All the Devils Are Here

Atticus Priest #4

by Mark Dawson

This book will be released in late summer 2024.

Atticus and Mack return to investigate the mystery of a woman missing after swimming in the River Avon. They untangle a conspiracy reaching back for years, with serious consequences for all involved.

Genres: Audiobook, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Mystery Thriller

572 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2024

About the author

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Mark Dawson was born in Lowestoft and grew up in Manchester and Chicago. He has worked as a lawyer and currently works in the London film industry. His first books, "The Art of Falling Apart" and "Subpoena Colada" have been published in multiple languages.

He is currently writing two series. Soho Noir is set in the West End of London between 1940 and 1970. The first book in the series, "The Black Mile", deals with the (real life but little known) serial killer who operated in the area during the Blitz. "The Imposter" traces the journey of a criminal family (think The Sopranos in austerity London and you'd be on the right track).

The John Milton series features a disgruntled special agent who aims to help people to make amends for the terrible things that he has done. Mark, as a child of the 80s, will freely admit that he watched a lot of The Equalizer in his youth.

Mark lives in Wiltshire with his family.

You can find him at www.markjdawson.com or www.facebook.com/markdawsonauthor.

Reviews

[Lavins · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars rounded up

I sometimes wonder if the same author actually writes all the books because this one felt like it was written by a different person the the previous three in this series.

This book is extremely boring and long and full of utterly unnecessary details (that have absolutely nothing to do with the mystery).

At one point (and by that I mean two thirds into the story) Atticus stumbles, literally stumbles into one of the main suspects.

There is zero actual investigation, in the end, all the guilty parties feel compelled to confess and tell the story with lots of details not leaving anything out.

And then, another thing that didn't make sense was since when is Atticus the ultimate judge of people's characters. I've seen people behaving way worse during a divorce, so I am not exactly sure what his problem was. Not to mention that he was very high on his horse but didn't mind one bit to take money from that "low" character.

I sure hope the next one will be better. It is truly hard to imagine it worse than this but I'm not tempting faith.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never read a prologue so long? Dawson starts off way to slow for me to continue reading. I developed a little interest but there in no push to turn pages as it is just more prose and no exciting happenings. At best this rates a 3.

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘All the Devils are Here’ by Mark Dawson is #4 in the private detective Atticus Priest series as well as being another awesome mystery thriller! The series has characters with issues that continue, so I suggest starting with book one, The House in the Woods.

I have copied the book blurb:

”Atticus and Mack return to investigate the mystery of a woman missing after swimming in the River Avon. They untangle a conspiracy reaching back for years, with serious consequences for all involved.”

I highly recommend this series. As usual, I couldn’t put it down! I am sad I have to wait for the next one as Dawson hasn’t finished writing #5 I guess. I hope there is a #5, omg, or I will be seriously pissed. There is intense violence, which while not lingered on, is somewhat graphic.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read from this series, I hope the author will continue to write more as I would love to follow the cases of Atticus and DCI Mack.
In this book Atticus is hired by a rich, self absorbed man to dig up dirt on his ex girlfriend, the ex- Alice is a wellness influencer who doesn’t care about what she promotes as long as it makes money.

When Alice goes missing under suspicious circumstances DCI Mack and the team start to investigate and as is always the case in these books, Atticus ends up working alongside them.

Drug trafficking, extortion, murder and feeding bodies to pigs are some of the elements this case uncovers.

[Dale Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not great. Found myself skipping lots of descriptive paragraphs that added nothing to the story. Short chapters made for quick reading. The overall story itself, once unveiled, was a bog standard affair that you could see coming. Lots of characters that end up tying together towards the end as the story threads begin to tangle up. I find myself wanting more from Atticus as a character.

As per other Mark Dawson books, the epilogue teases more to come in the next book. Possibly some collabs.

[Natalie Walton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED the other Atticus books and couldn’t wait for this to come out but i hate to say, i found it boring and a drag. I don’t feel like very much happened. There was nothing unexpected. It was too long on the other characters when really i wanted to read more of what Atticus was doing. Hopefully the next one will be better.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow. Didn’t like the characters. Didn’t like the problems anyone had. Too much about Sam, etal, and not enough Atticus. Not enough action.

[Mike Shackle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the Atticus books

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️.

