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The Devil She Knows Audiobook
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(3.01) - 205 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
An audacious thriller from a major new talent
Life isn’t panning out for Maureen Coughlin. At twenty-nine, the tough-skinned Staten Island native’s only excitement comes from—well, not much. A fresh pack of American Spirits, maybe, or a discreet dash of coke before work. If something doesn’t change soon, she’ll end up a “lifer” at the Narrows, the faux-swank bar where she works one long night after another. But just like the island, the Narrows has its seamy side.
After work one night, Maureen walks in on a tryst between her co-worker Dennis and Frank Sebastian, a silver-haired politico. When Sebastian demands her silence, Maureen is more than happy to forget what she’s seen—until Dennis turns up dead on the train tracks the next morning. The murder sends Maureen careening out of her stultifying routine and into fast-deepening trouble. Soon she’s on the run through the seedy underbelly of the borough, desperate to stop Sebastian before Dennis’ fate becomes her own.
With The Devil She Knows, Bill Loehfelm has written a pitch-black thriller in a fresh, compulsively readable voice, with pages that turn themselves. This is the real deal: a breakout novel by a writer whom Publishers Weekly has praised for his “superb prose and psychological insights.”
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"I really liked this novel. It is a page turner and had me hooked quickly upon starting it. At times it did seem to lag when Maureen(protagonist) pontificates her life and her choices. I was often frustrated with Maureen because she seems so self-involved, even when danger presents itself to those she loves. I kept wondering when she was going to grow up and realize that life is not only about her and that her good intentions put others in direct danger."
— Letticia (4 out of 5 stars)
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“The Devil She Knows is nothing short of terrific. An absolutely original voice…and a story that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t ever, ever, ever even think of letting go.”
— John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author -
“Bill Loehfelm, a rising star in crime fiction, just keeps rising higher: The Devil She Knows is a taut, knowing story, and Maureen Coughlin is a hero for the ages, a character who jumps off the page and demands the reader’s full attention and empathy from the very start.”
— Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author -
“Loehfelm, who’s written two other thrillers about Staten Island’s underbelly, elevates this rousing tale with riveting characters—especially Maureen, who brandishes a knife as convincingly as she worries about becoming a cat lady.”
— People -
“Loehfelm delivers on the promise of his first two crime novels, Fresh Kills and Bloodroot, with this terrific drama about a barmaid who tangles with a sadistic and well-connected killer…Loehfelm expertly ramps up the suspense, taking the reader on a dark ride.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“At a bar, a tough city girl sees something she really shouldn’t see, and immediately there’s trouble—well-dressed, connected, and brazenly confident trouble. A tough city girl can get out of trouble, right? Not if she’s caught in a dark corner of Staten Island, New York City’s most tribal and secretive borough. So begins Bill Loehfelm’s page-ripping thriller, The Devil She Knows. It’s a fast, rough ride you can’t put down.”
— Colin Harrison, author of The Finder -
“Character drives this follow-up to Loehfelm’s fine Bloodroot; the deeply conflicted Maureen, in particular, is brilliantly developed. She’s tough and street-smart but vulnerable…Even Staten Island, which Loehfelm brilliantly sketched in Bloodroot, becomes a character in this one: seedy, brooding, and sometimes deadly. But, finally, it’s still Maureen, as compelling a character as this reviewer expects to see this year, who makes The Devil She Knows a must for crime-fiction lovers.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Loehfelm, who grew up on Staten Island, portrays the street life of New York City’s most tribal borough so vividly that the place emerges not so much as a setting but as a main character in its own right. And he tells his story in an original voice that is by turns gritty and lyrical. The Devil She Knows is a worthy successor to the author’s previous Staten Island novels, Fresh Kills and Bloodroot. Rarely has a crime novelist launched a career with a trio of books that display such superior craftsmanship.”
