3.5 Speak of the Devil is Rose Wilding's debut novel.

New Years Ave 1999. Seven women are gathered in a hotel room - along with the remains of a man. A man that all seven women have a connection to. Who killed him? Each women says they didn't. Does it matter? Will they be found out? Why are they all together? Why has he been killed?

It's this last question that brings us to know the seven and their connection to Jamie. Jamie - well, he's not a very nice man. Wasn't.

I found it a bit difficult in the beginning chapters to get a handle on and remember who was who. The eighth person is the female detective on the case. As the book progresses we slowly see learn about each of their relationships to Jamie - and each other. The women are all of different ages, so the book goes back and forth from 1964 to 2000, depending on who is 'speaking'. I think it's a big undertaking to have so many viewpoints. I found it to be very busy and in the end, I hadn't bonded with any of them.

I think Wilding did a good job with constructing her antagonist. He was perfectly awful. I wasn't totally sold on the women and their situations though. Although they have been wounded, I was angry with more than one of them. I won't say why as I don't want to provide spoilers. But, no man is worth some of the choices made.

The answer to the questions above are answered by the last pages, but the ending was anticlimactic for me.

It's a good debut, but it isn't a standout for me.

Gentle readers, there are many triggers and this may not be the book for you.

Chilling, but so good. Five women connected by one man and a terrible murder. What he did to each of them is unthinkable and motive to murder him. But who did it, or were they all involved somehow?! Fast paced, told in different viewpoints and different times. This book draws you in and hooks you until the very end. Trigger warnings of rape and physical abuse.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley and Rose Wilding for hearing my honest I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley Jenny Blackhurst and Minotaur Books for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
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Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding

This group of diverse women of various ages and backgrounds had been mysteriously invited to a room in a rundown hotel. They were of different ages and different situations in life. There were seven of them in the group. A man's severed head was revealed in the room's centre, and each of the women had been wronged, manipulated, cheated, or deceived by the dead man in the past. All had some connection with the murder victim, and some of the women had a connection with each other. It was apparent that none were sorry he was dead. The majority opinion was to cover up the crime to protect the unknown perpetrator rather than calling the police. The female detective had reasons to avoid a thorough investigation.

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.

This was an intriguing story and a good premise, but somethings fell apart for me. I haven't put my finger on it yet. Narrated by Colleen Prendergast who brings life to this complex story with the many POV's and does good giving voice to everyone. I still recommend this book it is worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for a free copy of Speak of the Devil for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This book reminded me of a twisted thriller version of John Tucker Must Die or The Other Woman, but instead of simply being a cheater, the man the women all had in common was a psychopath, and one of them killed him. I loved the way this story was told. After revealing Jamie's decapitated head in the middle of the meeting of the women he harmed, the story is told from each character's perspective as they cover up for the murder, reveal their very genuine reasons for wanting him dead, and try to figure out which one of them killed him. It was dark and depressing but so intriguing. The reveal (which I loved) was a little too close to the end of the story, so it ended fairly abruptly, but it was a great and addictive read!

Thank you to Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Dark slow burn that kept me guessing. 7 pov was insane but all in all a very enticing murder suspense. The guy had it coming.

Dark, intricate, and engrossing!

Speak of the Devil is a layered, unsettling tale that sweeps you away to Newcastle, England and into the life of DI Nova Stokoe, a young police inspector who suddenly finds herself embroiled in a complex murder investigation involving the decapitated head of an esteemed scientist and a suspect list that includes seven local women all who at some time were a victim of his manipulation, deviance, gaslighting, betrayal, violence, or cruelty, and thus all with a motive for his murder.

The writing is brisk and tight. The characters are secretive, cunning, and vulnerable. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives, builds quickly creating intensity and suspense as it unravels all the personalities, motivations, relationships, deception, and devious behaviours within it.

Overall, Speak of the Devil is, ultimately, a story of lies, revelations, secrets, deception, betrayal, manipulation, mayhem, depravity, hatred, vengeance, violence, and murder. It’s a clever, sinister, solid debut by Wilding that certainly kept me thoroughly engrossed from start to finish.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot! A great change of pace for me, with some murder and suspense.

Jamie Spellman has lived his entire life being the wolf in sheep’s clothing. When a group of scorned and traumatized women from his life band together to stop him, someone beats them to the punch: he's dead and no one in the group is fessing up. Will they act in self preservation and turn against each other? Or will the bond of shared experiences have them protecting each other?

This novel showcases how we each play a role in the lives of the people around us and how those roles can be important. Maureen, Jamie’s aunt, had lots of internal growth while evaluating her actions towards him when he was growing up. Ana, who so forcefully was on Jamie’s side and his best friend for much of their adult life, realized that people show you what they want you to see.

I LOVE that the chapters are written from a variety of narrators. You get such a complete view of the universe they’re living in. For this style of book, the “whodunnit”, you’re able to build your own theories based on the internal monologue of all the suspects. In no shocking turn if events I was wrong with ALL my guesses! The ending wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been, but made sense for the storyline and tied up loose ends.

This was a super interesting book and I had no clue who the guilty part was the entire time. Although there is a large cast of characters, each is fully formed and unique. It’s a dark and disturbing read but also discusses real world topics. If you read this one I would suggest skipping the audiobook just because it’s easier to keep track of the characters that way. I will say I did find the narrator great!

