Hell For Hire is the first book in the Tear Down Heaven series, a new urban fantasy proposal set in an alternate Earth, written by Rachel Aaron. Adrian Blackwood fled to Seattle to establish his forest in the company of his familiar animal and his broom; to get protection while his forest grows, he hires private security. But he didn't expect the kind of protection he hired: a demonic motley crew that is quite particular.

A difficult task for Bex's crew, but if we get to know something early on, is that Bex's crew is not the usual one. A wrath demon that loves cats (Boston is not particularly fond of it) and eats gamer rage, a lust demon who enjoys much her food and a void demon whose ideas scratch the nihilism; all lead by Bex, whose own secrets put her in a difficult situation (more than the usual for a demon in this world). Adrian didn't imagine that he would end being in the focus of Gilgamesh's five thousand year war against demons.

Despite being a relatively short novel, Aaron manages to create well-fleshed characters, and more importantly, characters that we end loving. Not only Bex herself, as you can see her taking the real role of a leader, taking care of her subordinates and trying to protect those she cares for, but Adrian is compassionate and empathizes with Bex's cause; it is related to him, but he is putting himself in a risk supporting Bex.
The dynamics between the crew are delightful, as they are more a family that works together than four randoms tied together by circumstance.

Outside of the characters, the setting also picked my attention. An Earth lead by the ancient Mesopotamian king Gilgamesh, who won the war against demons and established his own hierarchy with a Heaven; warlocks keeping a tight control over demons (slavery to be fair), and where demons are persecuted. A setting that leads us towards the other strength of Aaron.

The writing is magnificent, showing Aaron's skill at action scenes, making of the final battle an incredible experience; it's spectacular but at the same time you can keep a close eye on all the details in between the chaos. An example of how to write this kind of scenes.

If you are in the look for an excellent urban fantasy story, with a found family theme that overarches the whole story, Hell For Hire won't disappoint you. A fast paced story that you will devour and that will leave you craving for more of Aaron's books, and especially, for the second book of Tear Down Heaven.