Generally, I am not bothered by a lot of characters. But maybe this would have been better with fewer characters to learn about. I feel like the time spent developing those characters impeded the progress of an actual story. I did not find this interesting or thrilling. Additionally, I feel like it took a rather superficial approach to a serious topic.

I am immensely grateful to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

The bit of this book really sucked me in, finding the body and meeting Nova. However, it lost me for a while after that, it was a super slow-burn thriller. The multiple POVs and alternating timelines showing when each woman met Jamie and how he ruined their lives really made it feel like the story wasn't moving forward and it took up a good chunk of this book. But, after we got through of that the story started to pick up for me. I was both surprised and not when the killer was revealed, not surprised because any of the women he wronged had good reason to want to kill him, but until the motive for this woman was revealed she would have been at the bottom of my list.

This book begins with seven women sitting around a severed head. If that doesn't catch your interest, I don't know what will.

Despite the gory beginning, overall this book was not gory.

Jamie Spellman is the man behind the head. He wasn't a good man.

As the book goes on, we get to know each of the seven women, their connection to Jamie and how he treated them. They all had reason to murder him. But who did it?

This one is a bit of a slow burn, but it starts to pick up as you go along. We do find out who the killer is and it wasn't a surprise.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur and MacMillan Audio for both an ARC and ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, what a twisty tale. I never would have guessed who actually killed Jamie. The opening scene introduces you to all the women who this man has harmed in some way or another. The setting is busy but you get to know each woman better as they each get chapters from their POV.
And the more you learn about Jamie the more you detest this horrible man.

Seven women are gathered in a seedy motel room where a man's severed head sits in the middle of the room. Each woman has her own motive for wanting him dead, but each swears they didn't do it.

The woman who brought them all together knows they need to protect each other. So they must try to figure out who is responsible while also trying to stay ahead of the police.

Thank you so much to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC to review.

This was a very interesting mystery and was like piecing a puzzle. Very taut.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book had a similar premise to The Change which I read last fall. A group of jilted women all having a clear motive for the murder of a horrible narcissistic monster of a man. I enjoyed the diversity in this book and found myself more invested in certain women's POV's than others. I listened to this on audio and did have a hard time keeping all the characters and backstories straight so maybe try to have a physical handy until you are comfortable. If you're a fan of revenge stories, unreliable narrators, and can handle some pretty significant trigger warnings then I think you'll enjoy this book. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my ALC and Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my eARC.

The story begins on New Year’s Eve, in 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.
As the narrative progresses we get to know more about each of these women, how their stories intersect with the deceased, the events that led to their being in the hotel room with Jamie’s decapitated head, and what transpires in the two weeks following that fateful night as the women try to maintain their innocence. Complicating matters further is the fact that the investigator in charge of the case has a history with one of the women in question.
Narrated from multiple perspectives (in the third-person), Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding is a well-crafted, immersive read. The narrative moves fast and at no point did I lose interest in the narrative. I enjoyed trying to figure out who the culprit could be (It’s not too hard, but I thoroughly enjoyed the build-up to the end!). What makes this story interesting is that Jamie was truly a despicable character and not only at no point do you feel sorry for what happened to him, you also can’t fault these women for wanting him dead. The novel does venture into dark territory, touching upon themes of rape, police negligence in investigating crimes against women, gaslighting, manipulation, abuse, gender politics and transphobia among others. Not all the characters are explored in equal depth but I did like the diverse cast of characters and how skillfully the author weaves their distinct backstories into the narrative. The ending was a tad abrupt but overall, I enjoyed this novel and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the DRC of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I paired my reading with audio narration by Colleen Prendergast which certainly elevated my experience with this novel. The narrator does an impressive job of voicing the characters, setting the mood and bringing the story to life. Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC. I would not hesitate to recommend the novel, the audiobook or pairing both for an intense immersion reading experience.
Expected Date of Publication: June 13, 2023

Seven women in a room with a dead male body. I didn’t realize it was just his head sitting in the table. Each chapter was told by a different person and it was a bit tedious. I thought it was going to be a good mystery police type drama but it fell rather short for me.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

I thought that this was really good! I enjoyed getting to know each of the seven women at the core of this book and it was quite clear that each of them had the motive to kill Jamie. Jamie was not a good man. In fact, he was pretty terrible, and the things that he did to each of these women left me feeling a lot of sympathy for them. I loved that the book kept me guessing until the very end.

The story opens with the discovery of the decapitated head of Jamie by a group of seven women with ties to the victim on New Year’s Eve 1999. We learn about Jamie’s connection to each of the women and the history that they share throughout the book. We do also see the police detective’s perspective as we work our way through the story. It was quite a few characters to juggle but each of them had such unique personalities that I had no trouble keeping things straight. It was obvious that all of the women had the motive but I wasn’t sure who the murderer was until it was revealed in the story.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Colleen Prendergast did a fantastic job with the story. I thought that she had a very pleasant voice and I had no problem listening to this book for hours at a stretch. I thought that the dialog between the characters flowed nicely and I liked that she was able to add just the right amount of emotion to her reading. I thought her narration added to my enjoyment of this book.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a well-done mystery that was nearly impossible to set aside. I thought that this was a great debut novel and look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a review copy of this book from Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio.

