This book got me started reading urban fantasy.

I was a devoted Shannara fan seeing Terry Brooks for the first time when he was publicizing Running with the Demon at a local bookshop. I got a signed copy, of course, but told him urban fantasy was not my bag.

Brooks replied, "Just keep the book. You'll need it eventually."

He was right. One night, I needed something different, and there was Running with the Demon waiting for me.

Nest Freemark, one of the two protagonists, is a teenager. She spends her free time with companion Pick, trying to avoid the Demon and Feeders that inhabit Sinnissippi Park. John Ross is a Knight of the Word drawn to Hopewell to combat Evil.

As the plot unfolds, we discover that the Demon has influenced one of Nest's classmates to harass her and also some irritated steelworkers to set off a bomb at a July 4 picnic. Plotting is smart-paced as Freemark and Ross fight to figure out what's happening and stop it.

It's a great tale -- and you will find it hard to put down.