This is a book that you want to read with no preconceived ideas in mind. Just dive on in and start turning the pages. This book was so much better than I expected

I received a free copy of this book for review from Netgalley.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me be honest. The only reason I requested ‘The Devil’s Prayer’ was because of ‘Devil’ in the title. And it was marked as a thriller/horror, so I was doubly intrigued.

Luke Gracias starts the story with a bang, when a nun commits suicide in front of thousands of people in Italy. There’s no explanation as to why she took this extreme step. All we have is a frenetic, pulse-pounding chase followed by sudden death (forgive the pun).

Anyway, the nun, Denise, has a daughter, Siobhan, who is summoned from Australia. When she arrives, she receives a cryptic warning and her mother’s diary. On the way back, she reads the diary. And so begins our tale.

Largely speaking, this novel is a story divided into three disparate parts. The first third is consumed by how the story is set up. Piece by little piece, we learn about how Denise became a nun, why she walked away from her young daughters — Siobhan and the rebellious Jess.

The second part is a flashback, one that in my opinion is poorly executed. The core tragedy — the driving force behind the story — feels contrived. People apparently close to Denise appear to switch personalities in an instant, as they go from amiable-if-unremarkable people to depraved predators.

Equally baffling is the way Denise is able to exact revenge. Without going into too much detail, I’ll just say the manner in which Denise makes a deal with the titular Devil beggars belief.

The best thing I can say about the Devil in this book is his natty sense of fashion. Otherwise, he seems to a constructed entirely of cliches.

The final part, of third act if you will, of the novel also disappoints. Here, Gracias has shoehorned a tenuous, out-of-left-field link between Jess and the Devil. From there on, it’s just an information dump, with a series of historical references, dates and theories on dealing with the Devil.

In a nutshell, ‘The Devil’s Prayer’ is a strict one-time read. I daresay it will not hold up under repeated readings. It starts with a bang, loses its way in the middle, and ends with a whimper.

Really not what I thought it would be

This is a spooky, frightening story that you don't see coming. A group of friends prove themselves to be anything but and Denise has only one place to turn for help and vengeance - the devil.

A well-written book that keeps you guessing, an uncomfortable read in places, but a very accomplished portrayal of a woman from a male writer. A bit of Christian myth and intrugue, and this is a great read.

It was good, scary! i like the world as well as the characters!

This book bothered me. I felt my beliefs challenged. It was a book that I did not enjoy reading.

Could not get into the book. The synopsis read well but it was too slow at the start for me.

I have to admit that while reading this one, I was scared at times! The vivid descriptions given by Luke Gracias was like nothing I have ever read before. I was surprised to learn that this is his debut novel as well!

The story begins with a nun committing suicide in front of lots of people in Spain. When Siobhan sees this where she is in Australia, she knew that the face she was seeing is the face of her mother. Siobhan's mother had left 6 years previously and she had not heard from her since then. Siobhan decides that she is going to travel to Spain where her mother lived to see if she can get any answers. Siobhan is looking for her mother's final confessional book. What Siobhan discovers in there is more than she could have ever imagined and probably more than she wanted to.

When Siobhan is reading the book she find of her mother's, she discovers that she has made a deal with the devil and has wagered Siobhan's soul. How could her mother do this? As Siobhan continues to read, she discovers even more and sees part of the Devil's Prayer in this book. This makes Siobhan someone that people are going to be looking for to get to that prayer. Will she be able to escape those hunting the book that was her mother's?

The research done in this story is amazing as well and very well done. This story is thought provoking (maybe too much) and spine chilling. I am so impressed with this debut from Luke Gracias. I am anxious to see if he can top this one with his next read for his readers!

What drew me to this book was the blurb, it sounded really intriguing to me. Once I started reading the book, I thought I will be disappointed, as it sounded really historical to me, and I had no idea what was going on, but once I carried on it absorbed me. The main character in this novel supposed to be Siobhan, but her mother Denise took all the spotlight, as most of the book was about Denise. The author told the stories through multiple perspectives, and that made the book really compelling. I really liked Denise as a character, she was really interesting and I felt really sad about what happened to her. I think that Siobhan didn’t fully open as a character in this book, and I hope that it will change in the future.
The plot of this novel was very very well researched and really gripping. I really enjoyed all the unexpected turns and twists of this story, which kept me hooked till the last page. There are some parts which sound unrealistic but I think, it gave this book a unique charm. I really enjoyed how Luke Gracias portrayed religion in this novel, it was amusing to read. Even though historical parts were crucial in this novel to understand it better, my mind tended to wander away while reading those historical parts of it. ( Have no clue why…)
The writing style of this book was creative and pleasant to read, and I have to warn you all that there is rape, drugs, and a lot of violence in this book, so it is not for weak stomach holders. The chapters are a decent length and it did not drag to me at all, because the story sucked me in, and it was hard to put it down. The book ended with a cliffhanger and I will be waiting for the next book impatiently. (It has to continue!!!) So, to conclude, it was a stunning novel filled with amusing story and it is really sad this book is available only as an E-book. I do hope that a smart publisher will consider this book because I think it is a must read for sure...

