Friend of the Devil
Books | Fiction / Horror
3.7
Stephen Lloyd
High school can be hell. Literally.A demonic detective novel best devoured in a single sitting--from acclaimed TV writer Stephen Lloyd. Welcome to Danforth Putnam, boarding school for the elite, sprawled across its own private island off the coast of New England. Sam, a war vet who feels sure he’s seen it all, has been called here to find a stolen rare book. But as he corners D&D nerds, grills steroid-raging linemen, and interviews filthy-rich actresses, he soon senses that something far stranger—“witchy”, in fact—is afoot. When students start to meet mysterious and gruesome deaths, Sam realizes just how fast the clock is ticking. After joining forces with plucky, epilepsy-defying school reporter Harriet, Sam ventures into increasingly dark territory, unravelling a supernatural mystery that will upend everything he thinks he knows about this school—and then shatter his own reality. Toss Dracula into a blender, throw in a shot of hard-boiled detective fiction, splash in a couple drops of Stranger Things, and pour yourself a nice tall glass of Friend of the Devil.
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More Details:
Author
Stephen Lloyd
Pages
240
Publisher
Penguin
Published Date
2022-05-10
ISBN
0593331389 9780593331385
Community ReviewsSee all
"Kept me hooked throughout and had an unexpected twist!"
Stephanie Carroll
"#noir #horror "
Brooke Galbreath
"3.5<br/><br/>When a rare and valuable book from the 11th century is stolen from a safe at a boarding school on a remote island off the coast of Massachusetts, insurance investigator Sam Gregory is brought in to investigate. When kids start disappearing and weird supernatural things start happening, Sam and school newspaper writer Harriet (a bullying victim of one the missing kids) investigate. <br/><br/>This novella is a quick read that can be finished in around 3 hours. The characters of Sam and Harriet are decently fleshed out for a novella of 240 pages. All the other side characters are pretty one dimensional though. I liked Sam and Harriet's snarkiness and there were several moments where I laughed out loud. However, I think the plot has some holes in it and the pacing was a struggle at first. The blurb compares it to ghe likes of Bram Stoker, Jim Butcher, and Raymond Chandler, I think it falls a bit short though, with the exception of the snark in Butcher's Dresden Files. A decent read if you're looking for something that can be consumed in just a couple hours. <br/><br/>My appreciation to G.P. Putnam, author Stephen Lloyd, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own."
C H
Chris Hicks
