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The Devil You Know: A Novel
In the vein of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, The Devil You Know is a thrilling debut novel about a rookie reporter whose memories of the murder of her childhood best friend bring danger—and a stalker—right to her doorstep The year is 1993. Rookie reporter Evie Jones is working the crime beat in a city terrified by a serial rapist and a growing number of missing and murdered young girls. As she covers this story, Evie is haunted by the unsolved murder eleven years earlier of her own best friend, Lianne Gagnon. The suspected killer, a repeat offender named Robert Cameron, was never apprehended, turning Lianne’s case cold. Now twenty-one and living alone for the first time, Evie becomes driven to find out what really happened to Lianne. But every clue she uncovers seems to lead to an unimaginable conclusion. As she gets closer and closer to the truth, Evie is convinced that the killer is still at large—and that he’s coming back for her . . . Critically acclaimed author Elisabeth de Mariaffi delivers a spine-tingling story about secrets long buried and an obsession that cannot be controlled.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
57 people are currently reading
3143 people want to read
About the author
Elisabeth de Mariaffi
9 books129 followersElisabeth de Mariaffi is the author of a new collection of short stories, How To Get Along With Women (Invisible Publishing, 2012).
Her poetry and short fiction have been widely published in magazines across Canada, and she's one of the wild minds behind the highly original Toronto Poetry Vendors, a small press that sells single poems by established Canadian poets through toonie vending machines.
Elisabeth works as Marketing Coordinator for Breakwater Books, and is currently based in St. John's, where she lives with the poet George Murray and their combined brood of four children -- making them CanLit's answer to the Brady Brunch.'
Her poetry and short fiction have been widely published in magazines across Canada, and she's one of the wild minds behind the highly original Toronto Poetry Vendors, a small press that sells single poems by established Canadian poets through toonie vending machines.
Elisabeth works as Marketing Coordinator for Breakwater Books, and is currently based in St. John's, where she lives with the poet George Murray and their combined brood of four children -- making them CanLit's answer to the Brady Brunch.'
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 284 reviews
February 19, 2015
First I have to give thanks to grilled cheesus that I am finally done with this book. Second I must say that if I never read or hear the phrase "j-school" again, it will be too soon. For all of you out there who really did attend journalism school, don't use this phrase - it makes you sound like a douche. Third the main character's boss's car is blue- of this I am sure because it is related so often through the book, you will not doubt that the boss owns a blue car. Finally, yawn. This book was so disjointed and inconceivable that it took me 7 days to read 300 pages- fairly uncommon for me. This book is NOT in the vein of Gillian Flynn or A.S.A. Harrison-it is in the vein of all the wannabe Flynns and Harrisons and misses that mark so spectacularly, I can still hear it whizzing down the canyon hopefully into oblivion. Painfully lame and a huge waste of time. P.S. hated it.
January 27, 2015
Awful! Slow, repetitive, weak, absolutely dreadful. Perhaps the print version is lovely but I doubt it. I heard audio version and I wished I never bought it. I have been trying to find something positive to write in my review and to be objective, but unfortunately this book offers nothing good I was able to catch. I do not recommend as characters are very narrow and the narrative boring.
February 12, 2015
Is the author allergic to quotation marks? There were exactly zero in this entire book, which made it hard to follow and less enjoyable to read.
January 13, 2015
It was 2am before I finally closed the last page on this -- there was no way I would sleep until I was finished. The Devil You Know is set in familiar territory for me -- the horrors of the disappearance of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy will never leave me, and with a sister attending Scarborough College at the same time as Paul Bernardo, I've always been haunted by "what ifs." Spooky, thrilling, and chilling, the book perfectly captures not only the sense of a community on high alert when young girls go missing, but the very personal, individual, cold sweat anxiety of women who are never quite sure if they're alone, if they're safe.
May 19, 2015
It was page 244 when I reached that spot—the place where I couldn’t read but I couldn’t not read. Where I would read a page or two, then close the book and try to calm myself for a few seconds before reading another page or two. That, to me, is the sign of a good mystery.
I really liked the main character, Evie. She was plucky, brave, and trusted her own instincts—not always easy when you’re 21—and although she questions herself occasionally and has the odd panic attack, she generally kept her head under pressure. It’s the non-pressure times when she has difficulties, when her imagination runs wild and gets the better of her.
