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.

I was totally glued to this one! Starting a book out with a man’s (beheaded) head in the middle of a hotel room was a bold choice. However, it worked for this book! It was so thrilling and I could not see where it was headed. I loved the multiple perspectives of all the different women. I thought that it really added to the story. It was so interesting finding out what each woman’s motive was. My favorite characters were probably Nova and Kaysha. I liked reading their POVs the most. The book was fast paced from the very beginning and kept me hooked throughout the story. If you’re looking for a fast paced book, this is it! However, there are LOTS of trigger warnings, so tread carefully!

I'm sorry, this was a dnf for me. There were so many characters and I couldn't keep up with the storyline.
The opening with a severed head was amazing. I just knew I was gonna be hooked. Sadly, I wasn't. This book just wasn't for me.

A hotel room. Seven women gathered around a severed head. The head of the man who has wronged each of the women. How could I not pick this one up? After all, I’m a sucker for a good revenge story.

Unfortunately, this story left me a bit confused, and wanting more. Multiple character narratives was confusing, and the story could have benefited from more clarity to keep the voices more distinct. As I got to know the characters, I was more absorbed with the story, but then the story simply ended. The abruptness of the ending was almost jarring.

A strong debut, the story kept me engaged and interested. I will watch for more from this author. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complimentary eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. 3.5 stars

Speak of the Devil
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Rose Wilding

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: All of us knew him. One of us killed him...

Seven women stand in shock in a seedy hotel room; a man's severed head sits in the centre of the floor. Each of the women - the wife, the teenager, the ex, the journalist, the colleague, the friend, and the woman who raised him - has a very good reason to have done it, yet each swears she did not. In order to protect each other, they must figure out who is responsible, all while staying one step ahead of the police.

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.

My Thoughts: This story opens up with the plot, seven women in a hotel room sitting in a circle with Jamie, the deceased’s decapitated head in the center. Everyone of the seven women has been hurt by this man, in one way or another. One of the women accomplished the task. The seven women are not interested on which of them killed this man and decapitated his head, only that all seven remain out of jail, protecting each other. To step up the mystery, the investigator in charge of investigating this homicide has intersected with one of the seven women.

The story is narrated by several characters in a third person perspective. The narration is in present day and flashbacks of how each of the women intersected with Jamie, as well as how we got to this point. Then the story progresses over the next two weeks after that fateful evening. The exploration into the characters was not divided equally, but I am sure that was by design. The characters were created with mystery, while the author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, and twisty. My con was that the ending felt rushed. Overall, this was an enjoyable story.

This story does touch on some triggering issues such as rape, gaslighting, transphobia, gender preferences, and police negligence. This is a dark, disturbing, compelling, and gripping thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend picking up this novel!

On New Year's Eve 1999 seven women hold conference in an empty room in a hotel in the bad part of town sitting with the severed head who is an enemy in different ways to each of the women. Throughout the story, it is revealed who that man, Jamie, is and what he did to potentially prompt this murder. This story is told in the different perspectives of all the women as well as the lead investigator of his murder.

I found this book to be quite compelling. Jamie Spellman just seems like a completely awful person who potentially got what he deserved. The author did SUCH a good job of outlining each of the characters, giving each of them such clear motive that it certainly kept me guessing until the end who was the true killer. I found it completely awful at times the influence that men have on impressionable women, and hate that this story probably isn't far off from real events that happen. That being said, it kept my attention and kept me up reading past my bed time to figure out this mystery. If you love slow burn mysteries with deep character development, this is the book for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

I enjoyed this who dunnit mystery. Seven women end up in a hotel room with {part of} a dead man...one they all wished dead. Nobody claims responsibility and we learn more as they try to figure out who killed him.

This is a great thriller! It pulled me in from the beginning and I just couldn't put it down. I love a great whodunit - everyone has a reason to murder but who did it - type story. It was well paced and kept me guessing - loved it!

Seven women enter a hotel room to find a man's head on the floor. All have reasons to want him dead. But who killed him, and why?? I could not read fast enough!

A dark appealing thriller that grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go until the very end. Jamie Spellman has lost his head, literally. There are seven women looking down at it and one of them is the murderer. Such an intriguing page turner!

A fresh, interesting thriller from this debut writer. I was intrigued to see how it would all pan out, and liked all of the intertwining stories (though it took me a while to keep everyone straight). A good one for thriller readers!

This was a confusing book. It kicks off with a lot of characters and a lot of action but without any clarity on who they are, what is happening, and why. It slogged on and on until about halfway through and I thought it was picking up but in the end it was to anticlimactic. We do get backstories on the characters but I still didn't felt like I didn't understand them or their motivations sufficiently. Not my favorite thriller, unfortunately.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book sounded intruguing but it was a bit slow and confusing. There were so many characters to keep track of and I had to keep stopping to think about who was who.

This story was character driven and it had a few good twists but all in all it fell flat for me.

I do appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book.