While stuck on a series of long flights I decided to do a little reading catch up. This seemed a good place to start, what with it being an interesting investigative story. This book wastes no time at all and dumps you right into the middle of things - Sam is an insurance guy who comes to a fancy private school to investigate the claim on a lost book. The book is quite old and valuable and to be honest, it doesn't take long to track down the thief or the kid who put the thief up to it. The other POV is that of Harriet, a bit of a nerd, she's out for revenge after her and some friends get cruelly bullied during a D&D session. Sam and Harriet are both trying to track down a kid named Dale, who is behind the book theft and numerous other infractions (blackmail and drug dealing mostly).
There's plenty of unusual happenings going on at the posh, isolated boarding school and the story seems to jump from one thing to the next without pause. The pacing is in fact, too rapid for my taste as I felt there wasn't time for dread, anticipation, or any other feeling to build up. In fact, many of the events happened so abruptly all I could think was "wtf??".
Overall, the book felt too sparse for me to truly enjoy it but it was somewhat redeemed by being a very quick read (under 2 hours).

The private boarding school of Danforth Putnam was founded on an island off Massachusetts by the puritan leader Mason Alderhut. Since then it has been a high school for the children of elite families and also housing for orphans as its charitable mission.
When a valuable old book is stolen, insurance Investigator Sam Gregory, is called in to find it. Being housed on an island, Sam thinks this should be a fairly simple search, but he is very wrong. Children begin to go missing and there are stories of occult activities.
Through it all Sam finds himself inspired by a 16 year school news reporter, Harriet. Her righteous indignation and loyalty to her friends leaves Sam searching for something within himself, along with getting to the bottom of what is happening on this weird island.
I must say, I never guessed the final reveal of the story. A very entertaining and fast read. Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP/ Putnam for opportunity to enjoy this e-ARC

The end will be a surprising twist to most of the readers.
I had mixed feelings about how to rate this book. Better than a three and not quite a four. Decided with a four because I did enjoy the book and it kept my interest. Occasionally it was a bit confusing. Loved the ending and hope we get a follow up story. At the end the Devil isn’t all bad and shows a caring nature with a mission to accomplish while been stuck in our world.

6 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2022/05/03/friend-of-the-devil-by-stephen-lloyd-review/

1980’s New England. An 11th century manuscript of untold value and much deeper worth has gone missing from haut monde boarding school Danforth Putnam, where the elite intermingle with the destitute. Sam Gregory—insurance investigator and scarred war vet—sets forth to the isle to investigate.

Upon landing Sam finds more cause for concern than just a lost manuscript. There are students missing—not that anyone seems too concerned. Danforth Putnam has an interesting system on the books to balance its aristocratic pedigree. Namely, granting orphans a full tuition at the school so long as they help out with some of the more unsavory labor, below the status of the rich and famous. The students that have gone missing, of course, belong to the lower class—motherless urchins that no one will miss. And indeed no one seems to.

But Sam is only here for the book. And while the missing students worry him—he really can’t do anything about them.

But the longer he spends at Danforth Putnam, the more Sam worries that the missing students might tie-in to the absence of the book. Confronted with wild rumors of witchcraft and murders, he must navigate the warren of gossip and lies that exist at any school, at least so long as he hopes to find the book. But Sam is tireless and ardent in his duty, which is good—for one never knows just how deep the rabbit hole might go.

—

The story is entertaining, exciting, and immersive. The mystery itself is interesting and fast-paced, so I never had any trouble reading it. Sam Gregory is a little bit of a cliché—a Vietnam vet who uses cigarettes and a wise-ass routine to mask his PTSD, while refusing to play by the rules. Good thing he’s a PI and not a detective, or it would’ve been an unacceptable level of cliché. But I guess my tolerance for freelance or third-party gumshoes is a lot more lenient than beat cop. I actually quite enjoyed his renegade persona and sarcasm, though I still feel like it’s the default state for any 80’s cop. Don’t get me started on the reporter angle. If there are two POVs in any mystery/thriller nowadays, odds are they’re a reporter and some kinda detective.

The character development in this was about as deep and intricate as the characters themselves. As in, they weren’t. Everyone—even Sam and Harriet—were one-sided and shallow. Only one character showed anything even remotely like growth, and yet I really wouldn’t’ve called it that.

