𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮...

Seven women all with a motive are brought to a hotel room where the head of a man that hurt them all is sitting on top of some bibles. They don’t know who killed him, but they know it was one of them.

This was a really interesting debut. I loved the synopsis when I requested it, and I found this take on revenge riveting. Wilding came up with a unique way to tell an eye for an eye story while making us feel for these women. I liked the multiple timelines in this story and how we saw what Jamie did to each of these women in the past and how they were handling his murder in the future. I felt myself drawn to some of the stories more than others, but overall felt the book was done really well.

One issue I had with this book was that there were a lot of characters to keep track of. We get each of the seven women’s stories along with the detective’s making it a lot to keep track of. I listened along to the ALC while I read the eARC which was helpful to keep track of whose story I was listening to at that time. This book would have been perfect for a full cast narration, and it really would have benefited from it.

I was very impressed that this book was a review, and I look forward to seeing what Wilding comes up with next. Thank you Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

The beginning of this book gripped me immediately--a severed head on display in a hotel room that belonged to Jamie, a narcissistic, awful man. Seven women all had motive to want him dead, and that's where the story wavered for me a bit.

I love alternating points of view, but that's a lot of characters--most with some pretty complicated back stories--to keep up with. Some were easy to connect with, and I struggled with others.

I found the ending a little too abrupt for my liking, but overall, I enjoyed the spurned woman/revenge trope, and I was engaged enough in the story to find out who the culprit was.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this early read. SPEAK OF THE DEVIL is out now.

1999-New Year’s Eve. A group of 7 women meet in their “usual place” and find the head of the man they are all connected by. One of them did it. Which one? They all had a reason. He was a jerk. He was pretty horrible. I wanted to find out but the further I got into the book the more trouble I had keeping track of the 7 women and exactly which was which. How was this one related to Jamie again? It was tiresome to keep notes. Each woman had chapters dedicated to her that should have made them easy to differentiate, but no.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Speak of the Devil is a creative work of Crime Fiction told in a bit of an unconventional way. I'll admit, the first couple sentences of the synopsis are what sold me on picking this one up. I needed nothing further. Yes, please. You had me at 'severed head'...

In fact, this story does begin with a severed head in a dingy hotel room. Seven women, all very different, but all somehow connected to the man to whom the head once belonged, are gathered around it. They all had their own reasons for wanting him dead, yet none of them own up to the crime.

Can they figure out who is guilty before the authorities decide for them?

First off, I found this extremely interesting, the content and topics explored. However, I also found the construction of the story to be a bit jarring. There are a lot of characters and you get all of their perspectives. The narrative jumps around a lot, not only via perspective, but also in time.

With this being said, I found the individual perspectives compelling. As you read how each of the women are connected to the murdered man, Jamie, and you come to understand the different experiences that they each had with him, the true portrait of who Jamie was becomes clear.

The way he treated these women. His narcissism, abusive, violent and derogatory behaviors landed him in the spot he ultimately found himself in, headless. But we can't just go around decapitating men who use, abuse, gaslight and disregard us, can we?

While I did have some moments where I had to really search my brain to remember some previous connection, or fact, overall, I did enjoy this one. 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.

As a revenge story, I feel quite satisfied with this one and am definitely interested in picking up future work from this author. This got dark and I appreciate Wilding's commitment to taking it there.

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.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This has left me with quite a bit to think about!

An overall good Murder mystery.

Lots of possible killers and the story will keep you guessing until the very end.

Told from multiple POV’s, discovering along the way all the bad things that the victim did.

I’m not adverse to this type of story set up however there was a lot of down time in this storyline where you were being told about past activities and after the first one or two times, it became very repetitive. Yep, we get it, this guy was a total loser. Having to wait til the very end to know who did it almost didn’t even matter by then. The reader has already signed off on the murder well before. It almost didn’t matter who did it.

But the end was actually really good and it made me forgive some of the really boring parts I had to go through to get there.

An ok revenge read.

Seven women all have a connection to Jamie. And one of them is his killer in Speak of the Devil.

This book starts with a bang, when the seven women are lured to a hotel room where Jamie’s decapitated head awaits them. Now, they must race the police to discover which one of them did the deed because they all have motives that they don’t want discovered.

With eight points of view, Speak of the Devil is rather difficult to follow through the first 2/3 of the book. I feel like I should have had a police procedural’s murder board in my house to keep them all straight (as I suspect the author did while creating the book). However, the intriguing premise kept me reading until the end when I was not disappointed. 4 stars!

