John Crow's Devil

Set in Jamaica, 1957, in the village of Gibbeah, and revolves around the Holy Sepulchral Full Gospel Church of St. Thomas Apostolic. In the opening pages, a charismatic stranger arrives, heralded by black vultures (John Crows) crashing into the windows of the church. The stranger, who calls himself Apostle York, drags the alcoholic and off-the-rails preacher, Hector Bligh, from the church, and takes his place - setting off a series of conflicts as the two struggle for power.

Magical realism, Obeah, Old Testament punishments, sex, brutal violence and no shortage of sin.

I was taken with the writing style, and the characters (despite them all being flawed, damaged and unlikeable), and the Jamaican words and phrases were not often hard to understand, although I had to check up on a few as I went.

I don't read a whole lot of fiction, but when I do, I like it gritty. No shortage of grit in this, the first book of the acclaimed Jamaican author Marlon James.

Four stars from me.