fun

Trust me or die…That’s the choice Morgan Kingsley, exorcist, is given by the gorgeous rogue demon who’s gotten inside her. The truth is, Morgan has dozens of reasons not to trust anyone, from the violence that torched her house and killed her father to a love life that’s left her questioning her relationship with her erstwhile boyfriend, Brian. But Lugh, a king among demons, won’t take no for an answer. He’s prying into her body, her mind, even her sex life. And he’s just pulled Morgan into a power struggle that could have devastating consequences for both the human and demon worlds.

But Morgan still has a job to do: investigating the highly bizarre possession of the son of a wealthy Philadelphia couple. That hunt leads Morgan into a realm of sexual depravity, then a terrifying kidnapping.… Now a woman who makes her living prying demons from their hosts finds her day job colliding with the night: a darkness that is attracting demons of the damnedest sort, including the one who’s about to demand his ultimate due.…

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25578 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-25
• Released on: 2008-11-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780440244929
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Jenna Black is your typical writer. Which means she's an "experience junkie." She got her BA in physical anthropology and French from Duke University. Once upon a time, she dreamed she would be the next Jane Goodall, camping in the bush making fabulous discoveries about primate behavior. Then, during her senior year at Duke, she did some actual research in the field and made this shocking discovery: primates spend something like 80% of their time doing such exciting things as sleeping and eating. Concluding that this discovery was her life's work in the field of primatology, she then moved on to such varied pastimes as grooming dogs and writing technical documentation.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One


It was my first time in the office in more than a week. Somehow, my actual paying job as an exorcist didn't seem so satisfying these days. Finding out that exorcizing demons doesn't actually kill them had robbed me of my joie de vivre. Of course, being possessed by the king of the demons myself had something to do with it, too.

Still, harboring the demon king and trying to protect him from his brother, Dougal, the would-be usurper of the demon throne, didn't pay the bills, and I had a lot of them piling up. It had been less than two months since my house had burned to the ground with all my worldly possessions inside, and my insurance company had yet to begin showering me with largesse.

I was seriously behind in my paperwork, and was disappointed to discover that the Paperwork Fairy hadn't taken care of everything during my absence. With something between a sigh and a groan, I dropped into my chair and turned on my computer. While I waited for the dinosaur to muster the energy to boot up, I checked my phone messages. There were a bunch from the U.S. Exorcism Board reminding me that (a) I was late paying my dues, and (b) I was late filing the paperwork on my last three exorcisms. There were also the usual calls from telemarketers who were desperate for me to change long-distance phone companies, but I was much more interested in the three messages—each one more urgent than the last—from a woman who identified herself as Claudia Brewster. She didn't say what she wanted, but I made an educated guess that she had a loved one who'd been possessed by an illegal demon.

I frowned as I took down her number, because it was local. In Philadelphia and the surrounding area, I'm almost always contacted by the court system when there's an illegal or rogue demon in custody, and I hadn't heard anything. It wasn't unusual for me to be hired by distraught family members (not to brag or anything, but I have the best record of any exorcist in the U.S.), but those were usually out-of-state cases.

I called the daytime number Ms. Brewster left and got her secretary. Ms. Brewster was in a meeting, but the secretary took a message and said I should receive a call back within a couple of hours. I hung up, and my shoulders slumped. So much for my reprieve from the dreaded paperwork.

My computer had finally roused itself from its slumber, so I began slogging my way through my backlog. As you might have guessed by now, this wasn't my favorite part of my job, and I had to work hard to resist the lure of a rousing game of Spider Solitaire.

About an hour later, I was feeling conspicuously virtuous about my productivity—and about my willpower—when there came a tentative rap on my office door. I wasn't expecting anyone, and, as far as I knew, no one knew I was here. I pulled my bag from the desk drawer and grabbed my Taser. Hey, better safe than sorry, right?

"Come in," I beckoned, holding the Taser, now armed and ready, in my lap, where my desk would hide it from view.

The door opened, and a lovely forty-something woman walked in. Dressed in a dark blue pinstriped pants suit that looked like it had been made exactly to her measurements, she screamed conservative corporate America. That image was enhanced by the blond hair fastened in a well-sprayed French twist and a makeup job that was supposed to make her look like she wasn't wearing any. She'd have fit right in as the token female in a boardroom full of old fogies.

I took a wild guess as to who my visitor might be. "Ms. Brewster?" I asked, wondering why she hadn't bothered to call first. Paranoia—which was my constant and very reasonable state of mind these days—created any number of unpalatable suggestions, so instead of standing up and offering to shake hands, I remained seated with my Taser at the ready.

"Please, call me Claudia," she said with a brittle-looking smile as she closed the door behind her.