[Paul McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read

Atticus Priest is at his best in this. Oh and that ending, it sent a tingle through my body. Mark Dawson thank you.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what it was about this book that made me so very disappointed in it, but it wasn't as good as the previous books. I still liked Atticus, but the entire book and his character lacked something of the sharpness I really liked in the previous instalments.

A bit of that sharpness flashed its claws towards the very end, when Atticus had, in fact, done some sneaky shit behind Mack's back. But that was just it... It was at the end of the book. I thought everything was sort of limping or lumbering along before that, not quite up to the standard I was expecting or the quality I was hoping for.

While I do like Atticus and Mack together, I also feel like their relationship puts some sort of weird dampener on the storytelling since they got together. The tension evaporated and the author hasn't been able to find a source of new, tingling energy to inject into the series, yet.

I hope book 5 will be better, if there is one.

[Kate Daysh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Atticus Priest page-turner! I was worried about the size of this book (581 pages, quire a bit bigger than I'm used to), but I couldn't put it down. Exciting, thrilling and the pictures Mark Dawson can conjure in my mind are extremely vivid. Very enjoyable!

[CPFC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely the weakest book of the 4 Atticus Priest series- took a long while to get going and filled with unlikeable characters. The conclusion was pretty far fetched and so convenient that they all ended up confessing to their crimes.

[Christina Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly a slower start than the others in the series but an excellent read overall. The characters continue so you’re already invested in the key people and their individual stories. An easy but satisfying read.

[Becky Lyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best series I have read in a while. So relieved to find out it is not finished and there are also two short stories to read. I can't wait for the next installment to be released!

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very, very complicated Atticus Priest mystery. While all of the novels in this series have been excellent, this one was extremely challenging for both Atticus and for the reader. Every time you thought you knew what was going on, more characters climbed aboard and the mystery grew legs, getting more and more complex. Of course the story begins simple, with Atticus being hired to investigate a former spouse in a divorce action. But then the bodies, appear, people begin disappearing, drug pushers pop in and out, teens have to make life-changing decisions, and, as always, Atticus and Mack try to continue with their budding relationship loaded with unbelievable complications. As with all this very talented author’s stories, the interaction between the characters is excellent. Although each story is complete in itself (almost due to the last paragraph of the stories), if possible it is best to read from the beginning of the series so that the reader can understand Atticus - who is a very odd, but brilliant duck - who can take unconnected pieces that have everyone else running in ten different directions and put them together into one complete puzzle. Highly recommend this entire series.

[Marias_Bücher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich mag die Reihe sehr. Es ist spannend und sehr unterhaltsam. Atticus Priest ist etwas kontrovers in seiner Herangehensweise, aber genau das ist das besondere der Bücher.
Gesprochen ist das Buch auch wieder super. Die beiden passen hervorragend zusammen.
Ich kann die Reihe sehr empfehlen.

[Sammi Biddle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in the series. Can't wait for more

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atticus Priest is back. His "hold his nose" job for a wealthy contractor who needs really good dirt on his wife for revenge and for their divorce proceedings is central to the plot. Frank Green's wive Alice made his bribery schemes involving the local council public and caused his arrest. He needs to go after her big time and, since he has deep pockets, Atticus does not refrain. Alice is an influencer whose schtick is "wild swimming" and lots of product endorsement in her many videos. Apparently wild swimming is swimming in natural waters with currents or waves. She tapes herself in quiet locations along the river. Frank wants Atticus to show that Alice is a fraud to the core except for the getting wet out in nature and that all of her healthy living advice is bogus.

In a corollary story, we find a group of men and women in perhaps their early thirties who were friends from a very young age. We know something they are doing must be suspect and that someone named Chris was harmed. We know that Samantha (Sam) is concerned that Tom, an alcoholic who has started rehab, might feel remorse and give away their shady doings. They have Connor take Tom to his place where they just hand out together while Connor trys to suss out whether Tom is safe or not.

This turns into parallel missing persons cases, with Alice disappearing from her filming location, her car left undisturbed and Tom's parents filing a missing persons report. Dawson is great at developing his plots and his characters and All the Devils are Here does not disappoint! Every scene beautifully develops the feel of the place, the river where Alice films, the pub where he first meets with Frank, the out of the way place where Connor has Tom and a horse lot Sam owns that is command central for the high school friends. One can almost imagine walking and driving all the routes. As usual, Bandit the dog is a pleasant presence.

