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The Devil's Detective

The Devil's Detective, March 2015
by Simon Kurt Unsworth

Doubleday
Featuring: Thomas Fool
304 pages
ISBN: 0385539347
EAN: 9780385539340
Kindle: B00N6PCZPE
Hardcover / e-Book
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"Nightmarish thriller in the underworld"

Fresh Fiction Review

The Devil's Detective
Simon Kurt Unsworth

Reviewed by Debbie Wiley
Posted February 23, 2015

Fiction | Fantasy Urban

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.

Learn more about The Devil's Detective

SUMMARY

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 manner—extravagant even by Hell's standards—everything 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.


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