There's a demon war in the offing, and Morgan, whose possessor is Lugh, the King of Demons, is being hunted by a murderous rogue demon named the Hunter. As seasoned readers will surmise, original names in this world are clearly not considered to be important. The demonic plan, Morgan discovers, is to create human vegetables to live in. (No jokes about TV audiences.) Morgan wants the demons gone, but it's a wish that cannot be fulfilled until Lugh's brother has been dealt with. The mad demon on her trail wants to pick her brains, perhaps literally, in order to discover the location of the exiled demon king. Also getting in Morgan's way are an ex-boyfriend, her brother and parents, plus her own rampant lust. Lugh, it must be remembered, is not a physical character, but a mind-rider. This aspect could have been quite confusing, but the author does a reasonable job of bringing new readers up to speed. Although, it's really no substitute for actually reading the first novel in the series. Some books within series are clever enough or engineered enough to also work as stand-alone titles, but The Devil You Know is not among this group.

It's an easy read, and will feel numbingly familiar to anyone who has previously scratched beneath the surface of the genre. There seems to be a chunky niche market for kick-arse female leads, who aren't adverse to a bit of "how's your father." Then a bit more, with a side order of anti-social behaviour excused by the character's past. Readers who are hot for girls with murder in their eyes will be pleased to know that Morgan Kingsley's modus operadi is to kill first and ask questions later. It's a philosophy which I found juvenile, and quickly boring. Indeed, the story contains so many formulaic elements, it could have been written by a committee. There's the harder-than-nails female lead, the crudity of instant sex, a gay Special Forces director and his boyfriend to please the PC brigade, abusive behaviour dressed up as entertainment, and great dollops of designer violence. Ultimately, if you lap this kind of thing up, Jenna Black's work will not disappoint. If, on the other hand, what you want is something with edge, subtlety and freshness, then it may be wise to look elsewhere.