In a hotel room, seven women confront a gruesome discovery: a severed head of a man. Each of them harbors a motive to wish him dead, yet they all vehemently deny involvement.

This eclectic group comprises an ex with well-guarded secrets, a seemingly content wife, a skeptical widow, a trapped teenager, a mother figure burdened by guilt, a conflicted friend, and an unwittingly connected journalist. Over time, their concealed truths surface, ultimately unmasking a startling killer.
With its gritty ambience and unflinching exploration of taboo subjects, the book boldly challenges readers to confront uncomfortable realities plaguing society. The narrative unfolds through multiple viewpoints, offering insights from a detective and the seven women who each suffered under the tyranny of the same man. While this multifaceted perspective adds depth, it also presents the challenge of keeping track of numerous characters.

The book provides glimpses into each woman’s life, shedding light on their individual reasons for despising Jamie, the central figure in the story.

One tiny grouse I had was the difficulty of maintaining clarity amidst the multitude of characters. With so many personas to follow, distinguishing one from the other was a tad bit challenging.

I would recommend the book as it is a thought-provoking and disquieting novel that shines a spotlight on the trials endured by women.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I could not finish this one. I am all for murder mysteries, but add beheading, rape, spousal abuse, transphobia., etc.... I just had to quit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced e-copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

Seven women find themselves in a hotel room with a dead man. Each woman had a motive to kill him but swears she didn’t. As the murder is investigated, more of each woman’s story is revealed.

Despite opening with the discovery of the head, this book had a bit of a slow start for me. I think it was mostly due to the number of characters I was trying to keep straight. As the author revealed more information about the women and their history with Jamie, I read faster and faster. The book did have an abrupt ending, but I didn’t mind it terribly. Overall, this book was different from others I have read recently, which was nice. I don’t think it was a very believable plot, but it was compelling. I think it’s worth a read if you enjoy thrillers.

Dnf at 29% I couldn't relate to any of the characters, there was so much in this story, and it just fell flat for me. The characters were not relatable.

Ohh this book is dark. There is a warning in the beginning and I think that was a wise move because if you're sensitive to trigger warnings, this one may not be for you.

Admittedly, it took me a while to get invested in this novel and figure out who everyone was. There are a lot of characters and seemingly a lot of plots. Once we learn the core story and realize the novel centers around our bodiless head, the pieces of the plot really come together.

At its core, this book is about a group of women who were all wronged by the same man. We learn of each woman and her story and history, her relationship with the man, and how she was wronged. There are some parts that are very hard to read but this just made me more emotionally invested in the story.

Intertwined with the deep character studies is a plot surrounding magic, murder, and mystery. I loved the police procedural aspect and just how intertwined all the different elements of the story and characters were.

I listened to this book on audio which also took a bit of getting used to. The accents were fairly thick but I enjoyed the narrators and loved the theatrical element the audio gave to the novel.

This was a dark and thrilling read and one I definitely recommend if you can handle some not so nice imagery!

Thank you to Minotaur Books, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for the copy.

Dnf at 10%.

I wanted to like this, it seemed so interesting. A locked room mystery with a body from the beginning. but from the get go there we’re so many characters, i had to mark them in the book and write little notes to remember. This made it hard to enjoy the story and to get immersed in it Which was the reason i dnf:ed. Maybe its the translation took some clarity away? Im sure this would have been better if there weren’t so many characters.

I love a revenge story with a feminist heart, and that is what this book is. It's dark, for sure (as other reviewers have mentioned, check content warnings), but the subject matter was handled well and delivered in a pacey, propulsive way. Will definitely recommend to friends!

I have tried a few times and haven't been able to get into this book. Will DNF for now, and will try again at a later date.

This book was better than I thought it would be. It is a really dark book with murder, rape, transphobia, spousal abuse, gaslighting, suicide and marital affairs. this is not a light read so I would advise adding some trigger warnings, to say the least. It has a lot of strong female characters so if you truly believe in feminist revenge then this is the right one for you. it's not easy finding books about a group of women wanting revenge like in that book, usually, you find it in romcom. the author did a good job.