What really sticks in my head about the book is the constant presence of threat in women’s lives—Charles Manson & Art Sawchuk in Evie’s mother’s life. Paul Bernardo in Evie’s work life (part of her job is to sit outside his house as the police look for evidence of murder) and an unknown stalker in her personal life; the murder of her best friend when they were little girls. That constant knowledge that as a woman you have to be careful and keep your wits about you. As Evie tells a fellow reporter in the bar one evening:
Here’s a handy rule of thumb for you. When you get attacked, it’ll be someone you know. So that’s comforting, right? I was explaining this to him since in a future lifetime he might have to be a girl, and if I didn’t tell him this stuff, how would he protect himself? Intimate partners = forty-five percent of assaults. Once you add in your pals, that guy who handed you a beer at the party, and creepy great-uncle Joseph, there’s almost no room left for strangers.
I remember the Paul Bernardo/Karla Homolka murder trials that Evie is covering for her newspaper. I’m sure many other younger Canadian women will remember the Pickton farm in the same way (especially since there was an episode of Criminal Minds that seemed to be based on the Pickton case). I also think of the many missing and murdered aboriginal women that white male politicians don’t seem to care about. It’s easy to say that missing women are not a problem when you’re not aboriginal and not a woman and are never going to be.
In The Gift of Fear, the author attributes a quote to Margaret Atwood: “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” I don’t know if Ms. Atwood actually said this, but I think the second half of the statement holds a measure of truth. I think of how hard I have to work to avoid the creepy building super who calls me sweetheart instead of my name. And I ignore it because I may actually need that son-of-a-bitch’s help someday, when the heat goes wonky or the upstairs neighbour’s plumbing leaks yet again. And women all over the world are living this way. Evie’s father, her friend David, and the police all want her to be okay and feel safe, even when it’s obvious that she isn’t okay and definitely does not feel safe—pretty typical of the men in any woman’s life.
But I really do think that society is getting better at this stuff—police take stalking much more seriously than they used to, murdered & missing women are getting much more media coverage, and everyone is paying more attention to equality. Still, as Evie’s mother points out, women read a lot of true crime, probably as a survival manual.
I really liked the main character, Evie. She was plucky, brave, and trusted her own instincts—not always easy when you’re 21—and although she questions herself occasionally and has the odd panic attack, she generally kept her head under pressure. It’s the non-pressure times when she has difficulties, when her imagination runs wild and gets the better of her.
What really sticks in my head about the book is the constant presence of threat in women’s lives—Charles Manson & Art Sawchuk in Evie’s mother’s life. Paul Bernardo in Evie’s work life (part of her job is to sit outside his house as the police look for evidence of murder) and an unknown stalker in her personal life; the murder of her best friend when they were little girls. That constant knowledge that as a woman you have to be careful and keep your wits about you. As Evie tells a fellow reporter in the bar one evening:
Here’s a handy rule of thumb for you. When you get attacked, it’ll be someone you know. So that’s comforting, right? I was explaining this to him since in a future lifetime he might have to be a girl, and if I didn’t tell him this stuff, how would he protect himself? Intimate partners = forty-five percent of assaults. Once you add in your pals, that guy who handed you a beer at the party, and creepy great-uncle Joseph, there’s almost no room left for strangers.
I remember the Paul Bernardo/Karla Homolka murder trials that Evie is covering for her newspaper. I’m sure many other younger Canadian women will remember the Pickton farm in the same way (especially since there was an episode of Criminal Minds that seemed to be based on the Pickton case). I also think of the many missing and murdered aboriginal women that white male politicians don’t seem to care about. It’s easy to say that missing women are not a problem when you’re not aboriginal and not a woman and are never going to be.
In The Gift of Fear, the author attributes a quote to Margaret Atwood: “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.” I don’t know if Ms. Atwood actually said this, but I think the second half of the statement holds a measure of truth. I think of how hard I have to work to avoid the creepy building super who calls me sweetheart instead of my name. And I ignore it because I may actually need that son-of-a-bitch’s help someday, when the heat goes wonky or the upstairs neighbour’s plumbing leaks yet again. And women all over the world are living this way. Evie’s father, her friend David, and the police all want her to be okay and feel safe, even when it’s obvious that she isn’t okay and definitely does not feel safe—pretty typical of the men in any woman’s life.
