Think of heaven and hell as one big company that goes by the name of Immortal Planes Incorporated with all the trimmings of your typical office politics, catty co-workers, and forbidden inter-office romance. If it catches your attention, you owe it to yourself to read Susan K. Hamilton’s urban fantasy novel, The Devil Inside. Mara Dullahan is in sales and acquisitions for Hell. She’s a devil who spends a lot of time on the Mortal Plane scouting for corrupt souls. Her gorgeous, black glossy wings make her an oddity among angels and devils, so she tries to prove herself by trying to become Hell’s top agent. But Duncan DeMarco enters her life—a rank and file angel who reports to the archangel Michael. As Mara falls for Duncan, she feels that her relationship with her angel-boy is making her soft, and she has to tread carefully. Lucifer, the Big Kahuna, is not tolerant of angel-devil office romance, and Kemm, Mara’s biggest sales and acquisitions rival, is just waiting for the right moment to pull her down.

I like the way Susan K. Hamilton puts a spin on heaven and hell by illustrating it as a big corporate office. I can clearly imagine how awesome the office interior designs would be. Mara is stuck with the occasional paperwork but spends a lot of time on the Mortal Plane that fated her to meet Duncan at a bar, who feels pensive after saving the soul of a teenager. The angel and devil characters are made interesting by their job descriptions and the human characters make for excellent giveaways as the souls that are either being saved or acquired. Hamilton has her own panache and style in writing that makes The Devil Inside a phantasmagorical treat. As for Mara and Duncan’s romantic relationship, you would really want to read this story to find out how God Himself gets involved and makes a decision on the matter based on laws that pertain to romantic entanglements.

Welcome to Immortal Planes Incorporated, where Heaven and Hell are separate divisions but ultimately answer to one boss, God. In The Devil Inside by Susan K. Hamilton, Mara Dullahan is one of the best in sales and acquisitions of souls for the Pit. Her biggest rival, Kemm, is ahead of her on the leaderboard right now and that is a problem. She needs to meet her quota and cannot afford any kind of distraction, especially in a form of an angel named Duncan DeMarco, who has his own issues with his work. The attraction between them is inevitable despite being aware of the forbidden relationship between devils and angels. With her pride and secret love on the line, can the wingless she-devil overcome all her troubles?

Unsurprisingly, the most immeasurable corporation is not the one owned by mortals. The Immortal Planes Incorporated, or IPI, have Archangel Michael and Lucifer as Managing Directors for their respected divisions. The corporate structure of Heaven and Hell is fascinating and aptly ironic, particularly with their Annual Employee Conference. With a well-paced plot infused with supernatural, humor, and romance elements, the well-developed characters enhance the narrative's engaging quality. She may be skilled at dealing with corrupt souls - who are a bunch of interesting though sinful individuals - but there's more to Mara Dullahan than being an ambitious devil. There are grey areas when it comes to the rules of IPI, and Mara is not the most obedient employee, a combination that spells trouble not just for her but Hell itself. Simply put, Susan K. Hamilton's The Devil Inside is an entertaining supernatural contemporary story right up to its final page.