Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this arc.

I really enjoyed the first 10% of this book and then it all stalemated for me after that. The premise of the book is good but it just wasn’t executed Well enough and I kept finding myself lose interest in if sadly.

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.

The story opens up with the discovery of a murder. Namely, the murder of a terrible man who the seven (I think?) women who find his decapitated head had intended to expose. Because he’s found in a room that only they know about, and they’ve all been contacted (and apparently no one else could put together that they know each other? That he’s the common denominator?), it must be one of them who did it. So, obviously, they have to cover everything up while also investigating the truth.

You would think this would be an interesting book, but it was not! Instead of active investigation, even on the part of the police detective who is on the case, it’s just a bunch of flashbacks to show how awful this man was. And with seven women’s-worth of POVs to get through, that’s a whole lot of tediousness. I got it, after the first one. He’s awful, terrible, he gets women pregnant and ditches them, cheats on his wife who he also abuses. He takes credit for someone else’s work then outs her as trans in a hostile workplace. But, oh, is it nature or nurture, because his aunt who brought him up was hardly nice to him?

It would, personally, have worked better if the only POV we had was the detective’s, if we didn’t know anything about any of the other characters or their movements. Then, perhaps, there would have been some tension in it all. Because they all have motives, that’s kind of the point. But a more conventional framing of seven suspects and they’re all lying would have probably been a lot more thrilling.

As it is, you just get a progression of being told things up until the point where you’re eventually told who did it. And, to be frank, it’s not much of a shock, since it’s basically the least likely character, if you think about it. Also, by the time the reveal came, I’d just been too bored by the rest of it to muster any sort of surprise.

However, as ever, this could be a me-as-a-reader problem. The book has potential, that’s clear enough. And, really, it was the framing of it that let me down most. So, it’s always likely other readers will get along with it much more than I did.

One awful man, seven women who had every reason to want him dead. But who actually did it, and will they get away with it.

Who doesn’t love a murder mystery? I was excited to start this book and try and work out who got their revenge. It took me a long time to get in to the book though as there are so many characters which made it a little frustrating and easy to detach from the plot. I was tempted to DNF but glad I carried on to find out who got their revenge.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t manage to finish this book. I think that those who like a gritty detective story will like it though! It has good queer representation which is great, as it was one of the reasons why I requested it. However it’s just not my cup of tea.

I received a copy of this on Netgalley from the publisher John Murray press, in return for an honest review.

This started out fab, I love books set in my home town of Newcastle, I love reading of the places the characters visit, and the well known pubs and clubs of the toon. The story started out good, I was really intrigued as to what was going on, who done what to whom etc, but after about half way it kind of lagged a little bit. The ending was still good, I liked how it turned out, and was glad ‘the man’ got what was coming his way. Some fab characters inthe story, I liked Nova. There was one part where someone is reading and uses a hair from her head to mark her page! Yep, a hair bookmark haha. All in all I gave this 3.5 stars

Thanks again to John Murray Press, Netgalley, and of course the author Rose Wilding for my gifted e-arc.

I couldn't get into this book at all. It sounds good, beginning with a shocking scene where several women are in a room with a man's severed head. But in reality it just felt ridiculous.

Too many characters are introduced too fast, leaving the reader with no interest in any of them. I tried to get into the story, but found the writing to be a little wooden and it felt as though the author was rushing through characters' back stories but I couldn't figure out why exactly I should care.

I had no interest in knowing why there was a man's head in a room because the characters were introduced so fast that I didn't really feel any interest in them. Unfortunately I wasn't interested enough to keep reading and so had to abandon it.

This book was really interesting. It starts with seven women gathered round a head, I was concerned it was going to be very gruesome however luckily didn’t turn out quite so. I thought the intertwining of the stories was so interesting. It did take me a bit of time to remember who was who and work out the connections but all in all, would recommend. A new and exciting way to write a mystery thriller type book.

I chose this book because I loved the plot idea of women all with different motives for killing one man. It sounded intriguing.