— Journal
The Devil She Knows Listener Reviews
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" OK, it was a freebie, but even that didn't make me like it that much. Parts were good, but the bad guy was so over the top bad, he was kind of like a Dr. Evil character, but not funny, just dull. "
— Gretchen, 2/11/2014 -
" This book was an exciting fast paced thriller with a spunky, but flawed heroine. "
— Alison, 2/9/2014 -
" Loehfelm's noirish suspense novel revolves around a memorable trio of characters. Maureen Coughlin is tough, canny, and proud. She's in dead-end waitressing job, struggling mightily to make ends meet. She's a little hard to like and make some poor choices, but Loehfelm gets the reader well inside her head, so even her worst behavior is believable, and, at least from her character's perspective, understandable. One night she sees state senatorial candidate Frank Sebastian in a compromising situation, and her life starts to come off its rails. Sebastian is as repulsive character as I've encountered in fiction recently: a sadistic, brutish, misogynist. Before I moved to Massachusetts I never would have believed such a man could hope to stand for office, and some of what Sebastian gets up to strains my credibility even so. But he's vividly drawn for sure. Detective Nat Waters is perhaps the most standard figure of the central trio: the bitter, aging cop with a complex, tarnished history. But he gets a bit more character depth than many such figures, and it's interesting to see him from Coughlin's perspective rather than as the primary viewpoint character. I didn't think it was perfect. Coughlin is very ambivalent about whether and how far she can trust Waters; her flip-flopping wears a little thin. Loehfelm telegraphs a few of the thematic and plot points a little too far in advance, robbing the impact of a few twists. And near the end it goes kinda over-the-top and verges on the cartoonish. But it was plenty suspenseful nonetheless; up to the last few pages I wasn't sure if Loehfelm was the sort of writer who lets his sympathetic characters out of the novel more-or-less intact, or the type who eradicates their world in an all-out bloodbath. "
— doug, 1/20/2014 -
" The first 80 pages could have been condensed to 20. I gave up. "
— Chad, 1/20/2014 -
" Excellent characterisation, pacy narrative, exciting twists, engaging plot development. Highly recommended! "
— Juliet, 1/12/2014 -
" A nice fast paced book. "
— Robyn, 12/13/2013 -
" Starts out strong but gets slow. Confusing in the middle. I do like the ending - ONLY reason it got 3 stars. Otherwise more of a 2 star book. "
— Kersten, 11/4/2013 -
" Mediocre, nothing thrilling or suspenseful in this book. "
— Linda, 9/11/2013 -
" was kinda slow getting to the goodstuff, i couldnt finish. "
— Tyra, 8/13/2013 -
" Terrific story. Charachters to root for in an unlikey setting-Staten Island, New York. Well worth the read. "
— Lorraine, 8/10/2013 -
" only ok, the main character spent so much time smoking i felt like i could smell it "
— Lori, 7/1/2013 -
" Very different. Love the main character with all her flaws and past history. A page turner. Good characters. "
— Joann, 12/26/2012 -
" Interesting book. Dragged in parts but very much held my attention. Will be reading more by him. "
— Jeri, 11/15/2012 -
" Good writing, a strong beginning and ending, but I had a difficult time staying focused, or even interested, for much of the character-driven story in between. "
— Sandy, 11/11/2012 -
" Liked the story. Last half of book was very good. Unfortunately just couldn't like the main character which made it a difficult book in the beginning "
— Lisa, 11/8/2012 -
" No real likable characters. It did keep moving although not fast paced "
— Michele, 4/4/2012 -
" I needed a good crime novel for my trip and this one totally fit the bill. I like a female protagonist that is smart and gritty. There were some of the easy "don't go in there!" moments but it was a fun read. "
— Benita, 2/12/2012 -
" I really enjoyed it. One of those books that you can picture as a movie while you're reading it. "
— Melissa, 12/25/2011 -
" Wonderful book, not so much a mystery as a great character sketch with a decided literary bent. A very simple plot beautifully presented "
— Andy, 10/19/2011 -
" Taut and tight and a swift read. Unique story line with enough familiar concepts to make it real. It has it all. Good and bad guys, a damsel in distress and .... well, that's for you to find out. "
— Robin, 9/21/2011 -
" OK, it was a freebie, but even that didn't make me like it that much. Parts were good, but the bad guy was so over the top bad, he was kind of like a Dr. Evil character, but not funny, just dull. "
— Gretchen, 6/28/2011 -
" This book was an exciting fast paced thriller with a spunky, but flawed heroine. <br/> "
— Alison, 6/2/2011
About Bill Loehfelm
Bill Loehfelm was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Staten Island. In 1997 he moved to New Orleans. He is the author of the novels Fresh Kills, which won an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and Bloodroot. He lives in New Orleans’ Garden District with his wife, writer A. C. Lambeth.
About Renée Raudman
Renée Raudman is an actor and Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. She has performed on film, television, radio, and on stage and can also be heard in several video games and hundreds of television and radio voice-overs.