The Devil She Knows
The Devil She Knows
by Alexandria Bellefleur
Recommended
There's a particular kind of narrative laziness that irks me. Not enough to hate the work entirely, but it .. disappoints? Me every single time.
One of the reasons I did not fall headfirst into Sherlock when it first exploded onto the cultural landscape was a bit of the same thing. The first episode (spoilers) involves trying to deduce what happens to a woman, and Holmes uses a number of clues not actually discernible through the camera in order to solve the mystery.
And that's ... fine? If your story is about the relationship between Watson and Holmes and Holmes trying to figure out how to interact with the world, the mystery matters less. But in the pilot episode, you probably have to not focus so intensely on the mystery if that's what you want me to take away from it?
(I'm getting there, I swear.)
I actually came into this book blind - didn't read the blurb, knew absolutely nothing other than the fact I've liked some of the author's previous works (and profoundly disliked one or two). I think there was some benefit, there – I wasn't expecting too much and, despite being a little annoyed to find out the eponymous devil is a literal demon, I was able to settle in.
Overall, the story is a decent Twilight Zone episode, with the main character, Samantha, trying (and failing) multiple different ways to get back the girl of her supposed dreams afrer whiffing mightily with a romantic dinner proposal. Sam's development (and realization of precisely how she got so entangled with this woman) are astute and not a vein of characterization I've seen in a lot of romance novels.
And Daphne, despite some somewhat dated references (that landed perfectly for me, a dated person in her own right), was witty and relatable.
My gripe comes with the ending. I won't spoil it entirely, but the denoument comes through a MacGuffin we only discover even exists once it's been activated and saves the day. It's fine, drawing on cultural tropes and expectations, but in a "beating the devil" romance narrative, I'd like to see more thought put into it than straight-up stealing the major plot point from This is the End, the stoner comedy apocalypse film from 2012.
A fun read, but don't expect a particularly satisfying ending.
Synopsis
Samantha Cooper is having a day from hell.
In less than 24 hours, her life has unraveled, leaving her single and with nowhere to live. Adding insult to injury, she’s trapped in an elevator with a gorgeous woman claiming to be a demon.
Daphne is not at all what Samantha expected from someone claiming to be an evil supernatural entity. She’s pretty, witty, dressed in pink, and smells nice. And she’s here to offer Samantha a deal she can’t refuse. Six wishes in exchange for one tiny trade—Samantha’s soul. There’s a glaring loophole in their contract, one Samantha fully intends to exploit so she doesn’t fork over her soul. After all, she only needs one wish to win her ex back.
Hell-bent to gather the last of the one thousand souls she needs so that she can be free of her own devilish deal, Daphne grants each of Samantha’s wishes . . . with a twist, so that Samantha is forced to make another.
As Samantha’s wishes dwindle and Daphne offers her glimpses into the life she thought she wanted, the unlikely pair grows close. Perhaps the girl of Samantha’s dreams is actually the stuff of nightmares, but Samantha and Daphne will have to outsmart the Devil himself if they want a chance at happily ever after.