The Demon And The City

Rating NR Genre fantasy Author Liz Williams Publisher Night Shade Books

Detective Inspector Chen has taken a long deserved vacation and left Seneschal Zhu Irzh on his own in Singapore Three. Although at first excited about his new assignment, Zhu has quickly grown bored so he couldn’t be happier when a mysterious mutilation murder is assigned to him. He’s barely begun his investigation when the victim, an heiress named Deveth Sardai, goes missing from the morgue. Based on what he’s already discovered, Zhu begins to question Jhai Tserai, the gorgeous and powerful head of the Paugeng Corporation. Shocked by the overwhelming lust he experiences upon meeting the suspect, the demon finds himself in the unenviable position of having to control his base nature or risk getting removed from the case. Difficult for someone used to promoting vice at all levels.

Jhai is descended from a line of pleasure demons and uses drugs developed by her company to keep her true nature from being revealed. Unfortunately, the meds are a result of her experiments involving celestial beings, trapped and tested against their will. Jhai’s carefully constructed project begins to unravel when one of the subjects escapes with the help of Robin Yuan, a lab employee. She knows this creature could prove dangerous to many others if not brought in quickly and turns to Zhu Irzh for help. 

However, murder and an escaped lab rat is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg as Zhu Irzh finds himself facing the powers of both Hell and Heaven 

This second installment featuring Chen and Zhu takes the genius of the first and adds another layer.  It is an astonishing, vividly imagined tale filled with lucid, polished prose and sizzling dialogue that captures the reader at the first sentence and never lets go. The Demon And The City picks right up from where Snake Agent ends, yet one doesn’t have to read the first in order to enjoy the second. I encourage everyone to read these novels. Liz Williams is an incredible talent with mass appeal that has put a giant stamp on the literary market with her inventive work.