Not my cup of tea. Was too violent and gory for me. Though I enjoyed the characters of Maya and Leonard the violence was too much for me to handle.

This gritty, Southern Noir was a really solid and unexpected read. The best part of it for me was the relationship between Maya and Leonard. The evolution and growth of their friendship was beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. The crime story of this one could have been better but overall I really enjoyed this one. It felt different than anything else I've read this year.

This is the story of Maya, a victim of human trafficking who somehow manages to escape and finds a savior in the local eccentric, Leonard.

A very fast paced and entertaining thriller that I was able to finish in one sitting. There wasn’t anything over the top with this story, it was simple and straightforward with really only one storyline, so there weren’t any distractions.

I’d definitely recommend this to my friends who love thrillers. I wouldn’t mind seeing this play out on the big screen, but then again…it kinda gives Gran Torino vibes so I don’t know if the big screen would actually happen. Lol

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Christ on a cracker was this an amazing book! I couldn't put it down and read it all in one go. Phenomenal writing. Fast-paced. An engaging, dark, and gritty plot. Two incredibly likable main characters and a plethora of secondary characters that round out the story. Run, don't walk, and get your hands on this one asap. This is southern noir at its best!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Quite enjoyed this one. The relationship between Maya and Leonard was well considered and deftly defined. The sheriff's deputy was well conceived as well.

THE DEVIL HIMSELF :: Peter Farris

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since Peter Farris's fabulous Last Call for the Living. I've been missing Pete's words, but since only the French seem to have common sense when it comes to publishing crime fiction, the U.S. market has had to wait for this barnburner. But holy moly is The Devil Himself worth the wait. How's this for an opener that grabs you by the guts with hot needle-nose pliers:

"The girl in the trunk had been bound."

Short, sweet, and irresistable. To say too much about the plot is a disservice. Though this is straight-forward, hell-bent-on-revenge grit, the beauty is in discovering everything unfold in real time. To figure out who you're rooting for, what layers the characters have that are slowly peeled back.

I will say that teenaged Maya, she of the trunk, does not go down without a fight. She's found herself in a difficult position that marks her for death, but don't underestimate her based on circumstance. She ends up on the property of Leonard Moye, the town's eccentric kook who doesn't tolerate anyone on his land. To say that Farris takes these two heavily-labeled individuals and turns them into individuals you will never forget is downselling what he's done here. It's simply magnificent.

Set in the deep woods of South Georgia, The Devil Himself is a masterful work of character, set within a dark world filled with many bad actors. As well-paced as it is heart-piercing, it's one I won't soon forget. It's no surprise Farris won several French literary awards with this work, I hope he is similarly recognized here at home.

I thought this book was going to be better than it was but it was still ok. I think it had the potential to be better.

Corrupt government officials, an eccentric moonshiner, a young woman on the run from human traffickers, family secrets, violent deaths, a spark of humanity in the midst of darkness. The Devil Himself has all the ingredients and mixes them together well for a page-turning crime thriller that is also a literary Southern Gothic novel. Highly recommended. Looking forward to reading more from Peter Farris.

This is a wonderfully interesting book. Maya is involved in human trafficking. At just 18 her life has been very hard. She escapes and winds up at the house of Leonard. He is a an old woodsman and marches to a different drummer. The towns people are very aware of Leonard and his style of life. He is the talk of the town. He and Maya develop a very special relationship which reveals another side of each of them.

"Where is the next book? It should be a movie". First thought I had after finishing this fast- paced, thrilling, suspenceful crime fiction. It didn't even feel like I was reading a book and more like I'm watching a full on action packed thriller movie. I'm usually a fan of psychological and domestic thriller, but from now on I'm happy to call myself a crime thriller junkie.

This book started with a bang and ended with a bittersweet note. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't stop. I loved Maya's badass attitude and her tenacity to live and face every adversity of life with so much boldness , of course with the help of lone, eccentric old man Leonard. The slowly forming loving bond and companionship between them touched my heart. The whole tense, creepy atmosphere and non-stop back to back gory incidents took the book on another level. Though some of the crime scenes were hard to stomach for a novice like me, it was still fascinating to read the shocking and extremely disturbing way some characters got killed. And I'm glad to admit it satisfied my somewhat sick twisted thriller loving part of my soul.

The only problem I had with this book is the way Leonard's character has been portrayed. He has been described as a big badass, don't care about law, above all type of consequences, no one can touch him type, which didn't sit well for me or didn't seem believable.

Overall, I can say I loved this book with all my heart and recommend this to anyone and everyone who doesn't even read this genre, but I'm sure they will after reading this amazing book. And I'm so glad to find this author and eager to read more from him in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and skyhorse publishing for providing me an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

A really dark thriller set in South Georgia, The Devil Himself by Peter Farris is not for all readers. A young woman escapes the forest and manages to avoid a grizzly ending at the hands of human traffickers. She meets an eccentric loner who takes her under his protection. Together they must confront the narco criminals determined to finish what they began. Warning: some readers will find parts of the narrative triggering and unacceptable, even as fiction. A bloody and violent tale that rates only a single star and a why even bother rating. With thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

Overall I found this tense, powerful, and very gripping. I felt it could’ve had a bit more weight to it in parts especially in the middle portion, and the characters, besides Maya, didn’t bring any emotions out of me and I felt they as well could’ve had more depth,
I am one of the biggest southern gothic fans-it doesn’t matter if it’s literary, a miniseries, a podcast-any of it I’m such a huge fan of…So right away I knew I’d like this book somewhat, even if it wasn’t a automatic favourite or one I’d revisit constantly.
I will be purchasing this for a physical copy on the release date and so I will be retrying it.
Overall I thought it was well written, dark and intense, and also very articulate and vivid to the depth it went into describing the decaying nature and suffocating heat.
I thought Leonard was also the standout character, really related to both him and maya, but for the terrifying villains and bad creatures lurking I felt they were terrible but not memorable.
I felt their hatred and venom and soulless bodies, but I didn’t feel they were terrifying beyond the level described,
What I mean by that is we know what terrible things they are doing, so automatically we dislike them and know they’re bad, but beyond the things they done and the way they acted and I felt they could’ve had more depth and I actually wanted to get to know them better,
I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m keeping it brief,
All in all a wonderful, surreal addition to my favourite genre that I WILL pre-order for the physical June release.

