Good thriller that keeps the reader engaged the whole way through the book. I liked the way the turns in the story happened. They were very well done.

I liked the different viewpoints, the short chapters, and the way the story lines weaved together to finally show the whole picture. I did find it was pretty slow because of all that as well though, especially at the beginning before we had any information and nothing to invest into it. More drama than a suspense.

I was disappointed by this book as it seemed like something I would enjoy, but I wasn't really a big fan of the plot. I had such a hard time reading through this I just didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping. I also didn't like all the different POV's it always confuses me. I probably wouldn't read this again it just wasn't for me but I would still recommend to other people who still might enjoy it

A creepy and twisted mystery that had me truly doubting them all! I loved this book and the characters.

This was not for me. The story was kinda slow and I couldn't connect with the characters at all. I was hoping for somethig different

This was a fun premise and a book I ended up enjoying more than I anticipated. I loved the idea of trying to figure out who murdered Jamie and finding out all the ways he wronged the suspects. You definitely won't finish the book feeling bad for what happened to Jamie. The only criticism is that the book has a lot of perspectives and I struggled with keeping the large cast of characters straight. The ending was solid with a compelling buildup to the climax.

There were quite a few POVs to keep track of and it was a lot - enjoyable to read but not my favorite book.

Thank you to netgalley.com for this ARC.

This was a fun, twisty story of the lives of eight women and how one man ruined all their lives in the different ways. It was fun to see how all the stories interconnected and how they all got their revenge. I was not able to figure out the murder early on, which is always good in a thriller/suspense story.

Quick read and well developed characters.

Seven women, one severed head, everyone is a suspect. But who is going down for this gruesome murder?

I'm sorry, WHAT??
Mystery, Madness and Mayhem! OH MY!!

This plot will immediately have you in an absolute chokehold. Gripping your attention right from the start. Stepping right into an addictive game of who dun it. Following a group of diverse characters that are piecing together clues while unraveling everyone's dirty little secrets along the way

Despite having such a large list of characters to follow, everyone's perspectives are so easy to become invested in. Their back stories leading up to present day with in depth descriptions of their involvements to the victim will strengthen your attachment to each character while also raising the question of who can actually be trusted all at the same time. Everyone has a motive but is anyone truly guilty? Wilding keeps you guessing until the very end

Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers @stmartinspress @minotaur_books and @rose_wldng for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honost thoughts and opinions

3.5/5 Stars

When seven women gather in a hotel room, they find the severed head of a man they all knew. They all have reasons for wanting him dead, but who actually did it?

I think this started off really well, but I got a bit bored as it continued, but it did eventually pick up again by the end. I was interested how each of the women were related to Jamie, and all the nasty things he did to them. We get the POV of all the women, but I think there were a bit too many characters to try and keep up with, which made it a bit difficult to get fully immersed in the story. It was an extremely fast read though, and I read it in one day. I did think the ending was rather abrupt, which was a bit jarring, but overall an enjoyable read.

Didn't feel like much happened until the last 50 or so pages. It was too detailed and had too many characters IMO.

This was an odd one for me. I never was able to fully get invested in the plot. There was so much that was strange. I did finish because I was curious how it would wrap up, but in hindsight, I probably should have DNF'd. I think this would be a good read for anyone who likes books about the occult and vengenance.

This book had potential but unfortunately it was just too complicated for me to follow. The many characters and POVS made it a bit overwhelming. I tried a few times to continue and while I enjoyed the concept I just didn’t have it in me to finish. It truly was a struggle.

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I loved this book. It is told in a before and after way and it was quite compelling. A group of women gather in an unused suite at a hotel and in the room is the head of a man they all hate. Jamie has done horrible things to all of them and each wants him dead. Read this!

This had a ton of potential but as I started for the second time and found my eyes closing, I realized it just didn’t have me. I was falling asleep and after reading an article pointing out that if you’re falling asleep while reading, the book isn’t for you, I decided to stop reading it. I tried twice and can’t put my finger on it but it just didn’t draw me in and life’s too short to read books that don’t draw you in.

