Shan pumps up the gore to maximum decibels in his ghastly introduction to the Demonata series, where werewolves and demons take center stage. Fans will remain riveted to the aggressive, clipped prose that propels Grubitsch, or "Grubbs," into the ghastly adversity of witnessing a triple otherworldly homicide and to his captivity as a mental patient. Grubbs's only hope for freedom — from the asylum and his terror — rests with his one mysterious ally, Uncle Dervish. The safety of Carcery Vale, the location of Uncle Dervish's magically protected mansion, becomes merely an illusion, however, when the mauled corpses of animals begin to litter the property, and Grubbs finds out that he must face his greatest fears yet again.Readers who devour Shan's Cirque du Freak books will be snapping like werewolves themselves to get this book. Shan uses the age-old idiom that all families have skeletons — or in this case, werewolves — in their closets to weave in complex themes like family loyalty and betrayal without being didactic. And despite the controversial nature of demons and werewolves, the classic conflict helps reveal the heart of the tale — that with loyalty and love, good has a fighting chance of triumphing over evil.