Working for the Devil, by Lilith Saintcrow

I passed this book by quite a few times at the store b/c it didn't look quite worth buying. Well, as every good reader knows, there comes a time when you are desperate to read something and none of your authors have a book coming out for a couple weeks. So, I picked this book up. After a brief period of time I actually started reading it and eventually, I finished it.

Working for the Devil is about a necromance named Dante who on top of her raising the dead duties also does some bounty hunting and various other retrieval/investigative enterprises. A demon names Japhrimel shows up at her house one day to bring her to see Lucifer. He has a job that he wants to hire her for. It shouldn't be too difficult to understand that she doesn't turn him down. With Japhrimel's aid and that of a few of her friends she agrees to hunt down another demon and retrieve something he had stolen from Lucifer. Dante's glad to undertake the mission as this demon turns out to be a serial killer whom she had met a few years earlier when he killed her friend and attempted to kill her. What follows is a narrative introduction to this futuristic paranormal world and sympathetic adventure that brings us along on the grave changes that are taking place in the life of Dante Valentine.

What I liked: This new world. I enjoy fantasy books and reading about other peoples perceptions of alternative realities. The new understanding that is being presented about demons & hell is intriguing. Saintcrow seems to be setting up Demons as the new Vampires in terms of dark romantic leads.

What could be improved: This is tough to say. It needs a little something. A greater understanding of Dante's work and daily life? What exactly does she do, how does it benefit society, what position is she held in by her peers? Some of this is alluded to or may be inferred, but not clearly enough that the questions are answered. A little more plot to the fantasy adventure. Maybe more sympathy for many of the characters which just never came about. Many of these could be resolved in future books, we'll see.