“ Seven women are gathered in a hotel room at midnight; a man's head sits in the center of the floor. They all had a motive to kill Jamie Spellman. They all swear they didn't. But in order to protect one another, they have to find out who did.”

What I loved most here were the unreliable narrators and how their stories all seemed to converge with one another. Really creative and well done.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an advanced reader copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for this galley in exchange for my honest review. This was a page turning mystery that will grip you from the first page. I was very intrigued by the premise and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed the writing style and the structure of the story. The author keeps you on your toes throughout the story. I do regret to say, I don’t like the cover and probably wouldn’t be drawn to this in a bookstore if I hadn’t heard about the premise from one of my favorite bookish podcasts. Overall, I would recommend.

This book is dark... opening with a decapitated head and seven women standing around it. The man at the center of all of the women’s rage represents the patriarchy that governs our society and forces women to adopt beliefs about themselves and other women that are harmful and unhealthy.

It’s December 31, 1999—the eve of the new millennium. The book opens with a man’s head in a run-down hotel room and seven women surrounding it in a circle. This is the story of furious women. Of women who all have a motive to kill the man in the center of the room. The women are angry, but which one of them swung the axe that killed Jamie Spellman?

Earlier in the evening, the seven women received a text message from an anonymous number: Meet in the usual place, tonight, 7pm. Emergency.

No one knows who sent the message… was it one of them in the room? Or someone else? Each woman has a motive to kill Jamie Spellman. Jamie Spellman is a husband and father. He’s done despicable things. He has treated all of the women poorly. But did one of them take justice into their own hands?

Detective Inspector Nova Stoker is called to the shady hotel several hours later and discovers Jamie Spellman’s severed head. The body is missing. The head rests on a stack of bibles, one of which is open to Leviticus 2:16, highlighting the well-known verse speaking on an eye for an eye. Who wanted revenge on Jamie Spellman? The walls have a snake symbol and runes painted on. It could be occult symbols, or perhaps someone wants the police to chase down an empty lead.

The women themselves are diverse, both in race and sexual orientation, as well as lifestyle, work, and age. Ana is a colleague of Jamie’s and a trans woman whom he stabbed in the back. Maureen is the aunt who raised Jamie and saw the evil inside of him. Olive is a vulnerable widow whom Jamie took advantage of after her husband’s death. Sarah has turned to alcohol to numb the pain that radiates through her soul caused by Jamie. Sadia is Jamie’s wife, who was victimized by her own infertility. Josie is a child, merely 14 years old and infatuated by Jamie. Finally, Kaysha is a journalist who was sexually assaulted by Jamie fifteen years earlier, and has tracked down the other six women to form a group to share their stories.

These seven women were each taken advantage of cruelly by Jamie in different ways. They have bonded together through hatred, fury, and trauma.As the book goes on, the women become more complex. Kayshia is dating one of the other women, but she is also having an affair with Nova, the DI working the case. Nova is in a relationship with Ella, though she no longer feels in love with her. Ella has breast cancer.

The women are damaged, and their lives are complicated. The book explores each of their backstories, and often that took control of the narrative above and beyond the murder of Jamie and decapitation. The story uses multiple narrators effectively, though at times I struggled to keep straight who was who until I got into the back half of the book.

The reader will feel rage reading the book, because it highlights things that so many of us have experienced. This is not an easy book to read. The stories are messy and disorienting at times. The book is filled with rage and it’s hard not to take it on yourself. I connected very little with the characters, though it didn’t detract from how I felt reading their stories. None of the women are a perfect victim, but they highlight how our legal system requires women to be perfect if they want a hope at justice.

We all know men like Jamie. Most of us have been victimized by a man like him in one way or another (or in many ways). I can’t imagine any woman reading this and not feeling anger and deep sadness. This is a feminist thriller for all of the women out there who are tired of being silenced.

Thank you to Minotaur for my copy. Opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded up - thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I love a good mystery/thriller and Speak the Devil did not disappoint. While having so many POV's could have made this very confusing, I think Wilding was able to pull it off. I was interested to find that this was written entirely in third person, which I did end up enjoying! It is an intially slow ride, that does end up speeding up towards the climax of the book. A good starter book for readers new to the thriller genre.