A History of Fear

After infamous murderer Grayson Hale, a.k.a. the Devil’s Advocate, is found dead in his jail cell, a journalist uncovers a manuscript in which Hale describes how his killing of a classmate was orchestrated by the devil. In the manuscript, Hale is a U.S. postgrad studying in Edinburgh when a mysterious man hires him to write about the history of the devil in Scotland. From the beginning, it is apparent that the manuscript’s narrator has struggled psychologically, as he describes his affliction from Satanophobia since the age of 13 and a turbulent family history involving his cultish, religious father and heartless mother. With intensifying visions (or are they real?) of winged demons chasing Hale through the streets of Edinburgh and shadowy figures lurking in the shadows, the novel maintains an atmosphere of dread as it reaches its chilling conclusion.