Night of Demons [Mass Market Paperback]

Tony Richards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 2009

Centuries ago, the Salem witches founded the village of Raine's Landing, then cloaked it in magic to hide it from sight. Many of their descendants still practice the supernatural arts—and no one who lives here can ever leave.

Now evil has breached its boundaries once again . . .

A serial killer with a corrupt and twisted soul, Cornelius Hanlon has freely entered Raine's Landing, undeterred by the ancient magical safeguards. And when he chooses the town's oldest adept as his first victim, the maniac inadvertently gains possession of a powerful "gift" more terrible than anything he could have sadistically dreamed.

Ex-town cop Ross Devries and his Harley-riding sometime-partner, Cassandra Mallory, have no supernatural abilities. But they are the last line of defense in this village of secrets and shadows—facing a psychopath who now wields the power to bend the living and the dead to his will.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Once again Richards confirms his superb storytelling skill and refreshes the pleasure of savouring fine prose.” (SF Site )

“Man, can this guy write. (He) has the power to introduce you all over again to the pleasures of reading good prose.” (Ed Gorman )

“A terrific story-teller.” (Graham Joyce )

About the Author

Tony Richards was born in Greenford, Middlesex, England. He is the author of five novels—the first was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award—plus many short stories and articles. His work has appeared in numerous venues, including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Cemetery Dance, Asimov's, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and Weird Tales. He is currently a full-time freelance writer and, when not traveling, lives in the north of London with his wife.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager; Original edition (October 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061474673
• ISBN-13: 978-0061474675
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,624,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tony Richards has been writing supernatural, dark fantasy, and horror fiction - as well as SF and the occasional mystery and mainstream tale - for over three decades. His novels have been published by HarperCollins US, Tor, Pan Macmillan and Headline, with his Raine's Landing series of novels currently appearing from Dark Regions Press. His debut book - a supernatural thriller called 'The Harvest Bride' - made the shortlist for the HWA Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel, and in 2008 his collection 'Going Back' was nominated for the British Fantasy Award. Additionally, he has seen into print more than a hundred short stories, with his work appearing in most major genre outlets. Widely travelled, he often uses places he has visited as settings for his work. His fictional series include those books set in Raine's Landing, Massachusetts, a group of stories set in the imaginary town of Birchiam-on-Sea, on the south coast of England, and his Immortal Holmes series on Amazon Kindle. He currently lives in London, England, with his wife.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sequel equals the Original, December 6, 2009

By 

Toni V. Sweeney (Orange County, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night of Demons (Mass Market Paperback)

Night of Demons Matches the Original

Ever since I read Dark Rain, I've been looking forward to reading its sequel. I even said so in my review of that book. Now, I've had my chance and I wasn't disappointed. Night of Demons can be best described as Law and Order meets the X-files, and then it escalates into sheer terror and mayhem. Once more, Tony Richards takes us back to Raine's Landing for a few fantastic days in the lives of detective Ross DeVries and the magically-inclined inhabitants of that locked-away town.

The story begins like a police procedural with serial killer Cornelius Hanlon, dubbed the "Shadow Man," escaping from Boston police, taking a wrong turn and ending up in Raine's Landing. His first act upon arriving is to murder one of the town's leading adepts and steal a mystical wand--the Wand of Dantiere. Created by a madman, no one is aware it was created to bring about the Apocalypse and can only bond with someone who is insane. In Hanlon, it meets its soulmate, and soon more deaths ensue, ordinary people turning into psychotic killers who are reluctantly gunned down by the Landing's police. When Hanlon joins forces with Millicent Tollburn, who has her own reasons for hating the townsfolk, the crimes, which up until this point are merely those of people
running amok, become full-fledged horror, and before it ends, a rift in dimensions showers thousands of demonic creatures upon the town as Hanlon's version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse thunder down its streets.

Enter Lauren Brennan, Detective Lieutenant of the Boston Police, a woman so obsessed with tracking down Hanlon, she ignores the subliminal warnings to stay away from the Landing. By this time, Ross DeVries and his associate Cassie and Landing police Lieutenant Saul Hobart are on the case.

When he first meets Lauren Brennan, Ross is momentarily shaken, for she bears a startling resemblance to his missing wife, Alicia, and throughout the story, his attraction to her is evident. Considering this, when he invites her to stay at his home, one automatically expects a seduction scene, a brief respite of release in the midst of all the horror, but Ross has the emotional stability to understand Lauren isn't Alicia no matter how much she looks like her and his fidelity to his absent wife prevents him from acting. Though Lauren at first treats the Landing's police force like country bumpkins, once she's exposed to what passes for everyday life in the little town, she quickly changes her opinion. The Outsider joins forces with the Landing's PD in fighting what Hanlon has become.


Kudos, Tony! I enjoyed every page of Demon Night and all I can say is, it matches its predecessor in tension, good characterization, and sheer excitement. Now, of course, I'm begging for a third book.

The writer of this review was given an Advance Review Copy of the novel by the author.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting good vs. evil horror thriller, October 28, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night of Demons (Mass Market Paperback)

Cornelius the Shadow Man believes the Old Ones speak to him; directing him to kill whole families. They praise him informing him that his serial killing spree is bringing about the Apocalypse. On the back roads in Massachusetts to escape the police, he enters Raine's Landing, a town protected by ancient magics cast by witches that should have prevented his entry.

Cornelius enters the home of adept Lucas Tolburn while the witch is working with the magical Wand of Dentiere. The practitioner uses the wand to stop Cornelius, but he kills Lucas and grabs the rod. Believing in magic, the sentient artifact turns Cornelius into mist that allows him to enter any body he chooses. He enters a father who he uses to kill the whole family and make it look like the father committed suicide. He begins a killing spree and soon has a partner; Lucas' ambitious granddaughter Millicent who uses a spell that ties her to the wand and Cornelius and they go on a brutal killing rampage. Former town cop Ross Devries and Boston Police officer Laura Brennan investigate the serial killings that the outsider says is the work of the Shadow Man. They must prevent the mists from destroying the town and potentially the country.

This is an exciting good vs. evil horror thriller that cleverly keeps the audience wondering about whether Cornelius is a psychopath or is the voices from some outside evil essence. His magical partnership with Millicent will remind readers of Michael J. Fox's The Frighteners. Ross suffers from visions, but seems more attuned to Cass than he is the townsfolk he once protected and is doing again. Character driven, NIGHT OF DEMONS is a super horror thriller with the twist of the champions are the non practitioners in town.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars Good sequel to Dark Rain, June 30, 2011

By 

Kortick (Providence, RI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Night of Demons (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the second book by the author set in the town of Raines Landing. It is a place that has been cursed so that anyone who lives there can never leave, and only very few people can actually find it. The residents range from the normal families to the powerful magic users. The main character is Ross Devries the sherrif. He is a regular cop, not a spell caster who is in charge of keeping things in town as normal as can be expected in such a place. This book deals with the arrival of a serial killer on the run from the FBI who gains a powerful magic item that allows him to make his twisted dreams an actuality. The characters are good, and the story interesting. I was waiting for the follow up to Dark Rain and found this to be a good read. Hoping that there are more to follow.