While Friend of the Devil doesn’t try anything new at the outset, the more you dig into the story, the more it threatens to exploit these clichés in unexpected ways. Overall, the story was interesting, immersive, and thrilling. An 11th century manuscript missing, a wayward teen obsessed with magic and power, missing students, terrible secrets, a plot that refused to slow down once it got rolling. And then comes the end.

And the main issue I had with it. The scene comes close to the end and is the lynchpin for everything that follows. And it’s… ridiculous. It’s clear that the author had an ending in mind, and had written up a thrilling conclusion to match, but was having trouble connecting the two. And instead of reworking one or the other—they forced it.

<b>Beware spoilers for the following paragraph</b>
The scene in question takes place between a teenage girl and a grown man. The girl is noted as being undersized, appearing much like a twelve-year old instead of her actual sixteen. The man is described as strong, 6’3, 220, built a bit like a boxer. Additionally, the teenager has no history or interest in martial arts or dedicated exercise (yes, I know one can be physically fit without an interest in such things—that’s not the point I’m trying to make—just give me a minute here). She also suffers from none-too-rare epileptic seizures. The lynchpin exchange has her suffering a seizure just after taking the man’s hand. She proceeds to judo-throw him over her shoulder ten feet. While seizing up. No, he’s not off-balance. Yes, this is vital to the plot. If it were reversed, and it were a 200+ pound man seizing up and throwing a girl over his shoulder teen feet, I’d still be calling bullshit, so it makes perfect sense that I’m equally incensed about it the other way around.

And forcing it—particularly in this manner, in this case—just doesn’t work. Like, at all. It soured me on the ending, and a bit on the plot to this point. Which just had (I’ll point out) dropped another bombshell on us, which I was still working through, deciding if it made any more sense (it DID, but only just, not that that mattered for very long). I’m not saying that this was the intent, but it just struck me as lazy: you’ve written a thrilling and entertaining story; you dropped your big twist; and now see fit to ruin it with some uncooked scenario just so you wouldn’t have to rewrite a conclusion that actually makes sense.

Two weeks out, and I still find myself looking back on the tale: the immersion of the setting, the story; the way the tense atmosphere slowly devolves into horror and terror; the mystery that’s there to solve, that has you looking one way for so long and then suddenly opening your mind to a dozen new possibilities—and then I remember the ending. And it’s mostly soured.

TL;DR

If you happened to read the entire review—welcome to the end! If you didn’t, that’s okay too, I guess. But only one of you will understand just how hard it is for me to rate this book. I mean, you’ve seen my star-rating above, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book—or around 90% of it. Around the 80% mark things started to get a little weird, but that’s to be expected with these horror titles. 9/10ths of the way down, Friend of the Devil was sailing towards an 8 star rating, with little that could derail its bright, bright future. But at the close, everything fell apart. An impossibility; a ridiculous moment that should’ve been laughed off and rewritten, but instead went down as a major plot-point, something the entire ending hinged on. And it soured everything for me. And yet… I guess I’m still going to recommend this. Maybe it won’t be as big an issue for you. Maybe you’ll be willing to overlook a few clichés, a few shallow characters, a few stumbles.

This book moved quick and it was super fun! The twist at the end was *chef's kiss*! It is horror, and it's damn funny, and it looks like the door is open for a sequel or a series. Excellent brain candy! I received this as an arc from #Netgalley.

Sam Gregory is an insurance investigator sent to an island where a school has a valuable book that has been stolen from a safe. He finds that the students are into a lot more illegal stuff than the staff is aware of.
I enjoyed this book publisher Putnam downloaded from NetGalley. The author would make a great mystery author but cut out the horror.

This book was an interesting read. Took a supernatural turn I was not anticipating. Quick read and easy to get through.

Friend of the Devil releases May 10th:

Slasher-tastic kills, Multiple POVs, Unrealistic Satanism

Sam Gregory is a chain-smoking Vietnam vet turned investigator looking into a book theft at a rich kid's boarding school. The 80s-fabulous setting was super entertaining and, oh my word, does author Stephen Lloyd know how to set a scene! The mystery is intriguing and the teen characters described are nostalgic and hilarious. I loved Sam's bad attitude. His character drove the pace nicely. All in all, an enjoyable read with nice cover art. 'Friend of the Devil', as the name implies,  deserves a cool 80s playlist complete with a Jerry Garcia t-shirt and pack of Kent candy cigarettes to go with it's "satanic panic" vibe. It reads like a R-Rated Scooby-Doo movie mash-up with 'Mean Girls' and some nameless cop drama. Unfortunately I wanted a different ending but it definitely was unexpected, so there's that. Extreme horror fans will find it too mild and cozy mystery fans won't like some of the language. However with slasher and paranormal horror fans I think this book will find a happy audience. Thanks to Putnam Books for providing my free review copy. @putnambooks