The present, recent past and history meet seamlessly as Gracias ingenuously creates an occultic horror thriller of psychotic proportions with romantic overtones. It's aptly titled the devils prayer. The blurb does not do this riveting novel justice. What happens when a naïve woman deeply and helplessly in love is her best friends prey. Having lost everything with no recourse to justice, she helplessly watches those dearest to her heart bearing the brunt of this betrayal. Would she grasp at the only opportunity to change her life for the sake of those she loves? This is the crux of the novel the devils prayer. Gracias cleverly combines ancient folklore to add a further dimension to this modern tale of vengeance with a diabolical twist. Do not be put off by any religious connotations, as they are merely a foil for a fictional masterpiece. Indeed this is partly what makes the novel so intriguing. Gracias exploits the beliefs of the Catholic Church skilfully combining ancient folklore, superstition, and customs presumably present to this day in parts of Europe. 13-century legend has it that a monk caught in a serious transgression desperately pleaded for his life with his superiors in exchange for writing the complete book of human knowledge in a single night. Realising the hopelessness of his task he supposedly made a pact with the devil to help him achieve it that he may live. This bible is currently in the Swedish museum. Details of the history, folklore and superstition are found on Gracias own website making this tale real, well almost. With each brushstroke, the master painter Gracias depicts every heartbreaking moment of the protagonists macabre adventures delving deep into their psyche luring one into their eerie web and growing tensions. One roots for Denise and Siobhan even as one weeps at their helplessness. As the plot shifts between continents Gracias bravura captures every poignant emotion. Each brilliant masterstroke has one gasping in elation, despair, or weeping, feeling their every frustration, shocked and repulsed by the savagery of the captured emotions yet rooting for them. One cannot help but be impressed at the meticulous research or Gracias poetically sagacious reflections. Hard pressed to find any flaws except that the novel subtly conveys the message that the devil has sovereign power – a laughable concept. The devils prayer will haunt one long after it is finished. This novel can be read as a standalone though one eagerly awaits the sequel. Move over Dan Brown a worthy rival is here.

The Devil’s Prayer is such a fantastically twisted plot with elements of horror, Satanism, and a Dan Brown-esque mystery involving the Catholic Church that the reader expects it to be mind-blowing. The story is mind-blowing and very well researched but it is the narrative execution that spoils the reader’s experience. A combination of first and third person narratives is possible in the hands of accomplished writers but in The Devil’s Prayer it is distracting and sometimes hard to follow.

The beginning opens with a chase scene between a nun and a bunch of thuggish monks during a religious festival in a small town in Spain. It’s fast, exciting, and a good opening. The story then moves to Australia where two sisters learn their mother, missing for six years, had been living, and died, as a nun. She left her oldest, Siobhan, her bible with a small key hidden in the spine. Broken-hearted, Siobhan flies to Spain to see her mother’s final resting place and it is there that the story divides into the two different narratives.

Siobhan finds her mother’s diary, entitled My Confession, and it tells the story of what drove her mother, Denise, into disappearing and hiding for so many years. Denise’s account is intriguing and violent and horrifying but it also makes for long interruptions in Siobhan’s narrative as she dodges the thuggish monks now tailing her. The reader learns much, sometimes too much, about Denise but very little about her daughter. Siobhan is a minor, almost extraneous, character and, sadly, the story could have been told without her presence.

The plot is engaging and if it weren’t for the plot I would have not finished the book. The way the author switches from the two narratives is distracting and his writing style clumsy; there are times I wondered if I was reading a first draft. There were confusing paragraphs containing dialogue from two different characters, sometimes his choice of words were odd, and he included many chapters displaying his intensive research that could have been whittled down into more of the story and less of a textbook tutorial. The diary was cringe-worthy in the explicit details about the night Denise was brutally raped and her subsequent revenge as she had written the diary to be read by her own daughter. The rape scene: brutal, violent, and written mostly for shock value. And her revenge against one of the attackers becomes another rape that has Denise moaning and pretending to enjoy, a clumsily written ruse before she kills him.

The reader needs to know the book ends with a semi-cliff hanger. We’re not left dangling, per se, but the story is far from its conclusion as there are too many unanswered questions and a huge mystery that has yet to be solved. And I'm not even sure what Siobhan is supposed to do with what she learned from the diary as it sounds like any needed action to reverse the devil's curse is well past its due date. As much as I would love to say I’m dying for the next book, because the author really did come up with a great plot, it’s just not there for me.

This topic is no longer of interest to me and I will not be finishing this book.

There was nothing about this book that offends or would make me give it a negative review. However, with the copycat preponderance of Dan Brown-like books flooding bookstores and Amazon, I'd say there are enough out there now. What this book does well is take a cinematic style and use formulaic structure and pacing to tell a story that would play out well on film. I just think there are too many of these stories these days. I'd give this 2.5 out of 5 if I could, but since I can't I'll lean toward 3 instead of 2 because it delivered what it said it would.

Removing books that are no longer on my kindle in an attempt to clean it out my netgalley so I know what I have. Sorry I never read this book.

At first I thought it would be to sombre of a book to enjoy, however I was presently suprised.
Great writing, great story and great characters.

A seriously thrilling horror story, not for the faint hearted but for horror officiandos, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat as the tension ratchets up and the horror seeps in.

The Devil's Prayer is unlike any book I have read, I did not want to like this book, but from the very beginning I was intrigued. At the beginning of the book a nun hangs herself what follows is an explanation and description of the events that leads up to that horrific decision. Overall, I could not put this book down.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book for my honest opinion.

An epic book - one of those rare books that captivates with an original, yet stunning plot. Would work very well as a movie.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read The Devil's Prayer. I have read a few chapters but unfortunately I came to the conclusion that the book isn't for me, although I believe that many people would really like to read it (the reviews on Goodreads clearly confirm that the novel is really amazing for the right audience). For that reason, I will not post a review on my blog, as I think the readers who would love this wouldn't be too encouraged by it.

I very much enjoyed the plot, as a religious-themed historical thriller really gripped my attention from the start and a gory mystery is always a good read, but I could not get myself to finish the book. The writing style isn't quite for me. I again thank you for the opportunity and wish Mr. Garcia much success.