Speak of the Devil

DEBUT Wilding’s powerful book compels readers to consider what they’d do after being deceived by a sociopathic liar, and how far they’d go for retribution. New Year’s Eve, 1999. Seven women sit around a table in a sleazy hotel storage room, focused on something covered with a pillowcase. They’re here because they all first loved, then hated, the charming Jamie Spellman. Journalist Kaysha Jackson has gathered the group of women from Jamie’s past—he’d gaslighted each of them, then discarded them like rubbish. They now realize he’s a psychopath and have been discussing their revenge. When they remove the pillowcase, Jamie’s severed head stares back. The women never decided on murder, yet one of them couldn’t wait. Kaysha didn’t kill him, but she’s determined to find out who did. She plans to seduce her former lover, Detective Inspector Nova Stokoe, to get inside information from her investigation. But Nova might just figure out who the killer is first.