Book Review: The Devil Inside by DL Hicks
The Devil Inside is told from dual narrators:. one, Detective Charlotte Callaghan, following her investigation into the brutal murder of a young woman in her small coastal town, and the other being the childhood memories of the murderer which, in some part, explains why he’s turned into someone capable of killing.
In the course of her investigation, Charlotte realises all the clues are pointing to her own brother, a Catholic priest, being involved. Charlotte’s personal life is complicated enough as it is – she has met a man and things are looking promising but she just needs to work out how she’s going to tell him she’s been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemo.
Hicks’s style was very polished. At times I found it difficult to believe this was a debut. Before taking up writing, Hicks was a real life police officer so hopefully he should have the technical aspects correct. However, I am thinking he used a little poetic licence when it comes to Charlotte continuing to be the lead detective on the case, given her personal relationship with a key suspect.
I had neatly tied up the mystery plot in my mind and was reading along, sure of my assumptions. Then, Hicks dropped a couple of very unexpected twists in the epilogue which literally made my jaw drop. Well played, Mr Hicks.
5 out of 5
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