I’m definitely in the minority with my 2 star rating but this story fell flat for me and I could not connect with any of the characters. DNF at 36%. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my review.

This book was certainly a wild ride! Seven different women who are unknowingly connected to each other meet and find the severed head of a man that they all knew, but in very different ways. I'll say one thing, I knew pretty early on that this dude completely deserved it.

The chapters are each from a different character's perspective, which with seven women I have to admit this was difficult for me. They are all so very different, but by the time I could easily figure out who was who off the top of my head by name alone, it was already getting pretty late in the read.

With that said, I did immensely enjoy this. The different stories were really interesting, and, overall, I thought this was a unique read. Also, I really loved how this book wraps up!

Out June 13, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

I was drawn to this book by the US bird cover. Beautiful and sinister at the same time. That is how we women often are ourselves. Jamie Spellman was an evil man. Some, maybe even you, would say he deserved to die. Did he deserve to lose his head in the process? Seven women in a sort of Jamie Spellman done wrong support group could have done it and rally around each other to protect the killer. That is the premise of the book, but there are also a whole lot of spouses, lovers, parents, and coworkers who could have done it, too. How far would anyone go for revenge or to protect the one they love? Which side are the police on?

This was a slow burn of a thriller for me. Each chapter was a back and forth from a different character perspective. If you have trouble keeping track of multiple characters and backstories, then this might not be the book for you. I found myself kind of wishing each had done him in for the wrong he did to them. Some wrongs seemed worse, more methodically planned out. Some wrongs seemed in the moment. And some were just plain mean. In the end Jamie Spellman needed to die as some people are just plain evil and unredeemable. The birds do have a minor but darkly impressionable role in the story, so I appreciated the cover tie-in. Nature or nurture, one could certainly argue... but evil is undebatable.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I was very back and forth with this book but did end up enjoying it.

Cons: There were a few parts I didn’t understand, such as Jamie’s motivation for outing Ana. Then, Ana is just kind of dropped. Also, the ending felt very fast.

Pros: Many POV’s and most of them were very interesting.
•Very diverse cast of characters
•Great representation for LGBTQIA+
•Nova was the highlight of the book for me. Her dilemma in trying to figure out the right thing to do was genuinely fitting for this character. It felt like I knew her.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
4.5/5 STARS

This is a contemporary thriller.

Synopsis:
Seven woman meet in a hotel room with the severed head of a man they are all connected with. One of them killed him. Who did it?

I really enjoyed this book. It is told from the POV of all seven women/victims. Even though there are a lot of different stories going on, they are woven together really well. The chapters are short and keep you wanting to find out what happens. The characters and plot are very revenge feminist driven. The writing makes you despise the male MC and champion for the women. I liked the twists and turns and the idea that each woman had motive and was a suspect.
If you like domestic thrillers, this is a fast read.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for the ARC! 🖤

It's an unusual, fast paced and gripping thriller. There's different POVs, 7 women who could have killed a man, an unusual way to discover a murder.
I think that this is a strong debut and I liked the storytelling and enjoyed the plot.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Suspenseful novel about a man whose head ends up in a hotel room surrounded by women who all have ample reason to kill him. All seven of the women ended up there under false pretenses, all have no idea who committed the heinous act. The story has alternating points of view and is very fast paced.

I liked this read, it was a good mystery, but get ready to write the names of the characters down. There are many characters to sort in the book. I enjoyed reading about the lives of each of the characters. It is a bit confusing trying to sort the characters at times. It will not be for everyone, if I were you, I would give it a try.
3 stars

This had such a strong premise and great imagery, but I did find it a little slow. I had some trouble keeping all the women straight in my heads, and I definitely didn't like them all by the end. It made me very happy that there was such a variety of representation in the characters. I also really loved that the trans character is happily married with adopted children. It was nice to switch to a thriller for pride.

Thank you to Macmillan audio for this audio book in exchange for a review. I thought this book definitely started out with a bang that made me not want to stop listening for sure! All the atrocities this man committed throughout his life and making it all the way to this point was a bit of a shocker if I'm being honest. I liked the way the story was told in flashback pieces of all the women, it made for an incredible shocker of an ending. I would say to do your research before reading because there was quite a bit of triggering content, but needed for the story. Overall, this is one I would recommend going forward!

Speak of the Devil is a mesmerizing and unflinchingly dark novel that delves into the profound exploration of the secrets we keep from each other and ourselves. The book explores the consequences that arise when these secrets inevitably surface. The captivating characters will stay with you long after they have finished the book.