The demon trapper's daughter by Jana Oliver

Riley is seventeen years old and an apprentice demontrapper.  Her path is a hard one - she is the daughter of one of the best trappers around, his former apprentice is a real jerk when he's around, and she's a girl.  Riley makes the best of a bad situation though and works as hard as the boys, taking down the lower Grade demons, but somethings not right - the demons are working together (something that is not supposed to happen) and the demons are calling her by name (something that is not supposed to happen EVER). 

When her father is killed while trying to trap a relatively harmless demon with Beck, Riley finds things going from bad to worse.  She is apprenticed to a new Master who would love nothing more than to see her fail, necromancers are trying to steal her fathers body, and for some reason the tools of the trade that the demon trappers rely on are not working as well as they used to.  Riley has almost too many things to deal with, including the appearance of another apprentice who makes her feel a little weak at the knees.  As the danger builds Riley is going to have to figure out what is going on from the clues that her father left behind, and from the facts that seem too scary to be true.

This is the first book in a new series by author Jana Oliver and it is one of the best books I have read in this very specific section of the supernatural genre.  Like quite a few other novels The demon trapper's daughter is set in our world, but a little in the future when there has been a financial colapse in the city of Atlanta.  In this future world demons walk the earth ranging from little Grade Ones that are more annoying than dangerous, through to Grade Five's that can steal your soul before you know it is gone.  The mythology of this world is clear and well envisioned and has some wonderful little twists and surprises that keep you trapped in the story. 

Riley is a feisty heroine who is not afraid of danger and not afraid of standing up for herself - but she also knows when to keep her mouth shut and go with the flow.  The supporting cast (whether you love them or loath them) are well rounded and well defined.  Initially I have to confess that I almost gave up on this book as Beck was somewhat annoying - partly because of the Southern accent (I figured out he was Southern and didn't need all the y'alls to keep pointing it out).  I am really glad that I finished this book as it was one of the best I have read and look forward to reading more in the series - and I may try some of her adult novels as well to see what they are like.

If you like this book then try:

• Rampant by Diana Peterfruend
• The black tattoo by Sam Enthoven
• Dead witch walking by Kim Harrison

Reviewed by Brilla