I did work out early who killed Jamie which lessened the suspense for me.

While I think the characters and their motives were good ideas, it felt like there were too many of them and therefore their characters weren't fully fleshed out.

The book is written well regarding Nova, the detective.

Seven women stand in shock in a seedy hotel room; a man's severed head sits in the centre of the floor.
This book has such an intriguing premise but unfortunately it just was not for me. I didn’t like the writing style or the characters and I found it difficult to stay immersed in the plot. However I think that if you are a fan of dark and gritty police procedural with multiple POVs this could be a great book for you. (Consider checking trigger warnings)
Thank you to NetGalley and (the publisher) for the opportunity to read this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book so much I finished it over just two nights. It's a great read! I really like how the women's backstories are explored. I enjoyed the setting too, and the use of dialect to bring depth and authenticity to some of the dialogue.

speak of the devil is an interesting take on the classic ‘whodunnit?’ told through the perspective of seven women connected to the victim.

i think this book is a great example of demonstrating female rage - i felt connected to each of the women and their stories. how they each individually suffered, in different ways, but all single handedly facilitated by one man.

telling the narrative of each woman did elevate the plot that underlined this novel, but it was also overwhelming at times. i often caught myself forgetting who was who when i returned to the book, even if just a day later. there was a lot of information to retain and names to remember. despite this, wilding did a great job with each character as I felt they were fully formed.

i also felt that whilst the ending was the emotional and detailed end i was looking for, it fell somewhat flat after reading the other backstories.

a solid three stars from me, and i will read another of rose wilding’s bookish future.

Speak of the Devil
by Rose Wilding

Pub Date 22 Jun 2023 | Archive Date 08 Jun 2023
John Murray Press, Baskerville
LGBTQIAP+ | Mystery & Thrillers

We join seven women in this mystery and thriller we join them after they are in a hotel room, and a man's head is there. They each know this man in different ways, and he's a mean and narrative character who meets his end in a deadly manner. As we follow these women, we understand why Jamie's head has been left but who has committed the crime.

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A gripping and suspenseful novel that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end. The story follows the life of Ava Saunders, a young woman who is haunted by the memory of her sister's disappearance years earlier.

One of the strengths of this novel is the way it builds tension and suspense through skillful pacing and well-crafted plot twists. The author keeps the reader guessing throughout the story, with unexpected revelations and shocking surprises that keep the stakes high and the suspense mounting.

The writing style is engaging and descriptive, with vivid imagery and well-crafted dialogue that bring the characters and setting to life. The characters are well-drawn and multi-dimensional, with their own unique motivations and secrets, and the relationships between them feel authentic and believable.

A severed head, seven women and a hotel room. Every single woman has just cause to have committed the act of murder - but did any of them do it? Brilliantly written, compelling and thought provoking, I was drawn by the cover and blurb, not one I would normally read but I’m glad I did, im recommending this to my book club as I’d love to chat about this to others, thanks to net galley for the advanced copy.

Seven women meet up, only to find there is a severed human head in the room with them. One of them must be the killer but who? They all have a motive.

This had an interesting premise but sadly, the writing didn't click with me. There were more than seven characters to keep track of and halfway through the book I still didn't have who was who straight. If you enjoy more serious thrillers or books about generational trauma this might be more to your taste than it was to mine.

I received this book for free from netgalley in exchange for a review.

I loved this novel. Complex, three-dimensional characters, each with a motive for a heinous crime. I also loved the fact that this novel is set in my native north-east.

An incredible novel looking deeply in to the relationships had with one truly repulsive man.

This was such a clever book and I thoroughly enjoyed the characterisation of all of the women.

This was at times difficult to read - there was a great build up of establishing toxic relationships and showing this to the reader. It would make a great tv series and will be an easy read for many.

Speak of the Devil was exactly what I wanted but not what I expected. To be honest, I didn't quite know what to expect. But this was fun and intriguing and an excellent read overall.

A wonderfully gripping thriller told from the point of view of seven different women who knew the victim. I could not put it down.