Book Review: The Devil’s Work, by Mark Edwards #thedevilswork

Publisher:  Thomas and Mercer

Publication date:  13th September 2016

Mark Edwards is fast becoming one of my favourite authors as his talent for character selection is undeniable. It’s the mundane traits of people that appear in his books that crank up the suspense as you can see something familiar in them, people you may have worked or lived with, or perhaps you may even recognise yourself. Then he does what he knows best: he stealthily hangs a target on their back and fires them into awful circumstances until their lives begin to unravel. But he’s relentless and doesn’t stop pushing, even when they’ve fallen to their knees.

And so welcome to paranoia-ville, complete with creeping suspicion and the most positively slap-worthy cast.

Set in the claustrophobic, gargoyle clad publishing house of Jackdaw Books, a dream job becomes available for Sophie Greenwood. This is her big moment after her young daughter, Daisy, has started school. But when she discovers she’s replacing a member of staff who left her desk and hasn’t been seen since, the chance of getting through her three month trial already feels like it’s slipping away.

Let the ominous office politics begin, or rather the subtle undertow of deliberate sabotage and much stirring to undermine her position – or so it seems. Without evidence, she attributes her jumpiness to the pressure of a new job and anxiously leaving Daisy for the first time. That is, until her husband is suspended from his work as a reporter through a mistake he swears he didn’t make and dead mice start decorating their front door.

DON’T. PANIC. All is well, as the decrepit boss of Jackdaw who is the grandfather of Sophie’s old friend from University, has his beady on everyone with his ‘we’re just one big family’ attitude – well that’s a relief, eh? When Sophie is asked to market a book called The Devil’s Work, the suspected office games are get way out of hand and she risks looking like she’s not only misplaced her professionalism but also her mind.

So, is someone chipping away to undermine Sophie Greenwood? Then who the hell is it, and why are they going out of their way to be so damned unkind? Sophie is not only having to watch her back, but that of her irritable unemployed husband, Guy, and poor Daisy, who’s not been quite right since that ‘bring your daughter to work day’.

Brace yourself for a psychological thriller on an Olympic scale, which I’ve no doubt would win gold, hands down. After many days of spiteful taunting, mammoth manipulation, and the past being dredged up for good measure – then bring on that utterly incredible twist!

The Devil’s Work is a book that really gets under your skin and I guarantee you won’t stop reading until you discover the agenda that is afoot. With its effortless tip-toe-ingly evil vibe and unremarkable situations that morph into the worst thing imaginable, it’s a wickedly sinister read from first page to last.

Rating:  5/5

(My thanks to the author for kindly providing a digital copy of his book in exchange for an unbiased review – here’s wishing a very happy publication day to him!)

(Courtesy of Amazon UK)

A gripping psychological thriller from the bestselling author of Follow You Home and The Magpies.

It was the job she had dreamed of since childhood. But on her very first day, when an unnerving encounter drags up memories Sophie Greenwood would rather forget, she wonders if she has made a mistake. A fatal mistake.

What is her ambitious young assistant really up to? And what exactly happened to Sophie’s predecessor? When her husband and daughter are pulled into the nightmare, Sophie is forced to confront the darkest secrets she has carried for years.

As her life begins to fall apart at work and at home, Sophie must race to uncover the truth about her new job…before it kills her.

BUY THE BOOK

(Courtesy of Amazon UK)

I write psychological thrillers. My influences include writers such as Stephen King, Ira Levin, Ruth Rendell, Ian McEwan, Val McDermid and Donna Tartt and movies like Rosemary’s Baby, Single White Female, Fatal Attraction and anything in which scary things happen to ordinary people.

You can download a free box set of ‘Short Sharp Shockers’ by visiting http://www.markedwardsauthor.com/free

THE MAGPIES (2013) and BECAUSE SHE LOVES ME (2014) topped the Kindle chart in the UK, as did FOLLOW YOU HOME (2015) which also was a top five bestseller in the US. My other solo novel is WHAT YOU WISH FOR (2014) and I have one short story, KISSING GAMES, available on Amazon. My next psychological thriller, THE DEVIL’S WORK will be published on 13/9/16.

I have co-written six novels with Louise Voss: CATCH YOUR DEATH (2012; a #1 bestseller), KILLING CUPID (2012), ALL FALL DOWN (2013) and FORWARD SLASH (2013). We are now writing a series featuring DI Patrick Lennon. The first two books are FROM THE CRADLE (2014) and THE BLISSFULLY DEAD (2015). In total, I have sold over 1.5 million copies of my books.

After a career that has taken in everything from answering complaint calls for a rail company to teaching English in Japan and being a marketing director, I now write full-time. I live in the West Midlands, England, with my wife, our three children and a ginger cat.

Please note: there is another author called Mark Edwards. If a title is not listed on my author page, it’s not by me.

TWITTER   |   FACEBOOK   |   WEBSITE

Advertisement