But I really do think that society is getting better at this stuff—police take stalking much more seriously than they used to, murdered & missing women are getting much more media coverage, and everyone is paying more attention to equality. Still, as Evie’s mother points out, women read a lot of true crime, probably as a survival manual.
January 30, 2015
I wanted to read this book after seeing a glowing review in the Globe and Mail. The narrator is Evie, a 21 year old cub reporter for a small newspaper.The time is the early 1980's, during the Paul Bernardo/Karla Homolka crimes.
The disappearance and murder of a childhood friend when they were both age 11 haunts her. The man believed to be the killer was never found. Later Evie and other woman have become frightened and vigilant because a man known as the Scarborough rapist was on the prowl. (Believed to have been Bernardo.) Evie suffers from severe anxiety attacks. She is always on the alert, fearful of sounds outside her apartment or behind her on the street. She sleeps with a knife under her pillow.
She is assigned by the newspaper to do a computer search of missing/murdered girls in and around the Toronto area. She also sits in a car outside Bernardo's home where forensic evidence is being gathered. Her obsession with the killing of her childhood friend leads her to attempt to solve that mystery from information she gathers during her internet search. At night she goes home to her apartment almost paralyzed by paranoia and panic attacks. Her parents and boyfriend are concerned for her wellbeing. She believes she sees a man on the fire escape outside her window. Is this real, or as she believes the killer of her friend is coming for her?
I have some misgivings about this novel. It was a slow read until near the end, although it does an excellent job in describing the fear and heightened vigilance of women during that time. Evie becomes involved in searching the past of her own mother and her boyfriend's father. It did not seem credible that Evie, suffering from such overwhelming fear and anxiety would take such foolhardy risks towards the end.
I felt a story should be either fiction or one of true crime, and not attempt to merge both. The names of Bernardo's victims and some of the details might add further to the hurt of grieving parents. The author also names two other young girls who were also murdered, and brings some of those true details into the story. I was not comfortable with this, thinking of their family and friends and did not think it necessary in a book of fiction. Even a possible connection of a character with Charles Manson is mentioned and also a reference to David Koresh.
The title of the book lacked originality. While searching for it online I came across 19 books by various authors with the identical title, The Devil You Know.
The disappearance and murder of a childhood friend when they were both age 11 haunts her. The man believed to be the killer was never found. Later Evie and other woman have become frightened and vigilant because a man known as the Scarborough rapist was on the prowl. (Believed to have been Bernardo.) Evie suffers from severe anxiety attacks. She is always on the alert, fearful of sounds outside her apartment or behind her on the street. She sleeps with a knife under her pillow.
She is assigned by the newspaper to do a computer search of missing/murdered girls in and around the Toronto area. She also sits in a car outside Bernardo's home where forensic evidence is being gathered. Her obsession with the killing of her childhood friend leads her to attempt to solve that mystery from information she gathers during her internet search. At night she goes home to her apartment almost paralyzed by paranoia and panic attacks. Her parents and boyfriend are concerned for her wellbeing. She believes she sees a man on the fire escape outside her window. Is this real, or as she believes the killer of her friend is coming for her?
I have some misgivings about this novel. It was a slow read until near the end, although it does an excellent job in describing the fear and heightened vigilance of women during that time. Evie becomes involved in searching the past of her own mother and her boyfriend's father. It did not seem credible that Evie, suffering from such overwhelming fear and anxiety would take such foolhardy risks towards the end.
I felt a story should be either fiction or one of true crime, and not attempt to merge both. The names of Bernardo's victims and some of the details might add further to the hurt of grieving parents. The author also names two other young girls who were also murdered, and brings some of those true details into the story. I was not comfortable with this, thinking of their family and friends and did not think it necessary in a book of fiction. Even a possible connection of a character with Charles Manson is mentioned and also a reference to David Koresh.
The title of the book lacked originality. While searching for it online I came across 19 books by various authors with the identical title, The Devil You Know.
