Htom_Serveaux reviewed The devil's detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth
None
4 stars
Not at all what I was expecting. Probably not what you're expecting, either.
Not at all what I was expecting. Probably not what you're expecting, either.
289 pages
English language
Published Feb. 27, 2015
Thomas Fool is an Information Man, an investigator tasked with cataloging and filing reports on the endless stream of violence and brutality that flows through Hell. His job holds no reward or satisfaction, because Hell has rules but no justice. Each new crime is stamped "Do Not Investigate" and dutifully filed away in the depths of the Bureaucracy. But when an important political delegation arrives and a human is found murdered in a horrific manner--extravagant even by Hell's standards--everything changes. The murders escalate, and their severity points to the kind of killer not seen for many generations. Something is challenging the rules and order of Hell, so the Bureaucracy sends Fool to identify and track down the killer.
Thomas Fool is an Information Man, an investigator tasked with cataloging and filing reports on the endless stream of violence and brutality that flows through Hell. His job holds no reward or satisfaction, because Hell has rules but no justice. Each new crime is stamped "Do Not Investigate" and dutifully filed away in the depths of the Bureaucracy. But when an important political delegation arrives and a human is found murdered in a horrific manner--extravagant even by Hell's standards--everything changes. The murders escalate, and their severity points to the kind of killer not seen for many generations. Something is challenging the rules and order of Hell, so the Bureaucracy sends Fool to identify and track down the killer.
Not at all what I was expecting. Probably not what you're expecting, either.
Not at all what I was expecting. Probably not what you're expecting, either.
Nearly but not quite a 5.
Classic detective story but in hell. Wonderful writing. My only complaint is that sometimes there were moments where I knew what was happening and I was waiting for that stupid Fool to twig it (this didn't go on for super long but it was a tad frustrating).
Nearly but not quite a 5.
Classic detective story but in hell. Wonderful writing. My only complaint is that sometimes there were moments where I knew what was happening and I was waiting for that stupid Fool to twig it (this didn't go on for super long but it was a tad frustrating).