I loved this book! I will definitely recommend it. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

New to me author and won’t be my last book by them! Such a great book! I loved it and the cover is so good too! I highly recommend it!

This book is kind of like Ocean’s 8 — if instead of a Met Gala heist it was a murder.

We open on a gory scene — a group of women surrounding a decapitated head. The more we learn about who the head belongs to and his relation to each of the women in the room, it’s apparent justice has been served. The question is — who is the one that delivered it? This haphazardly formed band of wronged women doesn’t even know which one of them is a murderer.

I felt thrown right into this one but once I started to learn more about each of the players I was utterly hooked. There were so many pieces that slotted together brilliantly in the end.

The devil in this book, Jamie, is revealed in the first scene as a decapitated head, in a room of women who all had a reason to want him dead. The stories of each of the women and their interactions with Jamie are given in turn throughout the book.

I’ll admit I had a hard time keeping all of the women characters straight, but that’s just me. I always find it a challenge to keep track of too many characters. This was an interesting murder mystery and I appreciate the opportunity to read and review it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Seven woman sitting in a room with a severed head of Jamie Spellman and all had reasons to kill him. The question is which one finally did it and why?

It was very interesting to see how he had wronged all seven of these woman and what a master manipulator he was. I liked that you had seven different points of view and at first I had to keep notes to keep all the woman straight. Then you see how they all connect and are trying to be free of this monster.

It was hard to read about him being accused of rape and yet no one would listen or believe the victim.

This book made me angry, sad, and wished for vigilante justice for all these women. The way everything was described by the author was so gripping and in such vivid detail that you could feel each one of these women and the torment they went through and wished you could ease their pain and suffering.

When I was blessed with the eARC I was excited. The description was right up my alley. However, for me it missed the mark. I am not sure why, but I just couldn’t get into it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the eACR for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was offered a copy of this book from Minotaur Books via Netgalley because I review dark thrillers quite frequently, which was perfect timing because I was running out of books to read! This isn’t one I had heard of before, but I love a good murder mystery.

I don’t know if the stakes weren’t high enough or what, but I had trouble connecting with this one. I skimmed the first half because the interest just wasn’t there. There also were so many characters, and it was too much to keep up with for someone who wasn’t invested in the plot in the first place. Maybe I would have enjoyed this more if I actually read it normally rather than skimming it, but the interest just wasn’t there. I just couldn’t bring myself to care enough. The book never grabbed me from the first chapter. It was just, ok.

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Seven women are sitting around a table on the top, unused, floor of a somewhat decrepit hotel. On the center of the table is a Bible, on top of the Bible, a man’s severed head. His body is nowhere to be found. Nova is the Detective Inspector assigned to the case. She gets to know the women (some of whom she is already familiar with) and works at solving the murder. Each chapter tells one woman’s story both past and present. I found this to be a bit convoluted for my taste. At points I had to go back to previous chapters to relearn who the women were. The fact that the victim was a horrible person merely added to this because it went into detail about what he had done and was doing to each woman. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for an ARC for an honest review.

This book is creepy good! Seven women gather for a seance of sorts and we see a severed head on the table. Now we need to figure out who the killer is and why someone would go to such lengths to kill him! Alternating in time and place, we get the story of each woman and her connection to the man (and to each other). It's got plenty of twists and turns and I had no idea who the real killer was until the final pages!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Dang. I had no idea how much of a thrilling read this one would be! I am so glad it was because it was such a great read the whole way through! Great writing style and the ending was fantastic!!

Speak of the Devil is not a light or happy book. The seven women this story is based around have all experienced tragedy at the hands of the now deceased and decapitated Jamie. We hear each of their stories as the book progresses and all have motive to have killed him.

I liked this book despite its solemn tone. It did take me a few chapters to get into the story but once I got going I felt for the characters and needed to find out who was actually the killer. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy of Speak of the Devil.

I requested to read and review this book for from Minotaur Books an Imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Company. This book had drama, mystery and romance. This book is for a mature audience. This book had many twists and turns from different angles. Do you believe in karma? Who can you trust? What happens when no one believes you what do you do ? What is justice? In this this story line you will meet a group of women that will think of these questions and more!

As soon as I saw the invite I was like oh a new to my author and it sounds right up my alley , which it was so much so that the first page caught me attention right away and made it impossible to put down , which is what I needed at this time since I've been in a some what reading slumb and that's not good for a bookworm like me to be in . The story had everything I liked : murder , secrets , friends , and the who done type of vibe and why would someone want this person dead , as well as well oh there's no way I would trust any of this people .But like I said it did make me want to read and that's what I liked mostly about it . So I would say give it a try and see what you think .

