Experienced romance suspense author Herron (Under His Skin
) kicks off her new series with a bang. FBI agent Vincent Valtrez, the son of a devil and an angel, is a Dark Lord with the potential for great good or great evil. His dead father, Zion, is about to be named the new leader of Hell's legions, and Pan, god of fear, wants to harvest Vincent's soul and win Zion's approval. He lures Vincent back to his hometown by targeting psychic Clarissa King, for whom Vincent has long felt an attraction. Herron manages to strike a balance between the romance bubbling between Vincent and Clarissa and the horror of Pan's actions. Vincent displays enough self-loathing to make him an interestingly brooding hero, and readers will enjoy the chase after Pan's earthly agents and Vincent's struggle with his figurative and literal demons, right up to the obligatory cliffhanger ending. (Sept.)