March 17, 2015
I have read my share of crappy books this year. In fact enough to last me the rest of the year. Every once in a while a book comes along and at the end you ask yourself why you read it. It was such a beautiful spring day here in Wisconsin that I should have been outside enjoying the reprieve from the cold or else washing sheets and hanging them outside. Or I could see if I could find some really nice new sheets for my bed. I missed the "January White" sales. But I really don't want white sheets. I would prefer something in the fuchsia line. Fuchsia is my favorite color and has been for as long as I can remember. Although I do like all bright colors with the exception of yellow or orange clothes. And don't ask me why but I have a yellow shirt hanging in my closet. What ever possessed me to buy a yellow shirt? I look terrible in yellow! I think my skin turns green when I wear it.
Oh! I am supposed to be writing a book review!
To say I detested the author's writing style would be a gross understatement. Choppy, fragmented sentences. Using punctuation, or quotation marks to define dialog was not found in this book! It was difficult to read. I also didn't care for the ditzy, scatter brained, not sure she had both oars in the water main character.
I should have washed sheets.
Oh! I am supposed to be writing a book review!
To say I detested the author's writing style would be a gross understatement. Choppy, fragmented sentences. Using punctuation, or quotation marks to define dialog was not found in this book! It was difficult to read. I also didn't care for the ditzy, scatter brained, not sure she had both oars in the water main character.
I should have washed sheets.
January 7, 2015
The Devil You Know by Elisabeth de Mariaffi is a highly recommended, compulsively additive novel on the nature of paranoia - and a serial killer.
It's 1993 and Evie Jones is a rookie reporter who at the Toronto Free Press. She's working on researching a series on women's safety that she irreverently nicknames the "dead-girls weekend section" While Evie spends hours researching dead girls, or girls who were kidnapped, raped, and murdered, she also recalls the kidnapping, rape, and murder of her best friend Lianne, when the girls were 11 in 1982. The suspected killer, Robert Cameron, was never caught. Evie investigation into old cases sends her off doing some private investigating of her own.
Set during the time that real-life Canadian serial killer Paul Bernando was arrested for his crimes in Toronto, Evie research can make for a strong case that women and girls are never safe. But as Evie's reseach continues, she also is constantly paranoid that someone is following her, or watching her. While most women have been taught to have a healthy sense of paranoia and awareness of their surroundings, Evie's actions may have you questioning if she has gone too far. Are her action's out of control or reasonable? And is someone really looking into her apartment windows at night or is it Evie's imagination going into overdrive?
Evie is a strong, tough protagonist with a sense of humor, curiosity, intelligence and courage. You will find yourself cheering her on, hoping for the best; most female readers will also likely have an intimate understanding of Evie's paranoia and caution. In this novel that is part psychological terror and part crime reporter's research, the suspense is gradually built until the nail-biting climax.
De Mariaffi did an excellent job establishing Evie's character as tough and street-smart but also very paranoid, especially after the events of her childhood. Most women know and have to teach their daughters that the world is not a safe place for them. They need to be vigilant and cautious and, yes, even a bit paranoid.
I found the writing to be excellent and enjoyed this novel immensely. It is a nice blend of literary fiction with a crime novel. She has managed to make it all flow together beautifully and build to a tension-filled climax. It should be noted that de Mariaffi does not use quotation marks, which might bother some readers.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Touchstone for review purposes.
It's 1993 and Evie Jones is a rookie reporter who at the Toronto Free Press. She's working on researching a series on women's safety that she irreverently nicknames the "dead-girls weekend section" While Evie spends hours researching dead girls, or girls who were kidnapped, raped, and murdered, she also recalls the kidnapping, rape, and murder of her best friend Lianne, when the girls were 11 in 1982. The suspected killer, Robert Cameron, was never caught. Evie investigation into old cases sends her off doing some private investigating of her own.
Set during the time that real-life Canadian serial killer Paul Bernando was arrested for his crimes in Toronto, Evie research can make for a strong case that women and girls are never safe. But as Evie's reseach continues, she also is constantly paranoid that someone is following her, or watching her. While most women have been taught to have a healthy sense of paranoia and awareness of their surroundings, Evie's actions may have you questioning if she has gone too far. Are her action's out of control or reasonable? And is someone really looking into her apartment windows at night or is it Evie's imagination going into overdrive?