"Claudia," I agreed, taking an instant dislike to her for no good reason. "I usually meet with clients by appointment only, and I'm very busy at the moment." I idly tapped a couple keys on my keyboard, turning my face to the screen while keeping a watch on her out of the corner of my eye. "I can fit you in tomorrow at . . ." I pretended to scrutinize a calendar. "Three o'clock. Will that work for you?" I turned to face her once more, putting on my blandest smile.

Claudia licked her lips and shifted her grip on the designer pocketbook that hung from her shoulder. It was only then that I noticed how she clutched the strap of that bag as if it were a lifeline.

"Please, Ms. Kingsley," she said, and she sounded like she might be on the verge of tears. "I've been trying to reach you for a week, and I'm . . . Well, I'm desperate."

My opinion of her softened, and I realized my initial dislike had been a result of her looking like she had her shit together—in deep contrast to myself. But no power suit and fancy makeup could camouflage her misery for long, and I felt a surge of kinship.

"You can call me Morgan," I said, and I let my curiosity get the better of me. "Please, have a seat." I indicated the pair of chairs in front of my desk, and, with a sigh of relief, she sat in the one on the right and put her bag on the one on the left. I folded my hands on the desk in front of me, leaving the Taser on my lap, where I could easily reach it if necessary.

"What can I do for you, Claudia?"

She took a deep breath as if steeling herself for a mighty effort. Strain showed in the tightness in the corners of her eyes, and she wet her lips again. "I don't know where else to turn," she said, giving me a pleading look.

"Okay," I said slowly, then gestured for her to continue when she seemed to stall out.

"I'm in desperate need of your . . . services."

People were often reluctant and uncomfortable when they hired me. For reasons that escaped me, they often found having a loved one possessed to be a source of embarrassment. However, Claudia was taking it to the extreme with this strange hesitancy. I'd been sympathetic for about sixty seconds, which I think is a personal record. I decided it was high time to revert to my usual bluntness.

"Just spit it out already," I said, with more than a touch of impatience. "You want me to exorcize a demon."

A hint of fire flared in her eyes, and it seemed like my prickly bedside manner had steadied her some. "Yes. But of course it's not quite that simple or I'd have gone through more traditional channels."

She crossed her legs, her foot jiggling restlessly. "It's about my son, Tommy." She grimaced. "Tom," she corrected herself, and I had to suppress a smile.

"You think your son is possessed."

She shook her head. "I know he's possessed." She seemed to notice her jiggling foot and stopped herself with what looked like a concerted effort. "He was possessed while his father and I were on vacation."

I still didn't get why she was here. "It's a police matter at this point," I told her. "Once they take him into custody, I can come to the containment center and make an official diagnosis." I held up a hand to forestall her attempt to interrupt. "I'm not saying I don't believe you—it's just that we have to follow standard procedures. After I diagnose him."

"Ms. Kingsley," she cut in, "let me get right to the crux of the matter. All the evidence except for common sense says that my son is a willing host."

"A willing host," I repeated stupidly. I'd pictured Tommy Brewster as a petulant teenager, but he had to be at least twenty-one to be a legal host. I nudged my estimation of Claudia's age up a few years.

She nodded. "They've got the signed forms and everything. But there is no way in hell my son volunteered to host a demon."

And to think I'd believed she had her shit together! I thought I was the queen of denial, but it looked like there was a new contender to the throne. "You do understand the process of registering to be a legal demon host, don't you?" I asked.

She made an impatient tsking sound. "Of course I do, but—"

I counted off the points on my fingers. "He had to sign the documents before witnesses. In a courtroom. On videotape. And after he'd been interviewed by a shrink to establish competency. Are you seriously trying to tell me he did all that against his will? And that no one noticed?"

She pressed her lips tightly together. "I know how it looks. And I know you think I'm just the distraught mother who can't accept that her baby has grown up." She managed a rictus of a smile. "That last part's even true." The forced smile faded. "But volunteering to host is the last thing in the world Tommy would do. He hates demons. Hates them with a passion."

I wasn't so fond of them myself—hence my career choice—but I had to admit getting to know Lugh, the demon king, had lessened my hate by approximately one hair. "People change their minds."

"Not like this they don't. You see, when my husband and I left for the Bahamas, we'd finally given up hope that we could extricate Tommy—Tom—from God's Wrath."

I couldn't suppress a gasp. God's Wrath is the most militant of the anti-demon hate groups. They specialize in roasting people alive to destroy the Spawn of Satan, as they consider demons. They're so radical, they even hate exorcists, because when we kick a demon out of its host, its host gets to live. Of course, about eighty percent of them live the rest of their lives as vegetables, but God's Wrath didn't think that was a severe enough punishment for those sinners who'd invited demons into our world...

