Couldn't really get into this one. I tried and then set it aside to try again later, but ultimately I just think it's not for me. Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

If you like mysteries with multiple POV, look no further.

Seven women linked by one man, or in this case, his head.

Jamie is a manipulative, gaslighting, horrible excuse for a person. When his head appears in a hotel room on New Year’s Eve, six of the women he has hurt are trying to figure out which one of them has finally killed him and one is trying to figure out who it is so she can protect her.

This story was a little slow to hook me and I felt the ending was a little rushed, but despite that I find myself still thinking about it.

A good debut book by the author and I look forward to reading more by Rose Wilding.

I would like to thank the author and NetGalley for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and voluntarily given.

A man is killed and his severed head is found in a sketchy motel room. Throughout the book, we learn how awful the man, Jamie really was. Everyone wanted Jamie dead, but which character was it and why?

A gritty, feminist thriller about a group of women connected by a brutal crime. Dark, bold, and emotionally raw. Perfect for fans of character-driven thrillers with bite.

"Speak of The Devil" intrigued me right from the start, especially since I enjoyed "Bad Sisters" on AppleTV—it had that same juicy drama vibe. I opted for the audiobook, hoping to dive into a gripping tale. However, I have to admit, it ended up being a soft Did-Not-Finish for me.

The story is packed with characters, which normally I enjoy, but this time around, I struggled to keep track of everyone. Maybe it was just my headspace at the time, but I found myself zoning out rather than getting lost in the plot twists.

I don't like to completely give up on a book, so I might circle back to it later when I'm in a different frame of mind. For now, though, "Speak of The Devil" didn't quite click with me like I hoped it would.

Wow, this was a difficult book to read. It was good, but it's also a tough topic. You've got a man who has treated women horribly his whole life, manipulating and abusing them, and he's dead. And truly, he deserves it.
The book has 8 different points of view. Seven are of the women who have reasons to want him dead and one is the police officer, Nova, investigating his murder. The book not only has multiple POVs it does jump in time as well, from present day... The head found, the investigation, how the women are coping after learning of this horrible man's death. And their past with Jamie. How he was in all of their lives and what he did to each of them.
We do see glimpses of Jamie as a child, and there are moments of wondering... If Jamie had a loving mother figure and been treated with compassion and kindness as a young boy, would he have turned out the way he did? Or was it always inevitable?
The ending was a surprise to me. The killer and what had really happened caught me of guard. But it also still felt a little unfinished and that I did not have any true closure with all the many characters
3.5 rounded down to 3

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding in exchange for my honest review and opinion. "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."
This was such a good, creepy, suspenseful read! I couldn't put it down!

I felt that this book had a slow start but the thriller picked up! Once it got going, I was hooked. Keep them coming!

i enjoyed the premise of this novel; one man can do a lot of damage to a lot of people over the course of his life. what could happen if all those people (let's be honest, it's "women", not "people") came together & shared their stories?

revenge is always satisfying to *me* but this book also show that revenge can have a lot of collateral damage.

i felt like the cast of characters was varied enough to keep things interesting but man, was i let down at the ending.
Edit Review

All of them knew him, one of them killed him. Seven women stand in shock in a seedy hotel room gathered around the severed head of a man they each loathed. The ex, the wife, the widow, the teenager, the friend, the journalist, and the mother figure. They all had reasons to want him dead. A band of women brought together by the man who scorned them. The clock is ticking as the move in closer to revealing all of their secrets… while also searching for the pesky body that belongs to the severed head. It was a little slow to start but the payoff was shocking.

Speak of the Devil - Rose Wilding

I've been reading this for a long time and I finally came to the realization that I don't care what happens. There are too many characters and nothing is happening. Over it. DNF at 64%

Unfortunately I was unable to download this book before the archive date, so I'm not able to leave a review. I look forward to reading and reviewing books by this author in the future.

This wasn't for me. There was a lot of flipping back and forth between characters and situations in a very drawn out way. There were very few times during reading this that I was actually enjoying it. For the most oart, I was just bored. I see what this book was trying to do, and I think for some people this is going to be exactly what they wanted. However, the writing style just didn't hit for me. Once this review is posted I will most likely never think of this book again.

A unique and wild ride, Speak of the Devil is a non stop thriller. It had me guessing until the very end. I can’t wait to see what this author does next.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this advanced reader's edition. Unfortunately, I will not be able to give it the time required to write a thorough review and will be unable to read it for this purpose.

This was certainly a wild ride of a read. One dead man, seven women. Who did it?

I found it difficult to keep up with, as in there are so many characters that I had a hard time keeping up with who was who and all the info about each one of them. Because of that, there was so much set up in the first half of the book. The rest was pretty cool though and kept you guessing as to who actually did it, but for me it was just too much.

It was an okay read with a very interesting concept.

Speak of the Devil was a darkly atmospheric thriller that blends mystery and horror with emotional depth. Also it has one of the strongest openings I’ve read in a while. The story follows a woman, struggling with the death of her father, as she uncovers family secrets linked to occult practices. Wilding creates a tense and eerie atmosphere, weaving themes of grief, guilt, and the supernatural into a gripping narrative. The writing is compelling, with vivid character development and a chilling exploration of the unknown.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept my attention from page 1. I could not put it down and read it in one sitting! I would definitely recommend this book.

Sadly this was a DNF for me. I felt that it dragged and I didn’t feel a strong connection to any of the characters.

I will be withholding my review of this book in solidarity with the St. Martin's Press boycott.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio