Logic of Demons: The Quest for Nadine’s Soul by H.A. Goodman

Brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell Cadiz

Synopsis:
Devin Schwartz is a broken man. Having lost his wife, who was pregnant with their son, to a serial killer who rapped her and killed her, leaving her lifeless body in a dumpster, Devin has lost all reason for living. He becomes a man on a mission, driven by his thirst for vengeance and his need to rid himself of all the pain, Devin sets out to find the man who killed his wife and son. He finds Earl Ray, the murderer of his wife, in a hotel room and stabs him square in the chest, and continues to stab him in a blind rage. In his rage, Devin doesn’t notice that police have already entered the room and are demanding he stop. The police shoot Devin, three bullets hitting his chest, and Devin’s life as a human is over.

Enter The Company, otherwise known as Hell, Devin has been chosen by The Company to be turned into a demon and to help sell their Formula. Templeton, Devin’s new mentor at the Company, tells Devin this special Formula helps humans find the courage to do what they otherwise couldn’t do on their own. Devin at first is reluctant, not fully convinced he wants to sell the Formula if that means he has to become a demon but Templeton makes Devin a promise: sell the Formula and he will get to be reunited with his wife, Bridget again. There is one specific person Templeton and The Boss, otherwise known as Satan, want Devin to sell the Formula: Nadine Marin. Templeton explains to Devin that Nadine is severely depressed and needs the Formula to help give her the courage to overcome her depression and make the right decision. Devin agrees, hoping by helping this girl, he will find his wife.

But Devin will soon realize that everything he thought he knew about Heaven and Hell wasn’t all true and the very mission he has agreed to undertake may cause him more harm than good.

Review:
Logic of Demons was a book filled with so many twists and turns you’re head will be spinning. When you think you figured out a certain part of the plot, you’ll find yourself back at square one attempting to understand what in the blazes is going on! Author H.A. Goodman does a very good job at keeping you both frustrated and simultaneously determined to know what happens through Devin’s journey and what is so special about Nadine.

Part of me sympathized with Devin. I understood why he committed such a heinous act and part of me wanted to slap him repeatedly for some of the stupid things he ends up believing! He’s a character a lot of readers will be able to identify with and understand. He was written very well (for the most part). You end up connecting with him from the beginning and wanting to help him find his way back to his wife (while at the same time wanting to either slap or strangle him– sometimes a bit of both!).

Nadine is a beautiful soul. I SO desperately wanted to save her and protect her. For a teenager she has an amazing amount of wisdom and knowledge. Natalia is also a very lovely character, full of compassion and love.

The pacing of Logic of Demons could have been better. The beginning starts off with action but drags some throughout the middle. It was very frustrating on how long it takes to find out what exactly is happening in the story! I had to put the book down a few times out of sheer annoyance of the plot moving just too slow and boredom. But around chapter seventeen the story picks back up again, somewhat.

Logic of Demons also address some very tough and heavy subjects: depression, rape, murder, sex trafficking, genocide, the afterlife, God, Satan, and religion. There are some moments you may have to reread certain parts to fully understand and grasp what author H.A. Goodman is trying to convey to his audience but there are many good lessons to learn from his characters and story. The view of genocide in Rwanda was not a chapter I cared for at all, too much description for my taste, and traumatizing I feel for readers so you may want to skip that chapter (21).
For the most part, I enjoyed reading Logic of Demons. The ending was really great! Surprised me, I did not expect it to end the way that it did and how big Nadine’s role really was.

Not everyone will be happy reading this book, especially since it discusses such strong subject matter. You will need to come to Logic of Demons with an open mind.

Whether you believe in God or the Devil, whether you believe there is an afterlife or not, Logic of Demons: The Quest for Nadine’s Soul is a pretty interesting read, one that will cause you think about your own views on yourself and on what you believe in.