Farris throws you into a raging river of a story from page one, and the dark, churning intensity never lets up. Southern noir at its finest, and yet another example—read Last Call for the Living if you haven't already—of why Farris's trajectory will only continue to rise.

Thank you to NetGalley, Arcade Crimewise for the e-ARC! The Devil Himself is a riveting, page turning Southern noir thriller that begins with Maya, an eighteen year old victim of sex trafficking, bound and gagged in the trunk of a car driven by two men trying to kill her. When she gets away, she is rescued by Leonard, intolerant of trespassers and speaks to a mannequin he thinks is his wife. Leonard takes Maya under his protection in his farm house where they build a bond over their troubled pasts while fighting off drug cartel and sex traffickers trying to get Maya back. The suspense of the first chapter alone had my hands sweating profusely. The Southern scene setting is great, a fictional county in Georgia where everyone seems to know each other with strong muggy and swampy imagery. Every time there would be a split second of peace, something would turn that shit around immediately. The character development is fascinating. I wouldn’t put this under the traditional horror genre but I do think that horror fans would be very satisfied with the brutal and deranged kills it has to offer. I am super interested to read more by Peter Farris after this.

Maya has escaped the clutches of Luccio Cottles, at least for now, but he's still after her because she knows too much about one of the men he trafficked the 18 year old to. She's living now with Leonard Moyes, an odd man if ever there was one (the mannequin), but he's not going to let the bad guys get her. He's not going to let the bad guys in period. These two make an interesting pair- she's much willer that Cottles gave her credit for. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. It's a dark read.

The Devil Himself by Peter Farris opens with Maya, eighteen years old. Maya is gagged and bound in the trunk of a vehicled and is intended for murder. She is a sex trafficking victim. Her captors plan on murdering her because she knows to much about Lucio Cottles and his criminal empire. Lucio Cottles, is dangerous and psychotic man that created a criminal empire that controls the woods of Southern Georgia. When Maya escapes from her captors on the property, Moye. He allows her to stay and promises to protect her. She is suspicious of Leonard. She tells Leonard that the men that held her captive wants her dead and they will stop at nothing to kill her and possibly him. I enjoyed this rural noir novel.

I think its an entertaining story, its about a women’s adventure turns into a crime story.
The characters are likeable, the story speed is good, the plot is even better, a page turner for sure but has time to let it all sink in for the reader.
Usually I get bored with crime thrillers but this one is written in a way where you have to know what comes next

Overall I liked The Devil Himself and think it is an entertaining story worth a read. It lives up to being a women’s adventure, and crime action story; although I would call it a women’s survival of abuse and crime story. The story follows Maya, a young woman forced into prostitution who knows too much, and Leonard, an older man who takes her in and cares for her like he would a daughter. Maya and Leonard are both deeply flawed but likeable characters.
The setting and plot are well thought out and believable. I liked the setting of a small country town in Georgia. It fit the plot and the story of Maya and Leonard well. The setting made the crime action plot believable. The story line was very easy to follow and flowed well.
I would recommend this book to a person who likes eccentric, flawed characters within a back country setting with a deep crime plot.

Why do the French get all the good stuff first? They loved this book. They’ve always been known for their impeccable taste and style and a passion for crime fiction. The Devil Himself is something special. Fresh and original beautifully written novel that just happens to fall into the crime category but goes so much further in characterization and pure charm resulting in a story that will touch your heart. Absolutely must read. Perfect.

Peter Farris's second novel finally arrives in English following it's prize winning run in France. Farris is an author revered on the crime scene and he shows just why in this book, which is a rare blend of literary and crime writing for which Ron Rash is an apt comparison.

He skewers the existing power structures and the transparent line between politics and corruption in such a way that the book does not get bogged down in the malaise of it instead pushing his plot forward in exciting and unexpected ways.

At the heart of the novel, we have the relationship between Maya and Leonard. Maya is an 18 year old sex slave who's life is saved when she escapes onto Leonard's property during the course of what should be her execution. Leonard is an elderly recluse hiding out on his scarecrow covered farm who fiercely protects his land and in turn, Maya. Maya knows too much and those that want her dead will stop at nothing.

Leonard and the novel's antagonists are themselves an interesting study into what a bad person truly is as Leonard carries out despicable acts in the name of protecting Maya, but his past as a bootlegger saw him carrying out violence in his own name and vying to make his criminal enterprise powerful and fear inducing, yet in the face of something bigger he becomes the hero.

In the early part of the novel, we are introduced to many characters, but each are given distinct life and etched in enough detail to stand on their own without being complete cliches.

Farris has written an excellent novel that displays why he's had issues getting this over the line with an English language publisher as it is not clearly one thing or another. It's noir, but there is lightness to it and it is literary, but it wanders in the noir tradition of skewering the power structures we are bound to.