Everything about Speak of the Devil really enticed me - the cover, the title, and especially the blurb. I thought having the opening chapter start in amongst all of the chaos was a superb choice, but the following 50 pages were slow to get through. Whilst I appreciate that all of their backstories and experiences were important, having that many main characters made the whole thing confusing and difficult to keep up with who was who, and how they connected.

I liked that this book was set in the UK, and that I could recognise some of the places mentioned, which isn’t usually the case with a lot of popular crime novels. However, I thought some of the writing of the Newcastle accent was severely overdone. I have family members with this accent and could understand what was being said, but it felt gimmicky, and could be very offputting to any readers unfamiliar with the dialect.

That being said, it definitely had me hooked and kept me turning the pages. From the 30% mark to around 95%, I was thoroughly enjoying it, and hated Jamie with every fibre of my being. The themes explored really resonated with me as a woman, and the book felt very emotionally impactful. I thought Wilding’s writing style was very gripping, and could tell a lot of love went into this. The handling of the LGBTQ+ characters and themes were also handled particularly well.

I’m just really, really disappointed by the ending. Not so much the whodunnit, as it was fairly obvious from the fact this character was the least explored until the reveal, but the abrupt ending. It felt as though the only thing that mattered in this book was finding out who the killer was and not the women who it was actually about, and left so many things unanswered and unsatisfying. This was not an open, ambiguous ending for the reader to contemplate their own theories, it was lazy, and dampened what otherwise was a fantastic book.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

I was looking for a new crime book to fall into and this was a good one. I thought the tone felt contemporary and as a female I could relate to many of the women within the book, whether that was with their experiences relating to mine, or just the day to day thoughts which went through their heads.

I find myself sympathizing with the women and disliking Jamie straight away, and by the end of the book I actually didn't mind who knocked him off, because well, he was awful.

The only thing I can really fault this book for was that there were just so many characters, and I really struggled to remember who was who. It was a very busy book and felt like more time could have been spent developing more back story for some of the main women.

However if you're looking for an LGBTQ friendly, murder mystery book then this is for you. But please be mindful of the trigger warnings.

Really enjoyable thriller with a strong hook and a brilliant ending, I did find myself eagerly coming back to this one. Plenty of interesting motives for murder and I loved how the author wove the stories of each woman together. My only complaint is the cast was occasionally unwieldy and with so many characters in the mix, it was hard to build an emotional connection with any of them. But on the whole, a thriller well worth your time!

Let’s be clear, there’s a lot to like about this book - the handling of LGBTQ relationships and the processing of common trauma to name a couple.

But this book suffers from trying to do too much at once. The cast is too large and unwieldy to ever fully get to know them despite them all having a flashback chapter to attempt to flesh them out. The characters make choices that don’t ever feel like they make sense and the end sort of just fizzles out.

A very strong debut - a twisty murder mystery that explores a group of fascinating women and an absolutely vile man. Great page turner - I was a little let down by the ending but vastly enjoyed the ride

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review.

2 stars!

I really liked the start of this, loved it to be honest!! But then I felt my interest slipping away, I'm not sure why, I felt that at some point the story felt like it was dragging along.

But, the chapters are some what short and each character we get to follow and see how they can be connected to Jamie and what happened but I also felt the ending was built up and didn't pay off well for me.

Speak of the Devil is absolutely, barnstormingly brilliant. Beyond gripping, with wonderful characters you know and care about, feel rage for and with. It's perfectly paced and plotted, introducing us to each character and slowly revealing why they ended up in that hotel room in the first chapter. It's unflinchingly dark, but tender too, and I was completely caught up in the story, who was responsible but also what would happen to them. I loved every dark, clever, powerful page.

Seven women arrive in a hotel room to find the severed head of a man they all have reason to despise - but who killed him? This is the premise of Speak of the Devil.

It took me a while to get into this book, but when I did, I was hooked. The characters were interesting, especially Kaysha and Nova. It was difficult to read at times because Jamie, the murder victim, is truly one of the most despicable, misogynistic fictional characters ever written - but that feels like a strength because you can really understand why he is so hated.

