Speak of the Devil

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding
6/13/23; 304 pages
St. Martin's

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding is a recommended murder mystery.

Seven dissimilar women gather together at midnight on New Year’s Eve, 1999. In the middle of the room sits a man's head, no body in sight. The head belongs to Jamie Spellman and each of the women in that room had a reason to kill him. He had alternately lied to, seduced, manipulated, threatened, and betrayed each of them. They all say they didn't do it, but someone did and they need to find out who it was.

Chapters cycle between the voices of each of the seven women, slowly revealing their secrets and creating an incriminating picture of Jamie. To be sure, there are a whole lot of points-of-view to negotiate before you learn to care about any of these people and differentiate between them. This was a struggle for me because I wasn't caring about them as quickly as I normally would.

Also, to be fair, the opening does grab your attention and makes you want to know more. The chapters are short and things move along quickly so individuals do end up sorting themselves out.

Basically, Speak of the Devil is a tale about various women who encountered a hideous man and the reasons each of them might want him to be gone. It is an entertaining novel and a good vacation read if you can sort out all the characters while reading. It will create a diversion during any flights, however, if you misplace it in the airport you won't care.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's via NetGalley.