I was really hoping to like this book better because of the premise of the story (sounded like a grittier "Harry Dresden" type story). Unfortunately for me, there were too many characters and POVs to track easily. The story itself wasn't bad, just wasn't what I was expecting.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sam is a insurance detective. His job is to find a rare book that has been stolen from an exclusive school located on its own island…
During his investigation he discovers a steroid using athlete, the dealer that supplies same and a boat maintenance man that is a full on drunk. Also a questionable staff .
He furthers discovers what appears to be devil worship activities.
The ending of the book is brutal and comes swiftly and definitely not the conclusion you were expecting.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this novel in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
I do recommend this one.

"Friend of the Devil" was ....fine. While I generally enjoyed the story and action, and being surprised by the ending, I was also distracted by some of the discrepancies between the description of the book and the actual book. Specifically the part of the description that says "After joining forces with plucky, epilepsy-defying school reporter Harriet...." -- For awhile, I genuinely thought I must have accidentally skipped a page at some point; Sam (the investigator) and Harriet barely interact during the first 95% of the book.

Creepy, violent, bloody and funny as hell, Stephen Lloyd's "Friend of the Devil" is a rushing roller coaster ride that does not land anywhere near where you would expect. It sounds like a simple enough premise: Sam Gregory is an insurance investigator sent to track down a rare book stolen at a boarding school on a spooky island. There are supernatural forces at play, there are students who are bullies, there are students who are nerds, and Sam's wise-cracking sarcasm runs throughout. I enjoyed this book and happily recommend it-- although you may want to think twice before pestering your librarian about it.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #FriendoftheDevil #NetGalley.

I really liked this book. The story was good, the characters were well fleshed out and the ending was unexpected.

I loved the characters of Sam and Harriet. Harriet was so likable as a strong willed and clever teen who suffered from epilepsy. Sam as a Vietnam vet insurance investigator. They made a good team.

The book reminded me a bit of Indiana Jones with all the secret tunnels and secret books. I loved the story of the ancient coven melded with a “modern day” prep school.

The ending was shocking and I didn’t see it coming at all. I would love to read more from this world!

This is the kind of book I had to finish as fast as I could because if I had drawn it out any longer, I couldn’t have brought myself to finish it at all. Buried inside this book are the elements of a great one; it's just not the one I read. I personally think that it would make a fantastic B-horror-movie, if a less than great book.

There really are some great things here. The side characters like Flynn and Ms. Lee. They show up and say weird and uncomfortable things. Ms. Lee especially is creepy as hell. It's wonderful. The mystery is well developed, though the build-up was significantly better than the payoff.

However, there are some things I can't get past to really enjoy this book.

1. Whatever the opposite of white wall syndrome is, this author has it, and not in a good way. Adding descriptions of the characters’ surroundings is great, but there are better ways to do it than run-on paragraphs literally listing things one by one. Description should be interwoven into the scene, not overpowering it. This author could probably write a great screenplay, but it doesn’t work as well in novel form. Take the first chapter, which is the book’s most egregious example. There’s a great scene in here. All it would take is a little editing, interspersing that run-on description into the conversation between Sam and [headmaster]. Add a couple of Sam’s reactions in there too, like when the kid with the Reagan button (Bernard) rips lesbian-coded kid’s poster. What is Sam's initial reaction to that? This could be a great way to introduce the reader to the protagonist and give the reader a more in-depth impression of him from the start. Now, not even half the scenes are written like this, but the ones that are stand out because they drag and drag.

2. Harriet is the only truly likeable character. I lied earlier; I actually can move past this one to enjoy the book because it reaches the point of comedy. Sam is a jerk. He literally shoots a teenager in the kneecap with an air rifle at one point. This is assault, but it's so casual it's funny. Yeah the teenager is a bigot with a collection of child porn of his classmates, but that just proves my point further.

3. Oh, just the last 75 or so pages. I will say I got a little bit of satisfaction at Sam realizing the problem is a demon, not drugs, though all that good will was lost at the big reveal.