As a journalist, I had high hopes for this one, given that one of the characters is a journalist. However, I had trouble following the storyline and keeping the characters straight. I ended up not finishing this one, and I do not share my DNF reviews publicly.

This sounded good based on the synopsis, but it just ended up not being for me. I appreciate the opportunity to review it.

The book starts with seven women in the north of England sitting around a decapitated head. They all have a motive but did one of them kill him? As the book goes on we learn what their motives were and I have to be honest I’m not sure I’ve ever felt less sympathy for a victim.

The beauty of the book is that as the story progresses the need to know who the killer is becomes not for redemption but merely curiosity as you cannot help but take the sides of this bunch of wronged women. This is very much a suspense rather than a thriller.

I thoroughly enjoyed it though I did find the ending a little underwhelming, I was hoping for a big twist and there was none. It was however really well executed until the end though and the characters, despite being so many, felt very easy to keep separate and all very defined, well developed characters. I will look forward to more books from this author.

There are a lot of things I loved about this book - the narration changes perspectives among several women whose lives were all impacted by one man. The book starts off with this man's murder, and each woman is a suspect, for there are several reasons why someone might have wanted him dead. I loved the slow reveal of each woman's backstory. There are several heavy triggering topics in this book, but the author writes them with care. While it is a slow-build story, it is a very fast read. The characters are very well-developed and I was very invested in the story. I would recommend this book.

Seven women find a man's head in a hotel room on New Year's Eve. They all have a reason to want him dead and in order to keep everyone safe they need to figure out who did it. Everyone who knows Jamie thinks he is great but the women who really know him would never think so. From the day he was born he has been ruining the lives of the women who come into his life.

It is an interesting concept but it fell a little short. Having seven different stories of what Jamie did made the story feel a little repetitive and more than was necessarily needed. Half of the stories would have been enough to hate this man and feel like he got what he deserved.

Now with that said, I did enjoy the read and it read quickly.

Interesting premise: seven women with the motive to kill a man and the discovery of whodunnit. Writing is smooth. Quite a few characters to keep track of, which is my only quibble. A fun read.

The premise was good and it definitely started out in a shocking way. But with so many characters and interwoven storylines, it took a long time to get absorbed and keep everything straight. About 40% through, it picked up and I wanted to keep reading until I knew who did it. It’s a good mystery if you can find the patience to let the story unravel.

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding is about seven women who all have a motive to have killed a man. Which one of them did it? Each chapter is from a different person’s point of view. This was somewhat confusing, because there were so many characters, and it was hard to keep them straight. I was able to finish the book and overall it was very good. Stick with it if you get confused at the beginning. It is worth it in the end. I like the twists and turns that take place throughout the book. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What a gruesome beginning! Seven women sit in a candlelit semicircle, looking at a man's head in the middle. Though each had a motive to kill him, no-one admits to it.

As investigations into the killing evolve, readers learn the back stories of each of these women and discover their inter-relationships.

The aftermath of the man's death affects all of them in different ways. That, as much as the question of whodunit, pulls reader interest through the story.

Thank you @minotaur_books and @NetGalley for this unpublished copy.
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It’s New Year’s Eve 1999.
Jamie has done a lot of bad things. And someone finally puts an end to it.
A group of women he’s hurt have banded together to support. And revenge. So which one of them is to blame when they all have motive?
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What a great thriller debut for Rose Wilding!
Loved this. The characters were great, the pacing of the story was perfect. The chapters went from present day (early January 2000) and when each of the women met Jamie. It was a bit graphic at times but nothing too bad. And had an ending I did not see coming!

This book was not what I expected, but that’s okay because I still enjoyed it. This book starts off slow but I feel like all thrillers do. Then once it starts picking up it really pulls you in. I do recommend reading this book, as it held my interest and was very interesting. In the end, this is a powerful book that deals with uncomfortable but critical topics.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.