Devil Child

by Amélia Cognet

The worst monsters are often human.

Five years after The Faceless, Riley and James are building a life together, but several failed attempts at building a family is shaking the strength of their relationship. It feels as though things couldn’t get worse until someone from James’s past unexpectedly resurfaces. Charles, his younger brother, reaches out after thirteen years. Hikers have vanished in the woods without leaving a trace, and he needs James’s help to solve the case.
James wants to refuse. After all, why would he help someone who did nothing but torture him when they were kids? Someone his own ex-wife cheated on him with? But something else convinces him to return to his hometown. His mother is ill, and it could be his last chance to make things right with her.
This isn’t about Riley this time.
Or is it?

As they investigate the Willow Hills Forest, Riley and James will have to set aside their disagreements to fight something they have never faced before.

358 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 21, 2023

About the author

Amélia is a horror author who loves anything creepy, the supernatural in particular. She loves ghosts, abandoned houses, tattoos, coffee, rainy days, scary books, and fluffly sweaters.

Although from France, she lives in Huntington Beach, CA, with her husband Christophe and her daughter Kara. The years spent living in New England before moving to California are a great inspiration and often impact her writing.

If you want to hear more about her future books, subscribe to her newsletter at https://www.ameliacognet.com/newsletter

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. This was intense really intense, highly recommend this book. Please start with book one, this is amazing.

[Queen Crafter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic book! I went through so many emotions while reading this one, but loved every minute of it. I highly recommend this author and ESPECIALLY this series!!

[Cindy Gaffie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since book one I have been hooked to the series. There is not a book from Amelia that I had to put down. I read them all in one go.

I really enjoyed reading / Imagining Riley and James growing through the story. All the books make us go on a rollercoaster of emotions, and this one was not an exception, you will have goosebumps, you will cry, your jaw will drop and your mind will go WOW. Amelia has the gift of keeping her reader captivated with the right amount of paranormal, the right amount of normal, the right amount of love, the right amount of spooky, etc. You can not guess ahead of time what will happen. It is a complete suspense from the beginning until the end !

I am really amazed at how Amelia added a deaf character without being deaf, she used the right words, the right descriptions of what deaf ( or hard of hearing ) people feel. As a kid I always dreamed of having some kind of superpower to compensate for my deafness. Well, Amelia sort of created this for me with her amazing stories. Throughout the stories, we learn more about the characters background and you know there is so much more. She brings up some very difficult topics that you would not have thought or imagined written, it is again a really well written book !

This book is the final one of 4, I sort of did not want to read it … I did not want the story to end. However I know Amelia is going to treat us with more novellas ( Yes plural please :) ) ! And I can’t wait.

Thank you Amelia Cognet for creating and sharing Riley and her universe with us !

[Ethan Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the final book of this amazing series. I cannot recommend this enough to anyone who is a fan of jaw dropping, heart pounding, and emotional roller coastering novels! Amelia’s writing style is easy to read and flows beautifully. I have felt a personal connection to the characters throughout the series unlike any other book I’ve read. It’s Tough to say goodbye to any of these characters so I’m really hoping and looking forward to any spin offs!

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably my favorite of this series so far! I loved the way it tied the characters history in with a new supernatural element, so much was explained! It did touch on some real world/adult issues (pregnancy & and miscarriages), so be forewarned. While I had a theory about James’ family, I didn’t expect everything to be explained so flawlessly. I don’t want to leave spoilers, but it’s definitely worth the read if you are like me and dying to know more about James’ backstory!

[H. Everend · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm floored. This book was a nice wrap-up for the characters in these series, and while it's probably my favorite of the entire series (which alone is hard to determine as I'm in love with the Celeste books), this one felt...different (in a good way). Love the direction this book took, the hard and difficult topics that arose and WE NEED MORE ABOUT JAMES!! Love the supernatural element and the rollercoaster the characters (and us as readers) took, but it was all done well. This was such a beautiful, haunting series and it will be tough to see this as the final one. If you haven't read anything by Amelia, PLEASE do!

[CuddlyPumpkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a skin crawling finale to the series. It's great to actually see another character, Elijah, being a part of the story. This was the most intense book in the series where the main character meets her evil counterpart. It's very touching to see James finally get closure in his life. This series was quite the ride and sad that the ride is over now.

[Erica smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am usually not into books that turn into multiple books but I LOVE this series . Also the books are over 400 pages which usually takes me forever to read because they are so long but the way this author writes her books just keeps me wanting more . I love the concept of these books, the characters stories and the characters themselves are well written. I just love everything about this series. I hope there is atleast a few more to come .

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful series to read! I loved the characters from book one. I laughed, cried, and enjoyed the roller coaster the author put us on while reading her story.
I do hope others grab this series and love it as much as I did!

[Britt Slock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I've finished the series already... Loved everything about it! The friendships, the romances, just everything 🥰 I loved each and every one of the books, the emotional rollercoasters... They are just amazing.

[marie reads stuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I loved this one the most, this whole series was so good though, fucking roller coaster of emotion. I LOVED RILEY. She was a fantastic protag. There’s enough scary and gorey but also EMOTION and just ugh so good. Recommend this series. I’m going to read the short story about James now!

[Amanda Klinzing · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful story/series. I was hooked from the very beginning with book 1. The characters are all very well developed and you feel like you’ve known each and every one of them for years. I wish I could read this series for the first time over and over again. What a ride.

[Sandi Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent horror series. Highly recommend reading all the books.

[Soonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. It actually made me cry

[Donna Schoch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Rollercoaster of suspense

What a great series! There were so many twists and turns, highs and lows, and I couldn't put the books down!

[Paige Schumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amelia Cognet does a great job of making you want to see around the next corner and then the next. Her books are great reads.

[Clarisse Nabet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just completed the whole series and this ending was awesome !

From book one to book four you follow Riley's story through her life as a child until her thirties. You discover her capacities, her troubles, her fears and also her joys with her family and friends.

Each plot helps the MC to grow and the last one concludes perfectly her story.

I've really enjoyed these books and highly recommend you to read them !