I'm coming back to this review after having burned through the entire Dante Valentine series in just a few short weeks. The first thing I can say is that I liked this installment's pacing better than the previous book, Dead Man Rising. Initially I had fears the characters were going to turn into a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu pair, only to be pleasantly surprised by the immense complexity of their relationship. 
 The Devil's Right Hand resumes the story of Dante Valentine some years after her last adventure. She and Tierce Japhrimel, her Fallen demon lover, are hidden away in Toscano country (I guess what Tuscany, Italy is supposed to be called in 600 years?) She's been away from Saint City for years, and only occasionally talks to her best friend Gabe over the phone. Japh disappears one night and returns, informing Dante that they are being summoned by Lucifer. When explained they have no choice, our heroine goes with her lover to see the Devil, and it is there that Japhrimel bargains for Dante to become Lucifer's new Right Hand (basically his enforcer) in exchange for her guaranteed safety. 
 Then of course, SNAFU. 
 The story pretty much takes off from there, with Dante forced to keep running and fighting for her life with little to no reprieve. The fights were intense, the stakes were high, and the tension maintained--but then again, I never doubted Saintcrow's ability to write action. What had me worried was this strange and seemingly out of place paranormal romance between Danny and Japh. The author even admits, in her appendix in the DV anthology, that Japhrimel was only supposed to be in the first book. 
 Her change of heart felt like a risk to me, but a compelling one, and in the end, I was glad she took it. Dante and Japhrimel's relationship explores deep and important themes like faith, the essence of truth, and devotion in ways that I think only they could. How many PNR books have you read where a human and inhuman being somehow implicitly understand each other, or their differences made only as a brief obstacle? Dante's humanity is constantly at odds with Japhrimel's inhumanity (not to be confused with cruelty so much as a completely alien way of viewing such basic concepts as what constitutes a lie.) There is also a constant power struggle between the two as they seem to be ever at odds, goal-wise, despite their sincere love for one another. 
 In summary, this book is awesome and might be my favorite in the series.