I had a hard time finishing this, the story fell a little lackluster to me. I wanted so much to love this book. I didn't like the characters or the story. I pushed through this book but it kind of felt like a slog.

What are you afraid of ?

For me, it’s Bees and Birds. I’m actually terrified . For this reason, I will never walk in grass in fear of what I can not see or get too close to a pigeon on the street.

So why would I pick a book that has birds on the cover? Hmm… If I haven’t previously established this, I will remind you, there is something seriously wrong with me .

I love scaring myself. I love books that scare the life out of me. I love movies that make me wet my pants and if you haven’t watched a movie that made you do the same you’re either lying or watching the wrong movies.

Speak of the Devil

I just shivered as I typed that out. I still can’t shake the feels that succumbed my soul while reading this one.

This book is absolutely insane. The lies, the deceit, the secrets 👀 . Everyone could be a suspect but which one has the strongest motive?

Pre-order yourself a copy to find out !

Here is a bit of a teaser :

Seven women, inextricably linked by one man, must figure out which of them killed him in order to protect one another in this electrifying debut thriller.

New Year’s Eve, 1999.

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.

The ex, who drowns her darkest secret in a hip flask as the woman she loves drifts further away.
The wife, living out her fairytale marriage in a house tucked into woods so thick no one can hear a scream.
The widow, praying to a past she no longer knows whether she can trust.
The teenager, whose wide-eyed crush has trapped her in an unrecognizable future.
The mother figure, battling nature versus nurture under the weight of her own guilt.
The friend, forced to choose sides over and over, until she learns the price of choosing wrong.
And the journalist, who brought them all together―but underestimated how far one of them would go to keep believing the story they’d been told.

Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman’s secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer. Marking the debut of an extraordinary new talent, Speak of the Devil explores the roles into which women are cast in the lives of terrible men…and the fallout when they refuse to play pretend for one moment longer.

2.5 Stars

I’m on the fence about this one. With so many point of views, it sometimes felt choppy and I had a hard time connecting to any character. Jamie was obviously a horrible man who had wronged many people (these women in particular), and the mystery of who killed him when they all had motive was intriguing. I wish however that we didn’t have quite so many POVs. Overall, I didn’t love it or hate it, and I don’t know that I’ll remember it by the end of this year.

This was a fun read! I liked the mystery and the setup to the story. I really enjoyed learning about the characters’ backstories, but I did find it a little hard to track the story when I first started the book. I thought the book had a good conclusion that tracked well with the personalities and stories of each character.

The story abruptly ends when we first learned finding out everything that Jamie did to each of the women, the killer is revealed right after and the story is wrapped up, I want to say within about ten pages. I didn't feel like their were any breadcrumbs or any sort of build up to the reveal. The abrupt ending was a little bit disappointing.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. It reminded me a little of Rachel Kapelke-Dale's writing, so if you enjoyed The Ballerinas or The Ingenue, or if you're looking for a fast paced, character driven thriller, I would give this one a try.

Speak of the Devil is about a group of women who are all tied to a man who was brutally murdered. Throughout the novel, the reader learns about each character’s tie to the victim to ultimately unmask the murderer. It is an interesting premise and an intriguing avenue to take; however, it was very difficult for me to keep the 7 women and their stories straight. That’s how many women are involved! As an avid reader, I am used to multiple POVs, but this was just too much. This confusion took away from the plot ‘s mystique, as I knew I was not understanding and making the right connections to really become invested in the plot. This was a major problem for this book. Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Seven women stand around a table on which sits a man’s severed head. Which woman killed him? They each had a motive. The murdered man, Jamie, was a nasty piece of work and we learn how he treated each woman.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this one. Maybe it’s timing right now for me but it was hard to get through and it’s actually quite a simplistic book. You have all the point of views of women that all had motive to murder a guy. It opens with a severed head and a group of women around it and I honestly thought there would be more to this moment and room from the synopsis but that’s where that moment ends. I couldn’t get any more involved because I just felt there wasn’t much character development. I’m all about different point of views and picking up pieces from all over the place but I just never got any feelings out of this one. Maybe it’s a it’s me not you kind of thing but either way we didn’t work out.

