The Devil You Know-Mike Carey

The Devil You Know, by Mike Carey, is a mystery with a twist. Ghosts and other creatures such as succubae, demons and loup-garous(shape-shifting creatures similar to werewolves) exist in this version of London. The main character, Felix Castor, is an exorcist, but he is not affiliated with any church. He is simply an exorcist-for-hire.

Felix needs to make his rent payment, and his landlady is starting a kid’s party planning business. She sends him out to work as a magician, but this backfires when he discovers a ghost haunting the family (the result of a kid’s prank gone tragically wrong). Instead of getting paid, Felix is shown the door. In the meantime, Felix had turned down a random job offer, but after the fiasco at the birthday party decides to take it instead.

Instead of a routine haunting, Felix starts realizing that something suspicious is going on at the Bonnington Archive, a sort of repository/scholarly library of antique documents. However, the ghost does not necessarily behave like a “normal” ghost, and he also experiences hostility from a couple of the employees. This causes Felix to wonder about the circumstances surrounding the ghost.

In the course of unraveling the mystery of the ghost’s existence, Felix begins to question the validity of what he does. When he performs an exorcism, does the ghost move on to heaven or hell, or does it cease to exist? This dilemma causes Felix to start thinking less about performing an exorcism and more about finding out about the ghost. As his investigation wears on, he meets some unsavory characters and finds his life in the balance. He is also tempted with the answers to his questions about the existence of ghosts, but that might come with too high a price tag.

There are two more Felix Castor novels which may continue on some of the themes and characters in this first book (although I think only one is available in the US right now). It will be interesting to read them and see how Felix progresses. He is compelling enough, and his evolving struggle with what he is doing is a classic “tortured superhero” role. Of course, this may have something to do with Mike Carey’s background as a comic book/graphic novel author. The only things that could trip up a potential reader were the British pop culture references. However, if the reader doesn’t understand the exact reference, it’s usually enough to get the point across.

If you don’t mind a little supernatural flare with your mystery, visit your local library or bookstore and spirit away a copy of The Devil You Know.