The Entity Within

Zoe Adams and her grandmother Irma are both witches. Shunned by their Boston coven, they take refuge in Chicago’s “Vamptown” (introduced in Sleeping with the Entity), a sort of vampire gated community with cameras in every house and a funeral home that’s a convenient source of blood. Damon Thornheart, a vampire who hunts demons, was once betrayed by a witch and now hates them all, which gives him and Zoe plenty of chances to glower and gripe when they’re not lusting after each other or making out. When Irma accidentally opens the Book of Darkness, demons are loosed on Vamptown, and Damon has his hands full. Attempts at topical humor, such as Googling spells or demons singing The Phantom of the Opera in the tunnels under Vamptown, can’t save this paranormal from a morass of clichés and clumsy prose. Agent: Annelise Robey, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)