Death's Hand (novel)

Death's Hand is a 2011 urban fantasy novel by SM Reine, and is the first novel in The Descent Series. It introduces the character of Elise Kavanagh, a retired kopis and exorcist who is now working as an accountant for demon-owned businesses, and James Faulkner, her aspis. The novel blends elements of action-adventure, epic fantasy, horror, and mystery.

Book description
Elise Kavanagh doesn't want to hunt demons anymore. It's been five years since she killed her last enemy, and life has been pretty good since then. She went to college. Got a job, and then lost it. Made a friend or two. Lived a normal life.

Now her former partner, a powerful witch named James Faulkner, wants Elise to fight one more time. The daughter of a coven member has been possessed, and Elise is the only exorcist nearby.

Doing the hero thing again would mean risking discovery by old enemies. But digging into the case reveals that it might already be too late--bodies are disappearing, demons slither through the night, and the cogs of apocalypse are beginning to turn. Some enemies aren't willing to let the secrets of the past stay dead...

Plot
Elise Kavanagh lives in an alternate history version of Reno, Nevada, in a world where demons and angels live among humans, and are policed by super-powered humans known as kopides and their witch partners, known as aspides.

Characters
Death's Hand introduces the following characters.

Major Characters

 * Elise Kavanagh: Once known as the greatest kopis, Elise is similar to heroes of hardboiled detective fiction. She is brittle, has difficulty expressing emotion, and doesn't make friends well. She retired from her duties as kopis after her first fight against Death's Hand.
 * James Faulkner: Considered by some to be the most powerful witch in the world, James is bound as Elise's aspis.
 * Anthony Morales
 * Betty Beaty

Other Recurring Characters

 * Death's Hand introduced a number of recurring characters, including David Nicholas, Neuma, and Stephanie Whyte.

Non Recurring Characters

 * Ann Friedman
 * Death's Hand (character)
 * Lucinde Ramirez
 * Marisa Ramirez
 * Augustin Ramirez

Timeline placement
The flashback sections of Death's Hand occur in February and March 1998, as well as a brief vignette in December 1988. The modern day sections occur in May 2009.