The Devil's Detective - Hardcover

Unsworth, Simon Kurt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385539347 ISBN 13: 9780385539340

Publisher: Doubleday, 2015

Synopsis

Debut novelist Simon Kurt Unsworth sends the detective novel to Hell. InThe 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 Detectiveis 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."

About this title

Review:

"I think this might be the most whimsical murder story ever told. "The Devil's Detective" is relentlessly creative, fearlessly witty, and completely twisted. Naturally, I loved it."
-- Chelsea Cain, "New York Times" bestselling author of "One Kick," "Heartsick," and more.
"Dark and luminous, compelling and insidious, "The Devil's Detective" is a novel that transcends genre."
--Michael Marshall, bestselling author of "The Intruders" and "The Straw Men"
"Hell as the setting for a "noir" investigation turns out to be as fun as it sounds in "The Devil's Detective." Inventive and pacy, Simon Kurt Unsworth has created a world--underworld?--distinctly his own."
-- Andrew Pyper, author of "The Demonologist" and "The Damned"
"Inventive and intriguing--Unsworth turns a journey through Hell into a heavenly read."
-- Alison Littlewood, author of "A Cold Season"
"With the character of Fool, Simon Kurt Unsworth has crafted a hero among the damned. Original, tense, and full of twists, this is one hell of a great read."
--Hugh Howey, New York TimesBestselling author ofWool
"I think this might be the most whimsical murder story ever told. The Devil s Detective is relentlessly creative, fearlessly witty, and completely twisted. Naturally, I loved it."
--Chelsea Cain, New York Times bestselling author of One Kick, Heartsick, and more.
"Dark and luminous, compelling and insidious, The Devil s Detective is a novel that transcends genre.
--Michael Marshall Smith, bestselling author of The Intrudersand The StrawMen
"Hell as the setting for a noir investigation turns out to be as fun as it sounds in The Devil's Detective. Inventive and pacy, Simon Kurt Unsworth has created a world--underworld?--distinctly his own."
-- Andrew Pyper, author of The Demonologist and The Damned
Inventive and intriguing--Unsworth turns a journey through Hell into a heavenly read."
-- Alison Littlewood, author of A Cold Season

An entertaining Dantean spin on the police procedural Appropriately awash with gore and bodily fluids, The Devil s Detective is damned good. The Financial Times (FT.com)
"With wit, ingenuity and prodigious timing, first-time British novelist Unsworth imagines an unsettling afterlife that at times feels uncomfortably close to some of the more unbearable regions of our waking dreams...A grand, nightmarish page-turner that will have you riveted no matter how much you'd prefer to look away."
--Kirkus
"A clever spin on the traditional police procedural...We ve seen other novels set in Hell, but we haven t seen a Hell quite like this."
--Booklist
It is uncanny how a writer can so easily create a work that revitalizes a genre and sends it in a new direction simultaneously leading the reader on a breathless chase after clues that reassert the book s place as a solid detective mystery .[The Devil s Detective is] truly a genre bending and thrilling literary mystery you won t soon forget. Certainly my favorite book of 2015 so far!
--BookPeople s Blog (Austin, TX)
"Readers of mystery stories looking to dip their toes into the waters of speculative fiction may find something to rave about inThe Devil's Detective."
--Kirkus, "New Speculative Fiction Debuts You Won't Want to Miss"
A layered, fascinating first novel that will put readers firmly in mind of Clive Barker as they indulge in the gorgeous detail of Hell and all of its squalid denizens. The Devil s Detective is an ambitious yet accomplished piece of work that will leave the reader not only wanting more Thomas Fool but hoping against hope that the reality of Hell isn t anywhere near as bad as the version in Unsworth s imagination.
--Thisishorror.co.uk

Impressive, intricate, and imaginative .Highly recommended for horror fans, but especially to fans of Barker!
--HorrorAfterDark.com

The Devil's Detective has the capability to be a real breakout novel, one of those rare breeds of a horror novel that manages to escape from the genre and appeal to much wider audience. The balance between the genre trappings and tropes of both horror and crime is perfectly balanced.
--GingerNutsofHorror.com"

Book Description:

A stunning blend of Crime Thriller and Dante-esque Horror.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0385539347
• ISBN 13: 9780385539340
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 289