Atticus and his girlfriend, Mac, his former supervisor when he was with the police are going strong and the local constabulary takes over the missing person cases that become more and more suspicious as the novel twists and turns us to the end. Every clue is there. There are some rather violent and gory scenes, necessary to the plot and to the level of evil involved. Just a heads up that it is not a cozy but a police procedural/private eye/thriller genre where Mark Dawson rises up in his field. The narration of the audio book was excellent. All in all, a job well done.

[Anthony D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am once again compelled to read another dose of Mark Dawson’s excellent talent for storytelling. I just learned recently that Mark Dawson is an independent, and self-published author. Now I have more of an incentive to support and read Mark Dawson for the near future.

In the fourth installment of a love tryst between DCI Mckenzie “Mack” Jones and Atticus Priest, they manage to prevail in the fight once again between good and evil. Mack is in the middle of a custody battle with her estranged husband as the plot unravels with a new set of young criminals.

The new criminals are high school friends that have grown up, some of whom are former military business professionals that engage in a drug trafficking scheme that goes smoothly until a few actors get greedy.

Ironically, Atticus gets a client, Frank Green, who wants Atticus to spy on his soon-to-be ex-wife, Alice Green, who turns up missing the second day of Atticus’s new identity as a “journalist” and the second interview. Alice is missing and nowhere to be found when she is late for the meeting with Mr. Priest.

Tom, a member of the drug ring, is a washed-out wartime veteran with PTSD, and makes one wrong decision after the other. His friends manipulate him into making bad decisions. I felt sorrow for him because it accurately reflects what happens to wartime veterans who have skill sets that are attractive to organized crime.

Towards the end Tom learns the truth about his crime “buddies” and tries his hand at a twisted plan of redemption that leaves the reader saddened and satisfied that he has made peace with his demons.

Even Atticus tries to reason with Tom by exposing the craftiness of his partners in crime. Once again, I did not get the ending I hoped for, but it was worth it to read until the end. If you love suspense, you will get a healthy dose all the way until the last minute. This is a five-star thriller.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars ⭐️

I am a pretty huge fan of Mr. Dawson and I think that I am reading (or have read) every single series that he has out. He currently has about 3 or 4 (or possibly more) series that are current and that he is currently putting books out in. I am invested in each one.

This series- involving Atticus Priest - is so very different from his other series such as the John Milton series. Atticus is a man with some major issues, but he is also an EXTREMELY brilliant detective who sees things that no one else can see. Unfortunately, he lacks any sort of self control and tends to find himself in trouble A LOT because he gets completely invested and blindly single minded in solving a puzzle when on a case and sometimes forgets that there are rules that he has to follow. But it sure is fun watching him figure these things out.

In this case, he (and Mack, and Francine) are dealing with several different cases that do not seem to be related in the beginning, but as the book progresses, we see how all of these roads converge into a single circumstance.

I read a review that said this book was too complicated, but I think that it might have seemed that way because this book in particular REALLY pulled from the history that we have learned as we have followed along from the first three books and Mr. Dawson didn't really take the time to go back and repeat things that we readers already knew. So if you were reading his as a stand-alone, I can see how it might be confusing at times. Personally, I had no issues with it and enjoyed seeing how the many lines ended up being connected.

As always, love the narration - but then again.... I do love the English :)

[Greg Strom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry Mark, Simon, you guys are usually so very entertaining in your story telling but in this case the tale is so very, hmm what's the word for it.....shitty! I could also add unbelievably ridiculous in every way full of characters that no one could possibly care for or about. The Bandit the dog is the hero of this story by far as all the adults are clueless. So you are somehow dealing drugs with mates, one is drunken vet who blabs to trendy tic Tok girlfriend about a murder to cover up dealing so now the goons scare her into falling , appearing dead, kept alive captive for no apparent reason (going to scare her into silence?) Now go to her flat and ransack to find evidence of supposed convo proving drunk boyfriend maybe said something? She up and dies and gets fed to pigs for her troubles and I checked out saying I don't give a F what else happens in this stupid book as an armed stand off begins and Atticus takes time to drive back to station and review interviews so he has something to talk to the guy holding gun (who has already punched him around and killed 2 others). Like I said, hard to care for any of these losers though in a sub sub plot he does find a scruff to help his girlfriend Mack get custody of her kids, so he has that going for him him. Do better Atticus. seriously. "then he opened the door using his fingers and rest of his hand as he bends his wrist to unlock the poorly painted wooden door to the very unimportant room that smells like musty peat from horses that may have been bedded nearby in the paddock blah blah blah " TMI

[Paul Grantham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friends to die for.

