Speak of the Devil

A Novel

By: Rose Wilding

Narrated by: Colleen Prendergast

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

©2022 Rose Wilding (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“What’s most distinctive here is not the question of whodunit or even the piercing group portrait of the women in Jamie’s life but the delicate care with which Wilding ensures that even the most routine revelations...arrive with a jolt.” –Kirkus Reviews

“Wilding takes an axe to toxic masculinity...maneuvering her vivid characters around like a virtuoso puppeteer. It’s a powerful, accomplished and important debut from a writer who has not only found her own voice but given one to others who have previously been silenced.” –Trevor Wood, author of Dead End Street

“Assured & compelling…Rose Wilding’s evocation of the Newcastle setting & pitch-perfect ear for dialogue make every one of her characters live & breathe. I love the way she can unpick their lives before our eyes, exposing every secret.” –Kate Rhodes, author of Crossbones Yard

I could not wait for this book to be over.

Every time I looked so the amount of time left, I groaned. This book could have been at least two hours shorter and not so disjointed.

Bombshell

this was a very good short read. Lots of twists and turns with different character plot lines. I would have liked to dig a little deeps into each character’s backstory.

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed the switching of perspectives. The story kept me guessing until the end. The characters are complex and I love how it brings into question what’s right and wrong.