California Demon

by Julie Kenner

Berkley, 342 pp, $14.00

Kate Conner is a retired demon hunter living in the suburbs with her second husband and two kids. The events of Carpe Demon brought Kate out of retirement. Now she juggles car pools, play dates and political dinners with her secret life as a demon hunter. Toss in Christmas shopping, demonic surfers, a mysterious rogue demon hunter and her daughter’s first serious crush and what is a mom to do?

This series is delightful. Often touted as “what happens if Buffy the Vampire Slayer, grew up, got married and retired to the suburbs,” it is developing into much more. Kate balances her two lives deftly, giving up a demon hunt to comfort her best friend over a cheating husband and mixing a demon hunt with a Christmas shopping stop. Things are becoming more complicated for Kate, there are the questions about her first husband’s death, what to tell her 14 year old daughter about her past, not to mention their constant debate about dating, the needs of her current husband’s race for political office, her strange attraction to the new teacher at school and oh, it does prove the old adage, “a friend will help you move but a good friend will help you move a body” as Laura helps Kate dispose of a dead demon.

As soon as the book arrived in the mail I opened the package and read it in one sitting. I can hardly wait for the next one. - Stephanie L Bannon