Speak of the Devil: The most addictive feminist thriller of the year

Product Information

It would, personally, have worked better if the only POV we had was the detective’s, if we didn’t know anything about any of the other characters or their movements. Then, perhaps, there would have been some tension in it all. Because they all have motives, that’s kind of the point. But a more conventional framing of seven suspects and they’re all lying would have probably been a lot more thrilling. Wilding delves deep, focusing on a character-driven story in her deliciously tense debut.” – South Florida Sun-Sentinel The story begins on New Year’s Eve,1999 with seven women in a hotel room sitting in a semicircle with a severed head in their midst. The head belongs to Jamie Spellman a man who is no stranger to any of them. Each of these women has been wronged by him in some way and they have been plotting to get their revenge but decapitating him wasn’t quite what they had planned. None of them is aware of who amongst them is responsible for the same but each of them harbors suspicions of who it might be. However, they are not interested in outing the culprit and focus on covering up the crime and protecting one another. What stands out is the police’s atrocious treatment of Kaysha when she reports her rape. This scene is the epitome of victim blaming. It happened because she was inebriated; she sent mixed signals by accepting a drink and the policeman suggests that she should consider the impact on Jamie’s life if she pursues her charge.

Seven women are in a small hotel room where they have been summoned via a mysterious phone number. 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. My other question is why did the author choose to set this between 1964-2000? Other than briefly alluding to Magdalene Laundries and the use of landlines there were no important events of this time period mentioned in the book, soooo ??? This could've been a modern day mystery tbh. I would've liked more historical significance given the time period. stars Thank you to St Martins Publishing Group Influencer Program and Minotaur Books for the free gifted book. This ARC publishes June 13, 2023. Seven women PLUS a detective can be a lot of POVs to juggle, but somehow this worked. It's written all third person POV, which I personally enjoy. It's come to my attention that people really don't fk with 3rd person? Tbh I can't stand first person most of the time because inner monologues oftentimes make me hate the characters when you're clearly not supposed to. Judgemental? Me?? Pffshawww!!!

Further info

Rose Wilding weaves an interesting mystery around these women and their involvement with the victim, Jamie Spellman, in her character-driven debut novel. She keeps the reader guessing right to the end. Who hated Jamie THAT much? Wilding is a talented new mystery writer and I'll look forward to reading more of her work. Wilding is from Newcastle upon Tyne, works as a tutor, and has an MA in creative writing from The University of Manchester, where her tutors included Jeanette Winterson, who recommended her writing to Evans at PFD. As the police investigation inches closer, they must rely upon each other as never before. Do they, however, know the others as well as they think? Or are there secrets kept hidden from even one another? One by one, the detective in charge of the case reveals all that they hide. Who will succeed in keeping the upper hand? The woman hoping to catch the killer? Or the group determined to protect each other no matter the cost? CWs: transphobia, rape, misgendering, outing, adult-minor relationship, gaslighting, domestic abuse, suicide

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)?Very localized writing - as a Canadian I was a bit confused with some of the lingo, but I enjoyed trying to figure it out! Lots of characters to keep you interested and I was determined to figure out who the killer was - but nope! I always have time for a whodunit, and I also love the cover so much - the gorgeous blue with the seven birds - love it. This is Wilding’s debut novel, and I’ll be watching for her in the future! Next up were easily the powerful topics central to the book. Between questioning religion, the impact of impossible childhoods, and LGBTQ+ bias/bigotry, the depth of the plot was truly startling. I could easily see how such a manipulative man was able to harm these seven women so profoundly. Described in a way to both elucidate this fact but also draw out my empathy, the writing perfectly walked a line between the two. Seven women stand in a hotel room, the severed head of a man they all knew (and hated) lies between them. Every one of the women had a reason to kill him- his wife, the teenager he had an affair with, the journalist he raped, the woman who raised him, his best friend and business partner who got screwed over and his ex-lover, and until the truth comes out, the women must band together to protect the unknown murderer.

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.Although there is a plethora of characters, Wilding manages to make each woman easy to differentiate, developing their own personalities so that they are distinct from their counterparts and it is not difficult to tell each one from the other. 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 theme of the story is unusual and bold, and it is seen purely from the side of the injured women. It is an unusual slant on the everlasting male/female debate which comes down clearly on the female side. There are not many male characters, but this is definitely a story concerning women to the almost total exclusion of men, as the horrors that Jamie inflicted on these people seem to make every other man a suspect – even though we all know this to be unfair.