Really enjoyed this more than I thought I would! First of all, SEVEN main characters and POV's! WHEW! At first there was just so much going on with all the current stories and backstories to keep straight that I almost abandoned it. But I kept going and quickly realized I was totally into the story. Jamie is a horrible character! That would explain why his severed head is in the middle of a room surrounded by the seven women who all had reason to want him dead. WHO, though? That's what we find out in a pretty masterfully woven together ending. All the different POV's that originally seemed liked so much ended up working out well and it all made sense! Each character had a distinct voice and I ended up loving Jamie. Well, it was actually hate, but that's the mark of good writing to me! I was able to feel each woman's pain and fury so well. He was a great villain! The only thing I felt was lacking, was I would have liked an epilogue. Necessary? No. I just like them. I looked up the author to read more from her and this is apparently a debut! Well done! Look forward to more!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Rose Wilding and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.
I will publish my review to Amazon, Instagram, Twitter and other retail and social media sites upon publication.

I really enjoyed Speak of the Devil. I think it was a really unique way to tell a story. It starts out with a man’s severed head and 7 women who would want him dead. It was interesting to read each chapter and to discover why each women hated Jamie so much. He was an AWFUL human being and each story just reveals that even more and more. I honestly had no idea who did it and this book kept me guessing! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Press, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this intriguing novel by Rose Wilding and wonderfully narrated by Colleen Prendergast - 4 stars!

Seven women sit in a hotel room around the severed head of Jamie Spellman. All of the women had reason to want him dead, but who did it and why? The police are investigating and lives are at stake.

This book starts off with a gruesome premise of a severed head, and in the beginning there are so many characters and timeframes to keep track of. But it's worth it to stick it out - it's a good mystery with seven obvious suspects and one nasty dead man. As the book progresses, we learn why each woman has a particular reason to hate Jamie. It's also a statement of how society treats and values women and how some men can exploit that. This one may not be for everyone but it was a good read and I didn't guess the ending!

3.5/5!

Speak of the Devil is a fascinating premise revolving around one recently murdered man and seven women who are connected to him in different ways. Each of the women has a story to tell and Wilding smartly weaves their history throughout the story of the present day investigation. I loved getting to know each of the seven women, as well as the detective in charge of working the case. With all of the different POVs I did find it challenging to keep straight who was who at the beginning of the book. Over time however, it becomes easy to tell each of them apart (and thankfully each chapter is labeled just in case!).

All of these POVs revolve around our dead man, Jamie, who turns out to be pretty darn horrible. I enjoyed how Wilding examined society’s take on Jamie’s actions against these women and who was ultimately believed/not believed or painted in a good/bad light. The content of Speak of the Devil gets pretty dark at times and touches on many sensitive topics, so I encourage everyone to check the content warnings available on Storygraph.

The pacing is slow burn with a solid amount of tension throughout on what will happen, the identity of the killer, and how the mystery will unravel. If I was to categorize this book, I would put it more in the mystery/contemporary fiction genres versus the thriller genre that it’s currently being marketed under.

Overall, Speak of the Devil is a very solid debut novel that leaves me intrigued by what Wilding will put out in the future!

A huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my gifted copy.

I'll be honest. I nearly DNF'd at 20%. I wasn't invested and actually was a bit bored. I went to the end to see how it ended and that made me want to continue and I have absolutely no regrets. It was interesting to see how all these women came together in order to make the main subject pay for his sins and interesting to see in some ways how he got to be where he was. The perpetrator was a surprise to me and in the end, I enjoyed watching (reading) it all unfold.

I really enjoyed the way the crime is told in this one. We start off the story with 7 women standing around a severed and trying to figure out what to do. It was kind of a slow burn to start as we find out more about these ladies, their lives and how Jamie destroyed them all. I couldn't figure out who had the most motive, even though there were lots of reasons why they would. I was more and more intrigued at what happened in each of their lives and how they all intertwined. You get lost in learning what Jamie had done but also so of his past that you wonder about nature vs nature. I wasn't surprised by the ending but it was satisfying.
3.5 out 4 stars

Thank you to Minotaur Books #SMPINFLUENCERS and Netgalley for my #gifted copy

This book had an interesting premise - a group of women come together to talk about consequences for the man who has damaged each of them. Each woman has a chapter dedicated to her interaction with Jamie, but they were so spread out I lost track of who was who, and how they might have been involved in his murder. It was a struggle to get through, and the ending was a bit abrupt.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read a book by a debut author.

This book was like John Tucker Must Die but John Tucker actually gets murdered. It’s less of a thriller and more of a police procedural / whodunit. It focuses heavily on the connections of each women behind the murder of one man they all hated. Really fun quick read!

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 published by @minotaur_books

Told from 8 (I think) POVs, this book was confusing at first to keep track of all the characters and who was who. However, I did think this format worked, and I enjoyed the shifts in perspectives. With so many POVs, it wasn’t shocking that some of the characters didn’t feel as well rounded as some of the others. I thought the book was unnecessarily wordy at times, and it messed with the pace that I was enjoying. I personally thought the ending was good, but it did feel a little abrupt. All in all, I see this being a polarizing read with many different reviews depending on the reader (which I don’t think is a bad thing!)

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.