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding is a bit of an unexpected wild ride.
Starting off with a severed head in the first chapter, I was not sure if it was going to be too gory, but the book went in a different direction, and I am glad I stuck with it.

There are seven women that are the central characters. The book moved a little slow, I mean how can you follow the severed head opening?

It was a well written book and my heart hurt for the 7 women each in a different way.

The end surprised me in a good way.

Oh boy, this one was a struggle. It’s basically several women gathering around a man venting about how horrible he is. After a while, it got a little old and i couldn’t anymore. I DNF around the 60% mark

Speak of The Devil on the surface is a suspense thriller about seven women and their connection to a single man. At the opening scene we know he’s been violently murdered, they’ve all gathered. It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Who did it, who called them together, and what do they do now?
Told from multiple points of view, and going back in time, the early parts can get caught in the weeds. There’s a lot of threads connecting these women, and the subject matter is difficult touching on gaslighting, emotional abuse, sexual assault, systemic problems in law enforcement, and child neglect. Stick with it. Once the connections started to make more sense this moved really fast for me. I’ve got four pages of notes. First to keep the characters straight, second because I had BIG thoughts!
This is a story of generational trauma, of nature vs nurture. It’s about ignoring women because believing them ‘could ruin his life’. It’s about “an impossible decision between what is legal and what is right”. I really appreciated the hard earned connections between these women who didn’t always believe or trust one another. I would have loved to see a late chapter from Alice.
I think this makes a fantastic Bookclub or buddy read, it’s endlessly discussable! If you’ve read this let me know. There’s a very small plot hole (or maybe I’m missing something?!) I’m dying to talk to someone about!
Thank you to Minotaur Books @Minotaur_Books , Rose Wilding @Rose_Wldng , and Netgalley @netgalley for the early copy.

Speak of the Devil is a thriller that hooks you from the very first page. On New Year’s Eve, seven women find themselves in a room with a dead man—or part of him, at least. All of them have a motive for his murder, but each of them denies committing the crime.

This story follows these seven women, as well as the detective in charge of discovering the killer. The reader sees these women in the aftermath of the murder, as well as in flashbacks of their experiences with the victim. We discover motives right along with Nova, the detective, and the case becomes increasingly complex. It becomes clear that Jamie (our murder victim) was abusive throughout his life, so the stories of these women cover decades.

This is a story about a horrible, manipulative man, and the women he betrayed and destroyed. It’s also a story about how society disregards abuse victims and abusers often get more chances than they should.

This book kept me interested until the end, though the solution to the mystery felt rushed at the very end of the book. I liked the characters and thought they were well-written and complex. I also enjoyed how motives were unveiled one by one and flashbacks are interwoven with the days following the murder.

Sensitive readers should know this book contains sexual content, graphic violence, rape, mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, forced outing, homophobia, and suicide.

The blurb was interesting but the story didn't live up to it for me. There are so many characters and suspects that half the time I had trouble remembering who was who. The writing felt disjointed. The wrap up seemed to come out of nowhere.

I had high hopes for this one. The synopsis was very intriguing. A group of women who had a past with the dead body. Who is the killer??

For me, this was difficult to read. Too many characters to keep straight. I found myself confused often as to who was who. However, the premise was great. Maybe with a few less characters it would have been easier for me.

Told in multiple points of view, the book reveals each woman's relationship with the dead man in past and present timelines.

I wasn't all that surprised by the ending, but it really could have been any one of them who was the killer.

I would read another book by this author.

Thanks to netgalley and Minotaur Books for the arc.

This is definitely a twisty, dark mystery from a great new author. The story moves quickly and easily kept me engaged but you do need to pay attention to all of the characters and clues being presented. As the story unfolds we learn that backstories of each suspect and how she is connected to the murdered man (the truly awful Jamie). The women have been through terrible situations and there is no sympathy to be had for the victim. I really enjoyed this story and couldn't wait to find out how it wrapped up. I am excited to see what Rose Wilding writes next! Thanks to Rose Wilding, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This one was a no-go for me, just not my cup of tea. I’m sure others would enjoy it, especially if you enjoy a darker plot much like Bad Sisters on AppleTV+.

Speak Of The Devil is a dark, utterly spellbinding debut novel. I was captivated from the beginning of the story all the way up until the very end. A huge thank you to Minotaur Books, the author and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the book.

The premise of this gripping book is that seven different women each with their own harrowing story are all indistinguishably connected by the suffering they have endured at the hands of one man, Jamie Spellman. As they stand gathered inside a hotel room at midnight looking at his severed head the question becomes not why, but which one of them committed the crime?