Evie is a strong, tough protagonist with a sense of humor, curiosity, intelligence and courage. You will find yourself cheering her on, hoping for the best; most female readers will also likely have an intimate understanding of Evie's paranoia and caution. In this novel that is part psychological terror and part crime reporter's research, the suspense is gradually built until the nail-biting climax.
De Mariaffi did an excellent job establishing Evie's character as tough and street-smart but also very paranoid, especially after the events of her childhood. Most women know and have to teach their daughters that the world is not a safe place for them. They need to be vigilant and cautious and, yes, even a bit paranoid.
I found the writing to be excellent and enjoyed this novel immensely. It is a nice blend of literary fiction with a crime novel. She has managed to make it all flow together beautifully and build to a tension-filled climax. It should be noted that de Mariaffi does not use quotation marks, which might bother some readers.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Touchstone for review purposes.
July 26, 2015
This is a debut novel. As such It should be a career ender. The writing style is dull, tedious narration. Sentences form endless paragraphs of this happened and then that happened followed by boring dialogue and then more repetitive narration. I'm never surprised to read glowing reviews, however, because it is painfully evident what the majority of readers are reading and what they get out of what they read.
October 16, 2014
“The Devil You Know” by Elisabeth de Mariaffi, published by Touchstone Books.
Category – Mystery/Thriller Publication Date – January 13, 2015
Evie Jones is a reporter in Canada. She reports on crime but is haunted by an unsolved murder of her friend when they were eleven. The person suspected of the murder, a Robert Cameron, was never apprehended and he was thought to be an American and may have crossed back over the border. Cameron was also known to use various different names thus causing more problems in tracking him down.
Evie, at the age of twenty-two, finds herself obsessed with finding the murderer. Her investigation into the crime leads her into areas that she may not have wanted to enter. She receives help from a somewhat boyfriend whose father may be implicated in the crime. She also discovers some unwanted information concerning her mother’s former life.
Evie, who is living alone, is being haunted by a peeping tom and is concerned that he may have something to do with the murder. There is a possibility that he is targeting her for her efforts in solving the case.
Although this may be considered an okay read, I found it neither a mystery nor a thriller. The book contains too much unnecessary and unwanted material that just confuses the situation. It is also very sluggish and doesn’t provide much incentive to turn the page.
Category – Mystery/Thriller Publication Date – January 13, 2015
Evie Jones is a reporter in Canada. She reports on crime but is haunted by an unsolved murder of her friend when they were eleven. The person suspected of the murder, a Robert Cameron, was never apprehended and he was thought to be an American and may have crossed back over the border. Cameron was also known to use various different names thus causing more problems in tracking him down.
Evie, at the age of twenty-two, finds herself obsessed with finding the murderer. Her investigation into the crime leads her into areas that she may not have wanted to enter. She receives help from a somewhat boyfriend whose father may be implicated in the crime. She also discovers some unwanted information concerning her mother’s former life.
Evie, who is living alone, is being haunted by a peeping tom and is concerned that he may have something to do with the murder. There is a possibility that he is targeting her for her efforts in solving the case.
Although this may be considered an okay read, I found it neither a mystery nor a thriller. The book contains too much unnecessary and unwanted material that just confuses the situation. It is also very sluggish and doesn’t provide much incentive to turn the page.
January 16, 2015
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Elisabeth de Mariaffi is an intense psychological suspense crime thriller with a blend of mystery and literary fiction. 3.5 Stars
Evie Jones, age twenty-two is a crime beat reporter for the Toronto Press in Canada and reports on crime, but is still haunted by an old unsolved murder of her friend years ago. Robert Cameron was suspected of the murder; however, was never apprehended and uses a number of names. She is obsessed (truly) with finding the murdered, as she is being watched, stalked, and taunted.
She is reminded of her best friend murder's and of course uses her tools and soon finds some connections. Currently with Ellie's job, there is a great deal of publicity surrounding the arrest of Paul Bernardo. He's accused of being the Scarborough Rapist, a serial killer. She is assigned to stake out Paul Bernardo’s house and gather as much information as possible, solicits help, and ultimately leads her into danger and details of her mother’s past.