Thank you St. martins press, Minotaur books and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

“She loved watching people get what they deserved.”

Women wronged by Jamie Spellman exact their revenge.

One man hurt many women time and time again. Some survived his mental and sexual abuse over and over again as he manipulated them…until one day, they didn’t.

Now Jamie Spellman is dead. There’s no limit to reasons and motives because let’s face it, he was a bad man. The other question is…which one of the women actually decided to go ahead and “take care of” Jamie? I wouldn’t have faulted a single one of them for taking on the vigilante role.

Jamie is awful. Jamie is a rapist. Jamie is abusive. Jamie is gone.

Please check the trigger warnings on this on, sexual abuse, rape, manipulation, cheating, drugs, suicide, infertility etc.

This book was good and the scene with Keisha and her encounter with not only Jamie but the police will stick with me for a long time.

This book seemed very intriguing when I read the description. I cannot get through it though because of how many characters there are. It becomes too confusing when there are so many people to keep up with. Not for me but hopefully others enjoy

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Seven women surround the severed head of a man that has hurt them all. But who is the one that killed him? Set in eight different points of view, this book just had too much and nothing going on. I DNF'd at about 40% and it took everything in me to get that far. There were too many points of view and no real focus. Most of what we learned is from the past, showing what an awful human Jamie was. I just couldn't finish it.

"Seven women, inextricably linked by one man, must figure out which of them killed him in order to protect one another in this electrifying debut thriller.

New Year's Eve, 1999.
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.

The ex, who drowns her darkest secret in a hip flask as the woman she loves drifts further away.
The wife, living out her fairytale marriage in a house tucked into woods so thick no one can hear a scream.
The widow, praying to a past she no longer knows whether she can trust.
The teenager, whose wide-eyed crush has trapped her in an unrecognizable future.
The mother figure, battling nature versus nurture under the weight of her own guilt.
The friend, forced to choose sides over and over, until she learns the price of choosing wrong.
And the journalist, who brought them all together - but underestimated how far one of them would go to keep believing the story they'd been told.

Against the ticking clock of a murder investigation, each woman's secret is brought to light as the connections between them converge to reveal a killer. Marking the debut of an extraordinary new talent, Speak of the Devil explores the roles into which women are cast in the lives of terrible men...and the fallout when they refuse to play pretend for one moment longer."

But why wouldn't they just agree to protect each other and NOT solve the case? That way they have legitimate deniability if ever caught by the cops.

“Speak of the Devil,” starts off strong. A decapitated man’s head sits in a room. 7 women surround it. One of them killed him, but who?

Told from the POV of 7 unreliable narrators, this book keeps you guessing until the very end. While the guessing part was fun, I found it hard to keep track of all the characters and their ties to one another. I even started a chart at one point! Haha While the end was OK, I think the book would feel stronger if some of the storylines were flushed out a little more.

Overall, it’s a quick read and 3 of 5 stars for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this book!! What a brilliant and creative debut from Rose Wilding. She gives us intriguing characters with multi-layered lies and deceptions, and the murder of a man who was despised by everyone. I was a bit reluctant to begin reading because the idea of seven women sitting in a circle staring at a man’s head which was resting on a bible, seemed a bit creepy. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down until the surprising and shocking ending. All the women had personal reasons for hating him, and the detective assigned to the case had to work extra hard as she took their statements and attempted to tie them all together. She wondered who had the most to gain from his death or whose life had he destroyed by his heinous behavior. To really understand each woman, Ms. Wilding goes back in time to when each of them first interacted with the deceased so we get a better understanding of his deviousness. Their common bond was this horrible man and even though many years had gone by, none of them could forget how he made them feel. It certainly took a lot of careful planning by the ringleader of the group to gather the victims together so they could share their stories, one agonizing detail at a time. By the time the truth was out, there was only one thing they could do, but who would do the dirty deed, or would they all become accomplices in the “crime of the century?”

A group of women are connected by their hatred for one man. On New Years Eve, 1999, they gather in a hotel for an emergency meeting. In the center of the hotel room, sits Jamie's head. The man they all have a reason to hate has been beheaded, and nobody knows which one of them is the one who swung the axe.

