Speak of the Devil

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The women’s] stories converge in a way that will appeal to Kate Atkinson’s readers…This debut author is one to watch.” – FirstCLUE CWs: transphobia, rape, misgendering, outing, adult-minor relationship, gaslighting, domestic abuse, suicide First off, I found this extremely interesting, the content and topics explored. However, I also found the construction of the story to be a bit jarring. There are a lot of characters and you get all of their perspectives. The narrative jumps around a lot, not only via perspective, but also in time. They took their usual seats around a makeshift alter in the center of the room, where under a pillowcase was the severed head of a man they all knew. A propulsive and complexly layered story...Fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware won’t want to miss this one." – Nora Murphy, author of The Favor

As the narrative progresses we get to know more about each of these women, how their stories intersect with the deceased, the events that led to their being in the hotel room with Jamie’s decapitated head, and what transpires in the two weeks following that fateful night as the women try to maintain their innocence. Complicating matters further is the fact that the investigator in charge of the case has a history with one of the women in question. A decapitated head, a diverse group of women, an odious man - it’s a mystery who killed him, but there’s no doubt that someone did. But who? Seven women had more than enough reason to commit murder, but who finally caved? And who brought them all together? Nova is a detective who, despite knowing more than a couple of the suspects, is determined to put past failures behind her and solve this murder - but is she willing to do it at any cost? In fact, this story does begin with a severed head in a dingy hotel room. Seven women, all very different, but all somehow connected to the man to whom the head once belonged, are gathered around it.I like a good revenge story, but this one's revenge comes about a little too late for my liking. The ending is fairly decent though, so I won't fault the author in that regard, because she doesn't drag it on and on and on. Nova was a very late addition. When I first started writing, I didn’t really have an interest in who had done it, I just wanted to focus on the stories of all of these women. The seven came from the idea of seven deadly sins. One of them has been undermined at work, one has been raped, one has been cheated on – each woman embodies a sin. I’d written 20,000 words of what I thought would be the book but Jeanette explained how I needed to restructure it and why I needed a detective, so Nova is supposed to be an embodiment of the spirit of Newcastle. She’s called Nova after Novocastrian (a word for a Newcastle native) and she’s got a tattoo of magpies. I wanted her to be the person who is friendly and interested but also not scared to look at things from an unorthodox angle. I was really pleased with her character in the end.’ stars Thank you to St Martins Publishing Group Influencer Program and Minotaur Books for the free gifted book. This ARC publishes June 13, 2023. 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). Or what about the youngest? Still just a child, Josie finds herself in an unrecognizable reality after following her teenage hormones towards a forbidden crush. Could she possibly be behind this gruesome crime?

Each of the women - the wife, the teenager, the ex, the journalist, the colleague, the friend, and the woman who raised him - has a very good reason to have killed Jamie Spellman, but each one denies doing it. 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

Featured Reviews

stars. Seven women stand in a seedy hotel room, gathered in a circle around the severed head of a man named Jamie. Each of them knew Jamie, and each of them had a reason to kill him. So who did it, and why? Seven women. A man’s head. Who swung the axe that killed Jamie Spellman? Rose Wilding’s debut novel is about the anger of women who are not heard and what happens when they take justice into their own hands. Brilliant, fast-paced . . . loved the connection of all the women, the strength in their united pain' READER REVIEW Earlier in the evening, seven women received a message from an unknown number asking them to gather in the “usual place” at 7 PM for an emergency meeting. Like I said, if you've watched Bad Sisters, this is a similar premise, but without as much humor and heart. The series is infinitely better, so if you haven't watched it you're missing out.