Ratings2
Average rating4
Seven women, inextricably linked by one man, must figure out which of them killed him in order to protect one another in this electrifying debut thriller. New Year’s Eve, 1999. Seven women are gathered in a hotel room at midnight; a man's head sits in the center of the floor. They all had a motive to kill Jamie Spellman. They all swear they didn't. But in order to protect one another, they have to find out who did. The ex, who drowns her darkest secret in a hip flask as the woman she loves drifts further away. The wife, living out her fairytale marriage in a house tucked into woods so thick no one can hear a scream. The widow, praying to a past she no longer knows whether she can trust. The teenager, whose wide-eyed crush has trapped her in an unrecognizable future. The mother figure, battling nature versus nurture under the weight of her own guilt. The friend, forced to choose sides over and over, until she learns the price of choosing wrong. And the journalist, who brought them all together—but underestimated how far one of them would go to keep believing the story they’d been told. Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman’s secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer. Marking the debut of an extraordinary new talent, Rose Wilding's Speak of the Devil explores the roles into which women are cast in the lives of terrible men...and the fallout when they refuse to play pretend for one moment longer.
Reviews with the most likes.
Speak of the Devil is an interesting mystery that takes on an uncomfortable topic of women who are assaulted, abused or manipulated. Too often they are ignored and the perpetrator, usually a good looking, charming or wealthy man, goes unpunished. This is a story of what happens when it doesn't necessarily go that way ..
This one can be a bit hard to follow. In the beginning you are thrown into the present, where women are meeting in a room on New Year's Eve. Little by little you are introduced to them and their relationship history with Jamie. It's slow going but I really enjoyed it.
You get to know the characters better as the story goes while following the mystery. This may not be for everyone as some heavy topics are touched upon but I would recommend this one for those who enjoy a mystery and don't mind a slow pace.
I sincerely appreciate St. Martin's Press for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.