When it comes to the genre of thriller, the expectations are slightly more even before I start reading the book. It’s one of my favorite genres. With this book, it was the blurb that kind of appealed to me. The cover art was so-so.
The first chapter of The Devil’s Prayer sets the tone for the rest of the novel for sure. A nun commits suicide in Spain, but the circumstances of that means there’s something bigger at play. Siobhan Russo, in Australia, realizes that nun is her mother Denise Russo who disappeared many years before. A surprise visit pushes Siobhan to travel to Spain in search of answers. But do those answers, in her mother’s final confession reveal more questions? Part of The Devil’s Prayer, an ancient text, is now in her hands through that final confession, and some extremist monks are out to retrieve that text. Can Siobhan escape?
First aspect to any thriller is pace. The narration should be fast, engaging and make the reader turn the pages in anticipation of what comes next. The Devil’s Prayer certainly has that in oodles, at least in the first part of the book. Secrets are revealed, and the backstory develops quickly. I think the pace starts to ease up during the middle parts, and then kind of stops toward the climax. There is a lot of information download in that last part of the book, something that didn’t interest me at all. The book has gory scenes too, but I applaud the author for his handling of those parts. I felt it was quite well done.
The character sketch of Denise Russo seems interesting, given that most of the book deals with the backstory and her confession. The others are a bit of a mystery still. It’s not helped with the book coming to a very abrupt stop either. I had an idea that the book would have a sequel when the confession continued on and on, but I didn’t expect that abrupt stop. It could have been done in a better way. This book seems like the prologue to the actual action novel where Siobhan has to try and save the world from its own destruction.
I liked the book, and the plot definitely had promise. The climax was kind of a let-down. The sequel, I feel, might be more interesting than this book, so would try reading that. Wishing the author much success in his works…
| Book Details | |
|---|---|
| Title: The Devil’s Prayer | |
| Author(s): Luke Gracias | Genre: Thriller |
| ISBN/ASIN: 9789380925486 | Publisher: Bee Books |
No payment was taken for this review. The views expressed here are mine, and they remain uninfluenced and unbiased.
(© Vinay Leo R. @ A Bookworm’s Musing
18th December 2017)
Thanks for taking the time to read and review my debut novel.
🙂