The Devil's Work

Publication Date: 13 September 2016

Goodreads Description

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.

My Review

The prologue got this book off to a rollicking start and set the scene for what was to follow, being a gripping, tense and at times, freaky story. I've heard a lot of good things about author Mark Edwards but until now, I had never read any of his books. And I'm very glad that I gave this one a go. I'll definitely be reading more by this author.

The strange thing about this book was that I didn't immediately like many of the characters, but yet I loved the story from the outset. Sophie was okay at first but I soon found her irritating with her willingness-to-please-at-all-costs attitude and her naivety. Cassie was an absolute cow who I couldn't stand. Their boss at the publishing house, Simon, was a self centered pain. Even Sophie's husband got on my nerves. So, luckily for me, it wasn't a prerequisite that I like all the characters in order to like the book. And as things turned out, Sophie did grow on me as the story progressed and by the end of the book we were friends.

This story jumps between 2015 and the past, to a time when Sophie was at University. The link between the timelines isn't fully clear at first. All the reader knows is that Sophie's best friend while at University, Jasmine, is the granddaughter of the CEO of the publishing house where Sophie now works as an adult. Even as the story unfolds in the second half of the book, the link still isn't clear and in fact, very few chapters in the second half are set in the past. The prologue also didn't appear to have any link to the story and I couldn't see how the author was going to pull it all together. But never fear, pull it all together is what he did and in a great and thrilling way, with plenty of action and drama. I loved this book and would definitely recommend it for fans of fast paced thrillers.

My rating: * * * *

I bought my own copy of this book to read and review.