Speak of the Devil: The most addictive feminist thriller of the year

Product Information

There was a lot of great social commentary of the treatment of women who have been victimized; whether they are believed, or painted as somehow responsible for the evil things that have happened to them. A propulsive and complexly layered story...Fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware won’t want to miss this one." – Nora Murphy, author of The Favor A decapitated head, a diverse group of women, an odious man - it’s a mystery who killed him, but there’s no doubt that someone did. But who? Seven women had more than enough reason to commit murder, but who finally caved? And who brought them all together? Nova is a detective who, despite knowing more than a couple of the suspects, is determined to put past failures behind her and solve this murder - but is she willing to do it at any cost? Wilding revealed she was “absolutely buzzing”, adding: “This twisted story has lived in my head for so long and I am so happy it’s found the perfect home at Baskerville.” 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.

I thought that this was really good! I enjoyed getting to know each of the seven women at the core of this book and it was quite clear that each of them had the motive to kill Jamie. Jamie was not a good man. In fact, he was pretty terrible, and the things that he did to each of these women left me feeling a lot of sympathy for them. I loved that the book kept me guessing until the very end. I would recommend this one to Readers who enjoy a lot of deep character work and social commentary in their Crime Fiction. Additionally, I would recommend the audiobook. I enjoyed the narration style quite a bit. Hmmm… Going in, I was incredibly intrigued by the premise of Speak of the Devil . A story of women taking revenge against a vile man? Count me in. Unfortunately, the reality just didn’t match the idea, and it ultimately left me wanting and unimpressed by this promising debut.Baskerville has secured “a literary whodunit" from tutor Rose Wilding for six figures as part of a 24-hour pre-empt. Brilliant, fast-paced . . . loved the connection of all the women, the strength in their united pain’ READER REVIEW

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a well-done mystery that was nearly impossible to set aside. I thought that this was a great debut novel and look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future. Jade Chandler, publishing director at the newly launched John Murray imprint, pre-empted world rights in two books including debut Speak of the Devil from Kate Evans at PFD in a major six-figure deal. One of the first debuts acquired for Baskerville, it will be a lead title in 2023. How about the oldest? After all, Maureen’s known Jamie the longest as she quite literally raised him from his very first breath. Was it their shared past that sent them hurtling down this road?Although there is a plethora of characters, Wilding manages to make each woman easy to differentiate, developing their own personalities so that they are distinct from their counterparts and it is not difficult to tell each one from the other.

As the story weaves on, we eventually learn that the women are all connected in some way through the male character these women all have in common. His name is Jamie and he is a douche canoe. I did figure out the ending before it was revealed but not much before so I still got my aha moment. This was a pretty strong debut and I look forward to reading what this author comes up with next. A dark and nuanced portrait of love, loyalty, and manipulation, Speak of the Devil explores the roles in which women are cast in the lives of terrible men… and the fallout when they refuse to stay silent for one moment longer. The ending will give you whiplash and is a lil abrupt. There were also no breadcrumbs so thumbs down to that. I like my twists foreshadowed, but at least this wasn't totally implausible. All in all, an entertaining lil read but if you skip it, you won't be missing out on much. They took their usual seats around a makeshift alter in the center of the room, where under a pillowcase was the severed head of a man they all knew. Next up were easily the powerful topics central to the book. Between questioning religion, the impact of impossible childhoods, and LGBTQ+ bias/bigotry, the depth of the plot was truly startling. I could easily see how such a manipulative man was able to harm these seven women so profoundly. Described in a way to both elucidate this fact but also draw out my empathy, the writing perfectly walked a line between the two.

Featured Reviews

Seven women are in a small hotel room where they have been summoned via a mysterious phone number. On the table, covered up, is the decapitated head of a man that they know all too well--Jamie. In fact, he is the reason that all of these women know each other in the first place, he's done wrong by all of them in myriad ways. But who ultimately killed him? No one is confessing. A dark and twisted commentary on the treatment of women that asks the question, are women truly to blame when they take charge of abusive situations after the world refuses to listen to them? A devilishly immersive read - Rose Wilding is a wonderful new talent' Kamila Shamsie, author of Home Fire If Speak of the Devil is supposed to be a thriller, it failed for me in one crucial aspect: it was not the least bit thrilling. In fact, it was pretty bland, all told. It’s a good thing I’ve turned over a new leaf (briefly) and am reviewing this within hours of having read it. Although, how much help that will be is… questionable.