Each of these complex women had motive. When the murder investigation ensues they are all suspects. And as each of their stories unfold the secrets they’ve long held start to unravel, too. Speak Of The Devil is a powerful, completely immersive story that unflinchingly examines the roles of women who have to deal with loathsome men and what happens when they finally become fed up! A blistering, suspenseful mystery that is not to be missed.

Seven women have been called to a hotel room where they find the head of Jamie Spellman, a man who has ruined each of their lives. One of them is a murderer. Each one had a reason to kill him, but no one will admit their guilt. Kaysha, a reporter, had been sexually assaulted by Jamie. She has been following him ever since and initially brought the women together in a support group. Ana worked with Jamie and considered him a friend until he stole her research and passed it off as his own, earning a promotion and prestige. Sadia was the wife that he cheated on and threatened. Sarah was the mother of his daughter and Josie, a teenager, was currently pregnant with his child. Maureen was the aunt who raised him, but saw the type of person he really was. Olive never stopped loving him, even though he was responsible for her daughter’s death. All have motives to murder him, but who picked up an axe and decapitated him?

Kaysha has been in an on again off again relationship with DI Nova Stokoe. By manipulating the evidence at the scene she ties the murder to an investigation that Nova is currently conducting. She rekindles their relationship hoping to monitor Nova’s progress to keep the women safe while she investigates. Rose Wilding takes you through each of the women’s encounters with Jamie, showing how manipulative he was and how he damaged each of their lives. He was handsome and charismatic, but could turn vicious when anyone questioned him or attempted to stand up against him. As Nova discovers their stories she develops a sympathy for these women, but she is an officer of the law and murder is not a justified punishment. Wilding’s narrative is emotional and sometimes infuriating, but she keeps you guessing who committed the murder until the very end. This one is hard to put down. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s - Minotaur for providing this book for my review.

I love it when I get to discover new authors. This book drew me in from the first chapter. There are a lot of suspects so you need to pay attention to not get lost on who is who. The pacing was well done and kept me engaged. I enjoyed learning each characters back story and how slimy the corpse was

The idea behind the book is good – multiple women find themselves in a room with the severed head of a man they all had a negative past with. Any one of them could be the killer. It then proceeds to tell you the back story of all these women and their connection to the deceased. The issue I had was that I feel like there were just too many to keep them all straight the way it was presented to the reader. Granted, if you have time to read it for longer stretches of time than I did, maybe it would be less confusing as to who’s who.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for gifting me with an advanced copy to read and provide an honest review.

Akin to Agatha Christie, you have multiple suspects and one murder. Who is the killer? Between 7 women, there is a dead man in a hotel room where they have been mysteriously summoned. He's lost his head. Each woman has a reason they could be the culprit, but they all want to protect the other, so they must find out who did it.

Warning, there are a lot of triggering events related in the background stories of each women, Dark and sinister is the only way to describe their stories. This is a book that is definitely not for the faint of heart. There are times when the stories get crossed, confusing, and hard to keep up with. However, we find out how they are all connected leading to the ultimate climax, that may have been a little predictable.

It took me a little longer to get through this one, just because the themes were hard to stomach. This is not the typical book I read, but I did finish and will be thinking about it for a while.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

This book is creepy good! What makes it even better…This is Rose Wildings Debut Novel!! New Year’s Eve, 1999 and seven women are stand in a hotel room in Newcastle. They stare in horror at the center of the room where a man’s severed head sits on the table. Each woman knew this man and each had a reason to do this, although no one is admitting to the murder. As the murder investigation begins, alternating in time and place, we get the story of each woman and her connection to the man (and to each other).
But who killed him? And why?

Detective Inspector Nova Stokoe is heading up the murder investigation but she has connections of her own with some of these women, all of which are gradually revealed. The victim, Jamie Spellman, as we find out, is a repulsive human. It was almost impossible for me to feel any sort of compassion for this character, due to his vile actions. I didn’t care that he was dead, but I was intrigued as to who had actually murdered him in such a horrific way and why.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of, which got a little confusing in the beginning at times. Thankfully the descriptions and style of each character helped differentiate them. And with so many characters this is very much a character driven book, they were all riveting and relevant.

This book has plenty of twists and turns and I had no idea who the real killer was until the final pages! Speak of The Devil has a publish date of June 13th. I can’t wait to see what else Rose Wilding will come up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Author Rose Wilding , and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of this book.