Two and a half stars might be more accurate, but that’s not an option available, so please note I rounded up.

Something about this novel felt discombobulated--while the writing was fast-paced, it didn't feel put-together. The story, that a manuscript goes missing at a boarding school, never caught my attention. The author writes for television, and I can see it being on screen, but something about the way it translated to text fell apart for me.

So good. Flawless writing, laugh out loud until you cringe. Seriously. 80s nostalgia with a smart ass non-detective and entrails. What more could you want?

This was an ok read about an old book that was stolen at a boarding school on a remote island that covers A LOT of themes. I dig cults, secluded islands, witchy and demonic themes, the 80s setting, and the gore. The main character had a backstory that was hinted at here and there throughout the book, and now he works as an insurance agent. Based on his reactions, it also seems like he is used to supernatural goings on but again, you don't really get to know if this was truly his first encounter. I felt like sometimes like the plot and the characters didn't really connect to one another and that both of them were doing their own thing. Another weird thing was that the location of the story is on the east coast of the US, but the writing and tone of the characters is VERY UK. They say and or reference things that would make sense in a UK setting. I had to double read passages to make sure that I was indeed on the east coast. Luckily it was a quick read because it kept getting weirder and weirder. It wasn't my cup of tea but I think some readers, especially young adult, may really enjoy this action packed, supernatural book.

This novella appeared as straightforward as its main character's mission. Sam, a former marine turned insurance investigator, lands on an island belonging to a wealthy boarding school/orphanage. His mission: locate a stolen book worth quite a bit of money. Because of the school's literal isolation, Sam figures this will be an easy job. All he has to do is deal with the odd characters that call this school home. Of course, it wouldn't be a story worth telling if it were that easy.

I enjoyed the humor and quick pace the most. It honestly read like a TV show, flipping between scenes and points of view for a cinematic effect. However, that familiar TV quality also comes through in the characters. Everyone is pretty much exactly what they seem to be, and none of them are novel. If you are looking for deep, complex characters, you won't find them here. But I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. And it may have even been purposeful because it lured me into thinking that I knew everything that was going to happen.

Never claiming to be a story that will change how you view yourself and the world, Friend of the Devil does weave just enough mystery and humor to keep you turning the pages. And just when you feel like everything has gone exactly how you thought it would go, there is quite the twist.

So if all you want is to curl up with a detective story that has just enough gore and supernatural twists to be called horror, I bet you won't be mad that you read this. You won't be scared. You won't be blown away. But I think you will be entertained. And that's a good enough reason to read a story in my opinion.

A stolen book at a boarding school on a remote island?! I love all those words in a book summary!!

This was a fun, quick read that combines action and mystery with just a touch of the supernatural.

I think it will be a great recommendation for teens, but it also has tons of crossover appeal for adults.

Sam Gregory is an insurance investigator prone to his vices and wise guy remarks. He is sent to a posh boarding school located on an island to inquire about a stolen, seemingly important, book.
Sam makes his acquaintance with the school’s faculty and students, interviewing them about the book and diving deeper and deeper into the mystery surrounding its origins. Along the way, he bumps into a young journalist who has been tracking Sam’s every move.
Stephen Llyod’s writing style is accessible. Readers will find it easy to engage; sprinting toward the halfway point in no time at all. The words come together like a little movie for the mind–not surprising since Lloyd writes for television; effortlessly bringing that casual, audience engagement to his storytelling. Marketing for the book included a read-alike for fans of Joe Hill and Jim Butcher but that is pretty misleading. This book lands squarely in the hands of a much younger readership. A better comparison would be dark academia, like The Umbrella Academy mashed with Only Murders in the Building.
Sam Gregory’s salty personality and witty banter with literally everyone he meets is clever and entertaining. But the scenes read like thirty-five minute episodes for network television. The young characters feel like child actors delivering rehearsed lines delivered just right to land the punch and Sam, the grizzled war veteran is too on the nose. Nobody seems grounded in the story, just some cliched versions of people, like props, positioned throughout the story to contribute their piece before exiting stage right.
All of this to say the result is a lack of authenticity preventing readers from full investment beyond basic curiosity. Friend of the Devil is a book written to be adapted. It doesn’t add anything unique to the genre of supernatural suspense or leave a memorable, lasting impact on readers. Maybe it will be a great TV show.