Told in the alternating POVs of all the women who had their own motives for murder, plus the detective trying to put the pieces together, this is a very character driven novel. Because there are so many POVs to keep track of, it took me a second to get each character straight, but as more of the story unravels it becomes easier to keep each character separate.

I liked all the characters, which actually came as a surprise to me because usually when I read books with multiple POVs, there usually one that seems to drag for me, but that didn't happen at all for me here.

The only gripe I had is that the ending felt very abrupt. After finding out everything that Jamie did to each of the women, the killer is revealed right after and the story is wrapped up, I want to say within about ten pages. I didn't feel like their were any breadcrumbs or any sort of build up to the reveal. The abrupt ending was a little bit disappointing.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. It reminded me a little of Rachel Kapelke-Dale's writing, so if you enjoyed The Ballerinas or The Ingenue, or if you're looking for a fast paced, character driven thriller, I would give this one a try.

Okay wow.

There is just so much to this book it was so hard to put down. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into at the start but WOW.

The characters!!! So many characters. So many backgrounds. So many narratives. SO. MANY. POSSIBILITIES. This is one book I do not see being predictable to many if anyone. There are multiple POVS, but the stories are so intriguing you fly through the chapters. It’s almost amazing that I did not find any of the suspects unlikable.

There’s a cult, a crime detective, a detestable murder victim, many many suspects, and a lot of eye opening twists. Every single motive of every suspect seems like a valid reason to murder Jamie. Is that okay to say?

The story is also not linear so you do go back and forth between storylines and characters so it can be a little difficult to follow if you’re not paying attention to dates. In the end it’ll all make sense it’s a great twist!

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a thriller blow me away. I highly recommend!

Thanks so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding was a gruesome somewhat tragic story of seven women. Damaged women. There is a murder and someone, possibly one of them has committed it.
The author wrote this well and I could feel everything. I chose to listen to this and it was narrated by Colleen Prendergast. She was perfect and really delivered the story well.
This was gritty, sad and kind of dark so I’m warning you in advance. It’s a high 4 stars for me. Would I read another by this author? Yes!
Thanks St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

Speak of the Devil was a pretty interesting book told from multiple POV’s, which I personally enjoy, but it can get a bit confusing keeping track of all the names. The book starts with the severed head which is always an excellent hook 🤣. But from there it gets more into a character study, the connection between the women as well as the victim and the detective leading the investigation. So if you’re expecting a gory read, this isn’t it. This was a bit on the slow burn side but I think the pace worked perfectly here. I enjoyed unravelling this mystery full of unreliable narrators, each having a reason for the vic to lose his head. So overall I liked the concept, the execution and a diverse cast of characters. 3.5⭐️

Dear Speak of the Devil,
You swept me up in your intrigue and mystery. Each of the women that was hurt by Jamie Spellman was so good at keeping her own secrets. The fact that they met with each other to contemplate revenge on the man who had torn apart each of their lives was so interesting to me. I loved getting to peek into each of their lives and discover how Jamie wrecked havoc on them, repeating his abusive, manipulative and controlling ways with each of them. I was in for every one of your twists and turns. The fact that you started with a content warning was also a pleasant surprise. It was good, with the difficult matter of abusive relationships at your core to let the reader know what they are in for.

Are you a fan of unreliable narrators! Try 7 of them! This suspense was a wild ride that keeps you guessing until the end! Premise: a man is dead and there are PLENTY of motives and suspects, the question is who/ why. How it all unfolds is the well crafted with elements of Agatha Christie alongside the more modern Gillian Flynn.

I did thing there was some narrative gaps/ some things that were a little unclear with all of the shifting narrators. I wasn’t sure what the significance of setting this in 1999/2000 and didn’t see much subtext that gave this any meaning for the setting. I also found some of the ties between the characters/ the characters to Jamie were a little loose and could have been better developed. I also thought the ending was a bit flat/ abrupt.

All in all, the story concept is fascinating and it was an enjoyable read!


TW: sexual assault, gender discrimination, suicide, infertility