However, the ending was quite unsatisfying and didn't tie up the loose ends. The murderer's reveal felt predictable - not because of their characterisation but because they were the character who had been explored least during the book so it was a process of elimination. It's a real shame because otherwise this would have been a book with very few flaws.

Tried to get into this book, but couldn't. The writing did not work for me and the story didn't do, sadly, much to grip me. Sad as I did enjoy the premise. The 'whodunnit' twist for me didn’t really do it for me either..

I found this book a little confusing. I struggled to keep up with the multiple characters and their points of view. The ending was not revolutionary and quite easy to work out.

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding is a superb debut novel and a very easy read. Wilding, successfully delivers deplorable characters and ones you wish you could just hug, it also delivers a well-rounded and diverse character list. 

The 'whodunnit' twist for me didn’t really wow me, but I think that’s just because it took me a while to read, so I forgot the minute details of the characters. The title certainly fits, and it delivers on everything it is described. An enjoyable read all round and I shall be recommending it to fellow mystery and crime lovers!

Thank you Netgalley and John Murray Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3/5 stars

I was granted access to this e-ARC through NetGalley and the publisher, John Murray Press, in exchange for an honest review.

It was the cover that immediately drew me into this book - though I note the cover on Goodreads is different, so perhaps has not been updated yet. The title was also great and, having read the book, it speaks entirely to the story and makes a lot of sense. Not sure what the cover art really has to do with it now, but I could have just missed that.

It took me a little while to get into the book. Not because the story didn't start off well - by all accounts it does, getting straight into the crime mystery/thriller heart of it from the get go - but because I found the writing style a little difficult to gel with, initially. The book is written in present tense, with multiple POVs of the main characters (all women, aside from the unfortunate deceased male), though also written in third person. The writing is simplistic and easy to read in that sense, but it's all very 'stop-start' for me. A lot of short sentences, and a lot of sentences starting the same way; with the word 'she' for example, in the same paragraph to begin multiple lines. It's a personal preference, and I am rather picky with writing styles.

I might also add that, though I understand the book is set in and around Newcastle, where there is a particularly strong and distinct accent, the writing of the accent in some of the characters speech felt a bit over the top at times.

If I had not been given early access to this book, I might not have continued it because of the above. I tend not to have a lot of patience, when I feel I won't enjoy a book from the start. But I'm glad I persevered - I was able to get used to the writing style, even if it still felt peculiar to me, and the plot itself was well developed and made a lot of sense. Given the amount of characters in the book - each of them having chapters dedicated to them, and each of them having experienced some kind of trauma - it was somewhat ambitious. I do feel as though some were developed far more and far better than others. Kaysha, for example, was one of the most sympathetic characters, and one who the reader learns more about, whereas others felt more two-dimensional.

I don't think anything about the book is ground-breaking, and I had my suspicions about the twist and who was responsible for the death of Jamie (a truly repugnant human being, which helps the reader empathise with the women despite the crime at hand) fairly early on. That didn't ruin it for me, however. There was a lot that happened in this book, and there were moments of real sympathy and sadness for the characters and moments that left me horrified, too. Some would argue it unrealistic; but, as a woman, I could really, truly believe the things that had happened.

The ending was good in some respects but in others left me unsatisfied. There didn't really seem to be any closure, and the fate of the characters was pretty much entirely left unwritten, which didn't satisfy me as much as it could have.

Overall, I have given this book 3 stars. I enjoyed it enough, though it's not a book I could see myself returning to. For mystery and crime readers, I'd definitely recommend it, and I think it would be enjoyed. For me, though, there was something lacking - but I am glad that I read it.

I really enjoyed this book, I love a good mystery and this ticked all the boxes! Perfect representation of the power of women, LGTBQ+ people and misogyny without making it a plot device or being condescending. The mystery kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat, I had no clue who out of the seven women killed the man until the final reveal. I liked the writing style and found the book easy to read.