Seven women are sitting around a table on the top, unused, floor of a somewhat decrepit hotel. On the center of the table is a Bible, on top of the Bible, a man’s severed head. His body is nowhere to be found. Nova is the Detective Inspector assigned to the case. She gets to know the women (some of whom she is already familiar with) and works at solving the murder. Each chapter tells one woman’s story both past and present. I found this to be a bit convoluted for my taste. At points I had to go back to previous chapters to relearn who the women were. The fact that the victim was a horrible person merely added to this because it went into detail about what he had done and was doing to each woman. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for an ARC for an honest review.

This book is creepy good! Seven women gather for a seance of sorts and we see a severed head on the table. Now we need to figure out who the killer is and why someone would go to such lengths to kill him! Alternating in time and place, we get the story of each woman and her connection to the man (and to each other). It's got plenty of twists and turns and I had no idea who the real killer was until the final pages!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Dang. I had no idea how much of a thrilling read this one would be! I am so glad it was because it was such a great read the whole way through! Great writing style and the ending was fantastic!!

Speak of the Devil is not a light or happy book. The seven women this story is based around have all experienced tragedy at the hands of the now deceased and decapitated Jamie. We hear each of their stories as the book progresses and all have motive to have killed him.

I liked this book despite its solemn tone. It did take me a few chapters to get into the story but once I got going I felt for the characters and needed to find out who was actually the killer. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy of Speak of the Devil.

I requested to read and review this book for from Minotaur Books an Imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Company. This book had drama, mystery and romance. This book is for a mature audience. This book had many twists and turns from different angles. Do you believe in karma? Who can you trust? What happens when no one believes you what do you do ? What is justice? In this this story line you will meet a group of women that will think of these questions and more!

As soon as I saw the invite I was like oh a new to my author and it sounds right up my alley , which it was so much so that the first page caught me attention right away and made it impossible to put down , which is what I needed at this time since I've been in a some what reading slumb and that's not good for a bookworm like me to be in . The story had everything I liked : murder , secrets , friends , and the who done type of vibe and why would someone want this person dead , as well as well oh there's no way I would trust any of this people .But like I said it did make me want to read and that's what I liked mostly about it . So I would say give it a try and see what you think .

WOW! Talk about a twisted, creepy story. They all had a reason to kill him. They are protecting each other. While not my usual read, thoroughly enjoyable. I had to know the ending. Was I surprised? YES! Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

There is no doubt that Jamie Spellman is dead. The only question that remains is who killed him. Was it one of the seven women called to this place to be confronted with a bag containing Jamie‘s head? Why were these women summoned to this room? Are any of them shocked by what they see? Not really, since most if not all of these women know firsthand that Jamie was a very bad man.

I’m just going to say that there were a lot of characters and storylines in this book. I always write basic notes as I’m reading to facilitate a review and boy did that come in handy with Speak of the Devil.

Such a compelling, opening chapter, that did lose a bit of the OMG appeal, when it was delving into the lives of all these characters and the detective who is assigned this case. Every plot line doesn’t wrap up in a neat little package. In fact, I’d still like several answers about some of them. It frustrated me at first, especially not knowing how certain storylines would end. But after I sat and thought about the plot for a bit, I realized it mimicked these women’s lives. They were messy and even Jamie‘s death wasn’t going to change what they had all gone through.

No happily ever after endings here, but I’d like to think that, for some of these women, knowing that Jamie couldn’t hurt them, or anyone else again, may have provided a small measure of peace. I did guess who the killer was but not until after the 60% mark. Definitely a whodunnit and why that kept me guessing.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone I know!

This book was not what I expected, but that’s okay because I still enjoyed it. The first chapter of this story starts off with seven women sitting around a severed head. I thought this was going to be a gory, gross book- but it didn’t turn out to be anything like that at all. Yes, a head without a body is definitely stomach turning, but what we try to find out through this story is which woman would behead that of Jamie Spellman (the deceased)?

Jamie Spellman is the man at the center of ‘Speak of the Devil’. Jamie was not a nice man, and all seven women that met up in the hotel room in the first chapter to witness his severed head on a table, all had reason to want him dead. As the book progresses, we meet each of the women and learn how each of them knew Jamie. We also learn how Jamie treated each of these women. One of the concepts that comes into play in Jamie’s behavior is nature vs. nurture. Was Jamie born evil, or did a lack of love and upbringing make him turn out the way he did? Regardless, in the end, all of his evil doings finally caught up with him.

I will say that this book started off a bit slow, but once the pace started picking up, I grew more and more invested in this story. I started to connect and really feel for each of the women. I think I ended up liking the character of Sarah the best. I feel that Sarah was wronged so much throughout her life, and she had the hardest time coping.

We do find out at the end of this story who actually killed Jamie. It wasn’t that much of a shocker. Then the book seems to kind of end a little abruptly. I guess I was wanting further updates on all of the women.

I do recommend reading this book, as it held my interest and was very interesting. I could relate to that of Jamie Spellman (because unfortunately we all know some nasty people). I could also relate to each of the women as their stories felt so real and emotional. To all my GR friends that are worried that this book might be too much for them, it is labeled as General Fiction- and rightfully so (maybe with a hint of suspense).

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and the author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication date: June 13, 2023.

The log line description for Speak of the Devil is pretty compelling, but at first I had some trouble getting into the story. There were a lot of characters to keep straight -- the eight women who all had reason to murder Jamie, plus the detective investigating the crime. But after a bit it settles into itself and you learn more about each of the women and why they might want him dead.