WOW! Talk about a twisted, creepy story. They all had a reason to kill him. They are protecting each other. While not my usual read, thoroughly enjoyable. I had to know the ending. Was I surprised? YES! Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

There is no doubt that Jamie Spellman is dead. The only question that remains is who killed him. Was it one of the seven women called to this place to be confronted with a bag containing Jamie‘s head? Why were these women summoned to this room? Are any of them shocked by what they see? Not really, since most if not all of these women know firsthand that Jamie was a very bad man.

I’m just going to say that there were a lot of characters and storylines in this book. I always write basic notes as I’m reading to facilitate a review and boy did that come in handy with Speak of the Devil.

Such a compelling, opening chapter, that did lose a bit of the OMG appeal, when it was delving into the lives of all these characters and the detective who is assigned this case. Every plot line doesn’t wrap up in a neat little package. In fact, I’d still like several answers about some of them. It frustrated me at first, especially not knowing how certain storylines would end. But after I sat and thought about the plot for a bit, I realized it mimicked these women’s lives. They were messy and even Jamie‘s death wasn’t going to change what they had all gone through.

No happily ever after endings here, but I’d like to think that, for some of these women, knowing that Jamie couldn’t hurt them, or anyone else again, may have provided a small measure of peace. I did guess who the killer was but not until after the 60% mark. Definitely a whodunnit and why that kept me guessing.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone I know!

This book was not what I expected, but that’s okay because I still enjoyed it. The first chapter of this story starts off with seven women sitting around a severed head. I thought this was going to be a gory, gross book- but it didn’t turn out to be anything like that at all. Yes, a head without a body is definitely stomach turning, but what we try to find out through this story is which woman would behead that of Jamie Spellman (the deceased)?

Jamie Spellman is the man at the center of ‘Speak of the Devil’. Jamie was not a nice man, and all seven women that met up in the hotel room in the first chapter to witness his severed head on a table, all had reason to want him dead. As the book progresses, we meet each of the women and learn how each of them knew Jamie. We also learn how Jamie treated each of these women. One of the concepts that comes into play in Jamie’s behavior is nature vs. nurture. Was Jamie born evil, or did a lack of love and upbringing make him turn out the way he did? Regardless, in the end, all of his evil doings finally caught up with him.

I will say that this book started off a bit slow, but once the pace started picking up, I grew more and more invested in this story. I started to connect and really feel for each of the women. I think I ended up liking the character of Sarah the best. I feel that Sarah was wronged so much throughout her life, and she had the hardest time coping.

We do find out at the end of this story who actually killed Jamie. It wasn’t that much of a shocker. Then the book seems to kind of end a little abruptly. I guess I was wanting further updates on all of the women.

I do recommend reading this book, as it held my interest and was very interesting. I could relate to that of Jamie Spellman (because unfortunately we all know some nasty people). I could also relate to each of the women as their stories felt so real and emotional. To all my GR friends that are worried that this book might be too much for them, it is labeled as General Fiction- and rightfully so (maybe with a hint of suspense).

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and the author for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. Publication date: June 13, 2023.

The log line description for Speak of the Devil is pretty compelling, but at first I had some trouble getting into the story. There were a lot of characters to keep straight -- the eight women who all had reason to murder Jamie, plus the detective investigating the crime. But after a bit it settles into itself and you learn more about each of the women and why they might want him dead.

And boy do they have some pretty compelling reasons to want to kill him. I was pretty ready to off him myself! So you have the overall mystery of who the killer is and even the other women aren't sure which of them is guilty, plus the unfolding mystery of each woman's backstory. Eventually it all ties together to the kind of ending that I think of as inevitable yet surprising.

Most the the stories were quite heartbreaking and tie to the abuse and mistreatment of woman, along with the larger question of what does being a woman mean. I think my one issue was that Jamie was so vile and cruel and I never fully felt there was a reason to explain his behavior. Maybe that's life and that some people are inclined to harm and manipulate. vulnerable people, and I realize his own upbringing wasn't storybook, but this man seemed to be more than just a narcissist and I wanted a understand a bit. more about the 'why', although it would have been hard to feel any empathy for him. His treatment of Ana especially made me glad he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else.

This was so gritty!

Jamie is the worst kind of guy and seven women from and in his life have connected to lick their wounds and console one another. Over the course of the book we read one horrific tale after another as we learn these women's stories.

One day, Jamie wakes up dead. Lolz.

It's gruesome and well-deserved.

Which of the seven is responsible?

Seven women seriously wronged by one despicable man learn of each other and unite. Each of the women has a reason to destroy Jamie, as his actions have had devastating consequences for them. Each of them has a reason to thwart the investigation, as none want another to suffer any further. Oh, this death couldn't have happened to a more worthy person, as the investigator pieces together in her search for a perpetrator. The interactions between the women is heart-wrenching and authentic. The investigator is also personally involved with a suspect, and this adds another dimension to the mystery. Great story as you could have so many versions of an ending! This is a very complex mystery with a surprising ending!