I received this book for free from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Book of Demons by Kevin Moore Series: Jack Kelly #2
Published by Books Fluent on 10/11/2022
Genres: Fiction / Horror
Pages: 146
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
"Ghost-touched teen Jack Kelly returns in this polished urban fantasy/horror sequel to Moore's The Book of Souls. At times an intriguing mystery, at others a chilling thriller, The Book of Demons offers a sensational stroll through the hustle and bustle of an inventively paranormal version of 80s New York City. Jack's development throughout is an adventurous, if spooky, coming of age story that will thrill and at times scare readers of classic urban fantasy and YA series..." -Booklife Review
The Book of Demons, the much-anticipated sequel to The Book of Souls, finds Jack Kelly in the fight of his life. This time, he's not battling ghosts. His nemesis is the shapeshifting necromancer, Mr. Philips, who inhabits both the world of the living and the world of the dead.
When Mr. Philips discovers a powerful, cursed painting whose magic he can use for personal gain, he will stop at nothing to acquire it...including murder.
Before he can get his hands on it, the painting goes missing and its artist is found dead. Enraged, Mr. Philips vows to hunt it down. But someone else finds it first: Jack, a teenage mystic who understands the painting's tremendous power and would do anything to keep Mr. Philips from harnessing it.
Along with two unexpected allies-a non-verbal autistic child and the spirit of a dead nun-Jack battles to keep the painting away from Mr. Philips. But as the stakes rise along with the body count, their epic battle for possession of the painting may cost Jack everything and everyone he loves.
I’m going to admit, The Book of Demons isn’t a great book but isn’t a terrible book either. It starts out with a description of how the villain of the story came by his powers and then moved into the story proper. I found the story boring at times and exciting at others.
To be honest, I was hoping for a much bigger ending than what happened. I actually called the ending in my head as soon as the actual ending started. To be honest, the book isn’t scary or even unsettling, it’s just… there.
I gave the book 3.5 stars because as I said, it’s not great but it’s not terrible either. This one would be good for those who aren’t regular horror readers but who want to try their hand at reading horror without the full-on terrifying aspect you might find from Dean Koontz, Stephen King, or John Saul.