The Devil’s Evidence by Simon Kurt Unsworth
Doubleday (July 2016)
400 pages; $20.34 hardcover; $12.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington
Thomas Fool, The Devil’s Detective, is an Information Man and a human among demons. Fool is the Commander of the Information Office, a position in Hell for which he gets little respect. Along comes a new department in Hell, The Evidence, headed by Mr. Tap. All they seem to do is get in the way of the Information Men:
They didn’t investigate, they simply tore things apart and reached conclusions that made little or no sense, and then executed justice on the spot.
As Fool and his team are investigating a series of arson cases and murders, he is called away to be part of a special delegation to Heaven. While in Heaven, he learns of some mysterious deaths there. Heaven blames Hell. Hell blames Heaven. Can Thomas Fool uncover the truth before there’s an all-out war?
The Devil’s Evidence turned out to be a worthy sequel to The Devil’s Detective, and was slightly better than book one. More fantasy than horror, it does get rather gruesome at times, pure escapism requiring a total suspension of disbelief. This is not an easy read, but it is an interesting and entertaining foray into a completely different world and the final twist is pure gold.
From Doubleday, The Devil’s Evidence: A Novel, is available in hardback, e-book and audio formats.
