Well this book had me guessing. What a thrilling read. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough …had me guessing to the very end and had me on the edge of my seat. My kind of book and highly recommend.

New Year’s Eve, 1999. Seven women stand in a hotel room in Newcastle. They gaze in horror at the centrepiece of the room - a man’s severed head sits on the table. Each woman knew this man and each had a reason to do this, although no one is admitting it. As the murder investigation begins, the story goes back to reveal the connections between each woman and the victim. Who killed him? And why?

This was a really dark and gritty read, it started with such a bang, I don’t read many first scenes involving a decapitated head! And the story flowed effortlessly from there. Detective Inspector Nova Stokoe is heading the murder investigation but she has connections of her own with some of these women, all of which are gradually revealed. The victim, Jamie Spellman, is a hideous person. It’s impossible to feel one shred of sympathy for him, his acts are all despicable. But while I didn’t care that he was dead, I was intrigued as to who had actually murdered him and done so in such a dramatic way.

There are a lot of female characters, eight to keep track of. I understand why they were all female but it did take me a little while to get to know them all. Thankfully the descriptions and style of each character helped differentiate them. And with so many characters this is very much a character driven book and I really loved hearing each woman’s voice, they were all were riveting and relevant.

Speak of the Devil is a powerful and vengeful tale of women taking back power. I loved it.

This was a mystery so nice I read it twice! That is rare for me because there is so much to read and so little time. It is a great mystery, and I definitely didn’t see it coming, but this book is so much more than that. It is so well written, and told in such an honest and unvarnished way that you can feel the truth of it. It explores the realities that many of us encounter constantly in our lives, but are so often told to ignore or brush off. Through the different perspectives of these women, we see the lifetime of wreckage this one toxic man has left in his wake. It also makes clear, in a way some people may only be able to grasp by reading it in a novel, the myriad ways a man can hurt and destroy a woman’s life without necessarily lifting a hand or even technically breaking a law. That sort of behavior is in there too, but the unique brilliance of this story, what lends it such a grounding in reality, is all the pieces the author includes that you can’t necessarily see with the naked eye. The author weaves this story together so beautifully, and brings the reader something maybe only a novel can provide, a well-deserved catharsis for the fury so many of us feel just under the surface. If you read the author’s note at the beginning of the book (which I highly recommend), that sentence will resonate.

This was a great read and will definitely recommend!! The cover is also so cute. Can’t wait to read more by this author.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I agree with many other reviewers - lots of characters and motivation to keep track of and slow pacing. Maybe it would have been better with a tighter round of editing.

ARC received from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Good thriller that keeps the reader engaged the whole way through the book. I liked the way the turns in the story happened. They were very well done.

I liked the different viewpoints, the short chapters, and the way the story lines weaved together to finally show the whole picture. I did find it was pretty slow because of all that as well though, especially at the beginning before we had any information and nothing to invest into it. More drama than a suspense.

I was disappointed by this book as it seemed like something I would enjoy, but I wasn't really a big fan of the plot. I had such a hard time reading through this I just didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping. I also didn't like all the different POV's it always confuses me. I probably wouldn't read this again it just wasn't for me but I would still recommend to other people who still might enjoy it

A creepy and twisted mystery that had me truly doubting them all! I loved this book and the characters.

This was not for me. The story was kinda slow and I couldn't connect with the characters at all. I was hoping for somethig different

This was a fun premise and a book I ended up enjoying more than I anticipated. I loved the idea of trying to figure out who murdered Jamie and finding out all the ways he wronged the suspects. You definitely won't finish the book feeling bad for what happened to Jamie. The only criticism is that the book has a lot of perspectives and I struggled with keeping the large cast of characters straight. The ending was solid with a compelling buildup to the climax.

There were quite a few POVs to keep track of and it was a lot - enjoyable to read but not my favorite book.

Thank you to netgalley.com for this ARC.

This was a fun, twisty story of the lives of eight women and how one man ruined all their lives in the different ways. It was fun to see how all the stories interconnected and how they all got their revenge. I was not able to figure out the murder early on, which is always good in a thriller/suspense story.

Quick read and well developed characters.

Seven women, one severed head, everyone is a suspect. But who is going down for this gruesome murder?

I'm sorry, WHAT??
Mystery, Madness and Mayhem! OH MY!!

This plot will immediately have you in an absolute chokehold. Gripping your attention right from the start. Stepping right into an addictive game of who dun it. Following a group of diverse characters that are piecing together clues while unraveling everyone's dirty little secrets along the way

Despite having such a large list of characters to follow, everyone's perspectives are so easy to become invested in. Their back stories leading up to present day with in depth descriptions of their involvements to the victim will strengthen your attachment to each character while also raising the question of who can actually be trusted all at the same time. Everyone has a motive but is anyone truly guilty? Wilding keeps you guessing until the very end

Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers @stmartinspress @minotaur_books and @rose_wldng for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honost thoughts and opinions

3.5/5 Stars

When seven women gather in a hotel room, they find the severed head of a man they all knew. They all have reasons for wanting him dead, but who actually did it?

I think this started off really well, but I got a bit bored as it continued, but it did eventually pick up again by the end. I was interested how each of the women were related to Jamie, and all the nasty things he did to them. We get the POV of all the women, but I think there were a bit too many characters to try and keep up with, which made it a bit difficult to get fully immersed in the story. It was an extremely fast read though, and I read it in one day. I did think the ending was rather abrupt, which was a bit jarring, but overall an enjoyable read.

Didn't feel like much happened until the last 50 or so pages. It was too detailed and had too many characters IMO.

This was an odd one for me. I never was able to fully get invested in the plot. There was so much that was strange. I did finish because I was curious how it would wrap up, but in hindsight, I probably should have DNF'd. I think this would be a good read for anyone who likes books about the occult and vengenance.

This book had potential but unfortunately it was just too complicated for me to follow. The many characters and POVS made it a bit overwhelming. I tried a few times to continue and while I enjoyed the concept I just didn’t have it in me to finish. It truly was a struggle.

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I loved this book. It is told in a before and after way and it was quite compelling. A group of women gather in an unused suite at a hotel and in the room is the head of a man they all hate. Jamie has done horrible things to all of them and each wants him dead. Read this!

This had a ton of potential but as I started for the second time and found my eyes closing, I realized it just didn’t have me. I was falling asleep and after reading an article pointing out that if you’re falling asleep while reading, the book isn’t for you, I decided to stop reading it. I tried twice and can’t put my finger on it but it just didn’t draw me in and life’s too short to read books that don’t draw you in.