Customer Reviews

Disappointed
I have been reading this series from the beginning. It showed promise at first, but has been going down hill fast for me. Is being a b**ch supposed to be cute and sexy now? Morgan does not respect anyone at all, she does not trust anyone at all. She claims to love her boyfriend Brian, but she can't trust him. It is just impossible for her. She almost hates one of her allies, Adam, But she still seems to lust after him. She almost comes across as TSTL. She will acknowledge that what she is about to do is hurtful or stupid or none of her business, but then she goes ahead and does it. This does not make her come across as brave or fiesty, but as stupid and b**chy. I love paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and just about anything else I can get my hands on and I had high hopes for this series. I am always looking for something with a new twist. I stuck with this series for 3 books. I will not be buying any more. If you like hard headed, smart mouthed heriones with a very nasty attitude, you might like Morgan. I have come to really dislike her and find myself cheering when one of the bad guys punch her in the mouth. How sad is that!

Due Respect
Jenna Black's series following the exploits of exorcist, Morgan Kingsley, reaches its third instalment and, after a slight dip in form with the previous book (The Devil You Know (Morgan Kingsley, Exorcist, Book 2)), the author is back on the money here: `The Devil's Due' is the best book of the three so far published. Opening with very little preamble, the story kicks in rapidly as our heroine, the feisty Morgan Kingsley, meets a woman who is worried that her son is unwillingly hosting a demon.

For those unfamiliar with this series, these books are set in the present day. There are occasional references to current popular culture helping to cement the idea that the world inhabited by the characters is not too different to real life. The fantasy element has the intriguing notion that demons, incorporeal outside the Demon Realm, can possess human hosts. However those who inhabit unwilling hosts, or who break the law, may be subject to exorcism. But this procedure often proves fatal to the human host. Those possessed willingly are able to be healed quickly when ill or stricken with physical injury. The downside for these people is loss of privacy, freedom and physical control over their bodies - demons are far stronger than humans.

Morgan is an exorcist with a dangerous secret: she is unwillingly hosting the King of the Demon Realm, Lugh. Unlike most human hosts, Morgan is blessed with the ability to keep her demon suppressed while she is conscious. All the while she is aware that her cargo is a potentially fatal one; there are demons who would seek to destroy Lugh. His presence must therefore remain a closely guarded secret.

After Morgan's somewhat claustrophobic self-absorption that, in my opinion, hindered the previous novel in this series, things open out very nicely in this third instalment. Lugh is now getting more of a look-in, becoming a more interesting character. However, Morgan's embarrassment at the homo-erotic innuendos spouted by the slimy Adam (Director of Special Forces, the police department charged with handling demon-related crime - he bends the rules but gets results) take her sassiness quotient down a little. The copious amounts of irrelevant sexual content that beset the previous novels is largely absent here. Unfortunately, there seems to be no escape from Morgan's tedious on-off relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Brian.

This is a fast-paced fantasy thriller. The prose style is snappy and colorful and makes for an exciting read. I'm usually in favor of reading a series in the correct sequence, but, if you really wanted to read this novel prior to the first two, you could do so without spoiling things too much for yourself; the author keeps new readers up to speed with previous happenings without detracting from the present story.

Third in Morgan Kingsley series
I've very much enjoyed the first two books in Jenna Black's Morgan Kingsley series and this book continues in just as enjoyable a manner. Although the overall story of Morgan's life doesn't particularly move on (she is in the same overall position, with regard to Lugh, when we finish the book as when we start it), some of the side characters have lives that change significantly and, perhaps more enjoyably, we learn more about these other characters.

Jenna Black is an excellent writer in terms of keeping the reader's interest. She somehow makes the paranormal aspects of these stories feel very real and, well, 'normal' for the characters. In this book Morgan is continuing with her role of keeping her demon Lugh safe from his brother Dougal, trying to learn to live with him, working out her relationship with her boyfriend Brian (a rather dull and unappealing character) and dealing with the ambivalent feelings she has toward Adam Smith. However Morgan is also hired to look into the demon possession of a man who was known to be utterly against demons and the more she looks into events, the less adds up. Might the possession of Tommy have more significance than just a straight illegal demon possession?

There's mention in this story again of the BDSM club but far less graphic description than in the previous books which perhaps makes this a more comfortable read. Morgan's own brash nature is also perhaps toned down a little as she learns to consider others as well as herself. However she's still a very appealing character who seems to bumble her way through very complex situations, trying to do the best with the hand she's been dealt. Those who enjoyed the previous books will certainly like this one!

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009