New Orleans has a problem: An interdimensional rift opened up and dropped a section of Hell, demons included, right in the heart of The City That Care Forgot.

Matt Faustus has a problem: One of those demons got lost on the way, and was bound straight to his soul.

Now, he’s a flat broke, burnt out, battle tested P.I hired by trailer park trash to find a little girl kidnapped by a wayward demon with motives that may not be as sinister as they seem.

His investigation will lead him to the arms of an old love, into conflict with an irritable friend, through the streets of New Orleans, where violent, vile, and evil attitudes will hinder his every move, and to the outlying marsh where bad deals with bad demons were bargained in blood and the soul of an innocent was lost forever.

Finally, behind the Wall itself into the Heart of the Bestiary, where he’ll come face to face with one of the most powerful Hellspawn in existence, in a confrontation where he’ll weigh the fate of his soul against the welfare of the city, and learn there are never easy answers to the most difficult of questions.

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.

It seems like I have a penchant for picking out books set in New Orleans with a paranormal touch. It’s a city I have always loved yet not visited just yet. In this outing, rather than delving into the lore of the ancient city, The Rift takes a dive into the battle between good and evil, between heaven and hell. Decades before, a gaping chasm between the deepest bowels of hell and the mortal plane of Earth opened, freeing demons of all kinds to run amok.

The Rift follows Matthew Faustus, a paradimensional P.I. that just so happens to have a powerful demon bound to his soul. This brings with it a host of positives and negatives. And when a human child is abducted by her demon carer and smuggled behind the Wall and into the Bestiary – Hell on Earth – Matthew is sucked into a dark mystery.

He finds himself having to lean on past professional relationships, past loves, and the demon within. Heading into the heart of the Beastiary, Matthew learns of a dark plan that would have devastating consequences for humanity and destroy uneasy alliances formed between the authorities from both sides of the wall. He has to make difficult choices all the way through the story.

I have to say that for the most part, I struggled with this book. There were some minor issues where contradictions jarred for me a little bit. Nothing major, but occasions where a character would say or do something quite soon after saying or doing the very opposite. I also found the lead role of Matthew Faustus as a character hard to engage with. He struck me as unlikeable. But it didn’t seem to come from a place of hardship, or strife, even though he has suffered those. He just felt unlikeable. For that reason I struggled to fully absorb myself in the story.

My rating: