Review – Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea June 7, 2012
Posted by thehypermonkey in 4.5 stars, Urban Fantasy.Tags: "book review", between the devil and the deep blue sea, books, j. l. murray, paranormal, reading, urban fantasy
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Title: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Author: J. L. Murray
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Hellzapoppin Press
Publish date: January 29, 2012
ASIN: B0073998MC
Available at: Amazon
Summary:
Ever since Niki Slobodian got put on the Registry as an Abnormal for her ability to see ghosts, her life has gotten tough. She hasn’t been able to pay her electric bill and they might send her deathly ill grandmother home from the hospital.
So when a job from a mysterious client pops up that includes getting off the Registry pops up, Niki jumps at the chance. The job includes rounding up a Dark that’s escaped from Hell and is now hopping bodies on a homicidal spree. Somehow it seems Niki’s Summoner father is involved even though he’s still incarcerated. And the Dark might not be the only thing that escaped from Hell.
Review:
Niki was all that you could wish for in a strong female protagonist. She had humor, sarcasm in all the right places, and chutzpah. She also showed just the right amount of vulnerability when it counted. I couldn’t help but cheer her on as she was catapulted from one impossible situation to another.
I enjoyed both Bobby and Eli as supporting characters. Bobby for his hulking, almost brotherly presence and Eli for his romantic connection. I appreciated both of them in their own ways as they each had their own charms.
Eli and Niki are old flames and meet again during the course of the investigation. Their encounters are sweet and I thought that Niki showed her vulnerable side well. She manged to appear both tough yet fearful of getting hurt again. All the while I cheered them on.
As you have Niki and Bobby hunting down the denizens of hell through the city, you’re taken on a wild ride. The plot is quick paced but it’s not rushed. There are pauses here and there for it to slowly build back up again. There are also enough twists and turns in the story to keep it from going stale. It was exhilarating and I felt like I was on one fun roller coaster.
I had a ball with Niki and I hope there are many more books to come in this series.
The Akamai Reader 
This book sounds really interesting. I love, love, LOVE the title and the premise is certainly promising. Great review! 🙂
Thanks! The most interesting thing about it is the author lives in the same city as I do! That doesn’t happen every day!
Hey, thanks for the great review! I’ll be watching your blog for more reading ideas. I see a few that look very intriguing…
No problem! 🙂
It’s a pretty good book. I read it a couple of weeks ago (and had read the first book in the series a few months ago). Definitely worth picking up.
Nice review, BTW.,
Okay. Stop. Reverse that statement above. Sheesh. That’s what I get for napping all day.
I understoon what you meant 🙂
I just started this, but knowing how Murray writes, I won’t be disappointed.
It’s definitely a good read!