And boy do they have some pretty compelling reasons to want to kill him. I was pretty ready to off him myself! So you have the overall mystery of who the killer is and even the other women aren't sure which of them is guilty, plus the unfolding mystery of each woman's backstory. Eventually it all ties together to the kind of ending that I think of as inevitable yet surprising.

Most the the stories were quite heartbreaking and tie to the abuse and mistreatment of woman, along with the larger question of what does being a woman mean. I think my one issue was that Jamie was so vile and cruel and I never fully felt there was a reason to explain his behavior. Maybe that's life and that some people are inclined to harm and manipulate. vulnerable people, and I realize his own upbringing wasn't storybook, but this man seemed to be more than just a narcissist and I wanted a understand a bit. more about the 'why', although it would have been hard to feel any empathy for him. His treatment of Ana especially made me glad he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else.

This was so gritty!

Jamie is the worst kind of guy and seven women from and in his life have connected to lick their wounds and console one another. Over the course of the book we read one horrific tale after another as we learn these women's stories.

One day, Jamie wakes up dead. Lolz.

It's gruesome and well-deserved.

Which of the seven is responsible?

Seven women seriously wronged by one despicable man learn of each other and unite. Each of the women has a reason to destroy Jamie, as his actions have had devastating consequences for them. Each of them has a reason to thwart the investigation, as none want another to suffer any further. Oh, this death couldn't have happened to a more worthy person, as the investigator pieces together in her search for a perpetrator. The interactions between the women is heart-wrenching and authentic. The investigator is also personally involved with a suspect, and this adds another dimension to the mystery. Great story as you could have so many versions of an ending! This is a very complex mystery with a surprising ending!

I didn't finish this book. I couldn't get interested in the plot and didn't like or care about any of the characters. I tried to power through over the course of several days, but finally gave up. It wasn't my cup of tea.

Speak of the Devil is an apt name for this novel as the man who is murdered was definitely a devil. Jamie is a scientist and a well respected man in his community, so it is shocking when he is found decapitated with only his head being found on New Years Eve in 1999, in a hotel room. He is found by a group of seven different women who have gathered because they all despise him. They have all met before to discuss how he has impacted their lives. This time though they did not expect to find his head. The reader is left to wonder which one of these women could have killed him and why. Throughout the novel you meet each woman and learn their backstory. The reader is also introduced to Nova, a cop, who is trying to figure out what happened. As it turns out she also has a connection to the women.

As each story was told I felt a deep loathing for this man who caused so much pain and horror. I did want to keep reading to find out who did it and why, but it almost didn't matter because the man was so awful. I did enjoy reading about the different relationships and how each woman was connected. It was an interesting story. However this is not a light, easy read. There is a lot to unpack in each woman's story. I recommend this for anyone who likes to read about crime and enjoys a good mystery.

Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing for this advanced copy.

Everything about Speak of the Devil was captivating - the cover, the title, and the blurb were particularly enticing. Starting the book in the middle of the action was a great choice, but the following 50 pages were a little slow-paced. The multiple main characters made it confusing and challenging to keep track of who was who and how they connected.

I enjoyed that the setting of the book was in the UK and I could recognize some of the places mentioned, which isn't always the case with popular crime novels.

A frightening yet compelling murder mystery, telling the story of a group of women gathered around a severed head of a man and trying to solve his murder. An original story that I would absolutely recommend!

This was an "OK Read" for me.

It was not as outstanding, as I hoped.
I felt like, I had read this story a few times over - nothing original stood out to me.

With 7 women that have different "beef" with the diseased, at the beginning I had to make notes for every character to be able to keep them apart...so from the get-go, I got a over-load of info about each woman... eventually I grew on them, but it took me a while...

I don't want to spoil it by giving away the story - I assume, that this is one book some people may have strong feelings about, either positively or negatively.

But I can only speak from my point of view - and that is, that I was moderately entertained.

You have to read it to understand why I am going the medium route and am honestly unable to express, in which category - either delightful or boring - I would rate this story.

We are supposed to have a play date with my daughter’s best friend today. It always makes for a fun time. Seeing them together always makes me wonder the lengths we would go for our friends…

Publisher blurb:

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 each other, they have to find out who did.

Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman’s secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer. Marking the debut of an extraordinary new talent, Speak of the Devil explores the roles into which women are cast in the lives of terrible men…and the fallout when they refuse to play pretend for one moment longer.

Review: Hmm, this book did not satisfy me the way I had hoped it would. I think it was partially my expectation. It was marked general fiction, but the blub was more thriller, so that is what I had imagined. However, it was not. It ended up being more character driven than I had hoped and expected. There is nothing wrong with this, it just isn’t my favorite. I also felt that all the points of views became muddled because some of them were so familiar to each other. One thing is for sure though, I am happy the man who slighted all these women ended up dead – he was a truly horrifying and terrible person.

I'll leave this short since I wasn't too crazy about it. I'm never one to complain about too many characters in a story, but this was my first that I had a really hard time keeping track of everyone in the beginning. The writing in itself was excellent and each person's story well thought out. The author also did a great job of making you despise the murder victim. What made me not too crazy for this was that I just wasn't drawn in and had a hard time keeping my interest. I do see a lot of potential with this author and will keep an eye out in the future for more books. Three Stars.