The Devil Be Damned by Ali Vali

 

   Master storyteller Ali Vali does it again with her fourth installment in the Casey Family saga, The Devil be Damned. Although time has passed since the previous installment, Deal With The Devil, readers will quickly find themselves once again caught up in the lives of Derby Cain and Emma Casey and their soon-to-be three children, set against the intriguing backdrop of post-Katrina New Orleans.

   Perhaps the best thing I can say about this series and Vali’s writing is that there is always more than just the one, most obvious story taking place. In the previous three books, readers have not only joined Cain Casey on her business dealings as head of one of the largest, old-school crime families, but also on journeys steeped in Cain’s fierce passion about her wife, children and other family members. Readers of the series have watched as a relationship developed between Cain’s cousin and trusted attorney, Muriel, and Shelby Phillips, a die-hard, by-the-book FBI agent who also is charge of the Casey surveillance team. This relationship has been an on-again, off-again love affair that leaves Cain and her Uncle Jarvis, Muriel’s father, wondering if Phillips’ intentions are true or just a way to get closer to the Casey family.

   Another FBI agent, Anthony Curtis, whom readers will remember as going rogue and teaming up with Cain’s long-time enemy, Juan Luis, is back again in true fashion as he and Luis, along with help from Luis’ mother, Gracelia, plan yet another attempt at taking down the Casey family, one body at a time.

   While the romance between Cain and Emma continues and the romance between Shelby and Muriel is potentially rekindled, another romantic romantic lesbian back story between Cain’s associate Remington Jatibon and actress Dallas Montgomery continues to grow.

   Whose love will soar? Whose love will prove to be a means to an end? Can Cain manage to keep her perfectly-balanced life and family safe? The answers to these questions and more lie within these 279 pages and proves nothing is easy in the Big Easy.

 

The Devil Be Damned

Ali Vali

Paperback

Bold Strokes Books

 

(as published in Phoenix Magazine)