Oh dear, this is not for me.

Admittedly, a large part of that response comes down to me not being the target audience for this book. I picked it up thinking it was horror - it's a story about possession - but really it's inspirational fiction, focused on casting out demons and religious conversion. My atheist self does not find it particularly convincing, but religious readers might enjoy this. And fair enough, no piece of fiction appeals to everyone.

However, there are some technical issues here that matter more than genre, I think - I've certainly enjoyed books, including religious books, where I've not been the target audience before. There's generally something in them, an argument, or particularly beautiful prose, or excellent characterisation, that appeals. Such is not the case here. The tone varies from horrific to almost cartoonish. The prose can be clunky and is often irritatingly repetitive. See, for example, the following paragraph: "Rather, it was the conflicting emotions she felt right now of tormenting fear and soothing peace. Fear was all over her; peace was all over this woman. And most baffling was that her fear feared this woman."

Furthermore, the adult characters (with the sole exception of Ben) are either frustrating or obnoxious - or, in the case of Elsie's husband Daniel, an actual rapist. I felt some sympathy for him at first, dealing with what he perceived as his wife's mental illness. But after she goes missing, having shot at some demons, Elsie is convinced that she's been kidnapped and shackled, and this is when Daniel finally finds her. Now, Daniel isn't aware of the demons at this point. He is, however, absolutely convinced that his wife is hallucinating, and that she can no longer tell fantasy from reality. So, after pretending to take off the invisible handcuffs that Elsie believes that she's wearing, he has sex with her. Because he needs to feel better. You cannot tell me that a doctor who believes his wife so deep in hallucinations that she is shooting at invisible monsters simultaneously believes that she is competent enough to consent to sex. Sorry, no. He's a rapist and the demons can have him.

I bought the Kindle box set before reading, so there's more in this series. I'll probably read them eventually, because I hate leaving books unfinished, but I hope the rest is an improvement. I especially hope that, somewhere between the publication of the first and second volumes, some kind person has taken the author aside and let him know that people who believe in evolution don't actually believe that humans are descended from monkeys, because that comes up a lot in this book, and I find it as baffling as Anna finds her sister's questions about exorcism.