Well he back and Atticus is still willing to do whatever it takes to get to the truth, whether that be through legal or illegal means.
This story starts out with what appears to just be a dirt digging exercise for Atticus, in what appears to be a messy divorce between two people that deserve each other but turns into more than just that but before I go any further, let me ask you the reader a question, do you have friends?
Most people would say they do but are they really friends?
Just because you’ve been friends for years, do you really know them and I mean really really know them?
Would you do anything to protect them, no matter what they’d done and more so would they do the same for you?
Would you trust them to not lie or deceive you?
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, WOULD YOU TRUST THEM WITH YOUR LIFE???
Because dear readers these are some of the questions that are asked within this story, as Atticus’s dirt digging trip turns into a case of whether friendship is all it’s cracked up to be and to understand what I mean by that, well you’ll just have to read this fantastic book.
HAPPY READING.

[Jane Nice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly disappointing. More of the same in continuity lapses- chapter 76 lurches between afternoon and morning, chapter 106 Atticus has his phone, then doesn't, then it's supposedly taken from him. Given the nature of whole book is based on observation and analysis it's annoying when this happens (as it did in previous 3 books, especially 1st one when Atticus manages to scoot from Salisbury to Winchester in less than half an hour going via the laundry on foot before he sets off). The story is not complex and none of the relationships are developed sufficiently to give a real sense of the characters involved. Just feels a bit thrown together. Best part, it's based in a city I know; worst part, it's just a bit flimsy. Have left it in the holiday home we're visiting for someone who reads English as a second language.

[Kevin Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in the Atticus Priest series, and I think it’s fair to say the stories are getting better with each book. This time out, Atticus is called to dig the dirt on the wife of a businessman, as part of a divorce battle. However, through a sequence of events, Atticus gets involved in a missing person search, and a potential old murder case. His relationship with Mack comes under pressure, but in typical Atticus style, he cannot leave a stone unturned to find the truth. The plot of this book is multi-layered, with intertwined interests bearing on the action, and its explosive conclusion is unputdownable! A thoroughly enjoyable read!

[Mitch Wathen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow start, but picks up towards the end.

Story has several plots intertwined which made the read entertaining but there is a lot redundancy from previous Priest books, such as the relationship with Mack, that become a little monotonous. This is common in Dawson’s Novels like the character John Milton’s battle with Alcoholism throughout that lengthy Series. I would prefer the characters to evolve faster and move on to new experiences vs rehashing previous story lines; especially when they wallow in self pity. I didn’t find this book to be quick read; one that you couldn’t put down. However, it was still entertaining if you enjoy the Priest Series.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

i havent seen anyone else comment on this but i’m so confused that i can’t not ask the question.

i finished book 3 last week and started this one soon after. book 3 ended on a cliff hanger with lots of scope to continue the investigation and find out more about the victim. so far each book has continued on from the last and has been very cohesive.

i started this one and was confused as it seemed totally different. i expected it to link up at some point but there is absolutely no mention of the red room or the cliff hanger. it is an entirely different plot. why?? did the author forget what he wrote??

[Jeff Benham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atticus has his hands full, that is for sure. He and Mack can only meet if their investigations intersect, because her husband is suing for custody of the children, that he doesn't even want. When Frank Green hires Atticus to dig up dirt on his wife, and she turns up missing, that is what they get. Apparently Priest isn't the only one Frank Green hired. Missing person turns in to missing persons as her boyfriend can't be found either. It turns out to be much more serious than that as deep, dark secrets from years ago turn in to a deathly cover up.

[Kenny Oak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of anticipation before starting out to read this next Atticus Priest novel. Immediate reaction after having just finished it is one of slight disappointment- a few continuity issues in the book for me and the last few chapters (Part 7) seemed rushed to bring the story to a hurried conclusion. Was expecting some more follow on or clarification from finale in The Red Room particularly around the mystery of the on line chess player. However having said all the aforementioned I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope the next one in the Atticus Priest series isn’t too far away.