A dead body has been found in Hell but this time something is different. Normally, dead bodies aren't investigated but this time the canister has a blue ribbon- a rarity as this time an investigation will occur. Thomas Fool, one of Hell's Information Men, starts his investigation only to find out the dead body is also missing a soul. Will Fool solve the murder before the trail of bodies increases?
THE DEVIL'S DETECTIVE is a disquieting dark fantasy tale, and one I'm not sure I want to venture back into should a sequel be written. I suspect a large part of the tale is meant to be metaphorical, as ironically the main character, an Information Man, is repeatedly referenced to by his last name, Fool. However, it is the brutality of the Simon Kurt Unsworth's world which is a bit off-putting to me.
THE DEVIL'S DETECTIVE is a dark, disturbing thriller that is definitely not for the faint of heart! Simon Kurt Unsworth does a spectacular job with world building, perhaps too well at times, as he paints a portrait of Hell that is even worse than one would expect. Torture, murder, and an unrelenting loss of hope are all part of the very vivid nightmarish landscape. Readers who love horror or very dark fantasy will relish Simon Kurt Unsworth's innovative storyline.
Debut novelist Simon Kurt Unsworth sends the detective
novel
to Hell. In The Devil's Detective, a sea change is coming
to
Hell . . . and a man named Thomas Fool is caught in the
middle.
Thomas Fool is an Information Man, an investigator tasked
with cataloging and filing reports on the endless stream
of
violence and brutality that flows through Hell. His job
holds no reward or satisfaction, because Hell has rules
but
no justice. Each new crime is stamped "Do Not Investigate"
and dutifully filed away in the depths of the Bureaucracy.
But when an important political delegation arrives and a
human is found murdered in a horrific mannerβextravagant
even by Hell's standardsβeverything changes.
The murders escalate, and their severity points to the
kind
of killer not seen for many generations. Something is
challenging the rules and order of Hell, so the
Bureaucracy
sends Fool to identify and track down the killer. . . .
But
how do you investigate murder in a place where death is
common currency? Or when your main suspect pool is a
legion
of demons? With no memory of his past and only an
irresistible need for justice, Fool will piece together
clues and follow a trail that leads directly into the
heart
of a dark and chaotic conspiracy. A revolution is brewing
in
Hell . . . and nothing is what it seems.
The Devil's Detective is an audacious, highly suspenseful
thriller set against a nightmarish and wildly vivid world.
Simon Kurt Unsworth has created a phantasmagoric thrill
ride
filled with stunning set pieces and characters that spring
from our deepest nightmares. It will have readers of both
thrillers and horror hanging on by their fingernails until
the final word. In Hell, hope is your worst enemy.
No excerpt available.
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