Black Easter is a book I haven't known about for too long-- I was introduced to it here on goodreads, probably appearing on some obscure list somewhere. The basic premise; "an arms dealer consults a black magician to summon all the demons in Hell on earth for a day" instantly made me want to seek it out.

Stylistically, Black Easter is pretty dry. It's precise and has an almost 'medical' amount of detail when it comes to describing the occult rituals that take place within the book-- this is perhaps the most interesting thing about it. It may not be the most lyrical or exciting in its writing approach, but the amount of research that went into it (especially in 1968, before the advent of easily finding information on the internet) is undeniably impressive and adds a lot of authenticity to the narrative, which makes it feel fairly believable, given the context. It has memorable characters in Ware, Baines, and Father Domenico, and a gutsy ending that, given the preceding detailed buildup, manages to pack a punch.