While the novel had some nice writing, with psychological depth, leaving readers feeling the fear, tension, violence and haunting emotions of women, with a story close to the author’s own heart, I could not get past the narrator of the audio book, Andi Arndt— very flat and non-engaging. Would recommend reading the book; however, would not recommend the audio version.
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
Evie Jones, age twenty-two is a crime beat reporter for the Toronto Press in Canada and reports on crime, but is still haunted by an old unsolved murder of her friend years ago. Robert Cameron was suspected of the murder; however, was never apprehended and uses a number of names. She is obsessed (truly) with finding the murdered, as she is being watched, stalked, and taunted.
She is reminded of her best friend murder's and of course uses her tools and soon finds some connections. Currently with Ellie's job, there is a great deal of publicity surrounding the arrest of Paul Bernardo. He's accused of being the Scarborough Rapist, a serial killer. She is assigned to stake out Paul Bernardo’s house and gather as much information as possible, solicits help, and ultimately leads her into danger and details of her mother’s past.
While the novel had some nice writing, with psychological depth, leaving readers feeling the fear, tension, violence and haunting emotions of women, with a story close to the author’s own heart, I could not get past the narrator of the audio book, Andi Arndt— very flat and non-engaging. Would recommend reading the book; however, would not recommend the audio version.
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
August 13, 2025
I was initially intrigued by The Devil You Know because of the Paul Bernardo case being tied into it.
It's not a very linear book though. Particularly, during the first half of the book, I found myself confused a lot because I kept forgetting just that and thinking there were a bunch of mistakes in the storytelling. I don't mind non-linear storytelling much of the time, but in this case it felt a bit too choppy in the beginning for me to really appreciate in full. I also really disliked that the author didn't use quotation marks in her dialogue.
What I did like about the book was the character of Evie. She made a lot of really interesting points about what it's like to be a woman in a world where so many men want to do us harm, and what she's learned as she's grown up (after having her best friend kidnapped and murdered at the age of eight). She was intelligent, but also really vulnerable. I loved her curiosity and sense of humour, and her memories from childhood were so, so intriguing to me. The fact that the Paul Bernardo case played less of role in this story than I expected didn't even matter to me, because I was totally caught up in what was happening with Evie.
It's not a very linear book though. Particularly, during the first half of the book, I found myself confused a lot because I kept forgetting just that and thinking there were a bunch of mistakes in the storytelling. I don't mind non-linear storytelling much of the time, but in this case it felt a bit too choppy in the beginning for me to really appreciate in full. I also really disliked that the author didn't use quotation marks in her dialogue.
What I did like about the book was the character of Evie. She made a lot of really interesting points about what it's like to be a woman in a world where so many men want to do us harm, and what she's learned as she's grown up (after having her best friend kidnapped and murdered at the age of eight). She was intelligent, but also really vulnerable. I loved her curiosity and sense of humour, and her memories from childhood were so, so intriguing to me. The fact that the Paul Bernardo case played less of role in this story than I expected didn't even matter to me, because I was totally caught up in what was happening with Evie.
January 29, 2015
There were times where I was intrigued by the quality of the writing in this book and by the next page I was shaking my head wondering what was going on. Very uneven and ultimately, not satisfying.
March 10, 2015
A little punctuation would have gone a long way. It was difficult at times to make sense of what was actually being said and what was being thought because the writer never used quotation marks.
January 26, 2015
If I could, I’d give this book a rating of 2.5.
Some things in the book worked well while other elements didn’t. The author creates a sense of dread and tension which is highly effective. As a male reader, seeing the world from Evie’s point of view is like inhabiting a parallel universe where violence is always a possibility and this made for truly hair-raising reading.
The quality of the writing overall is precise and punchy and the characters are well drawn. There is a sense of realness to the writing; it’s immediate and relentless, much like DeMariaffi’s short stories.
The book has been described as a literary thriller but I think it’s best to view the book as a thriller, part of a genre. The problem in Canada is that genre writing is usually looked down on, so as a cover, the term literary get stuck on books to boost their merit. (Maybe this helps with getting grants?) I know from my own education in Canada that books with humour or genre books tend to be poo-pooed. It’s as if a decision was made somewhere along the way that Canadian fiction shouldn’t be funny or genre-based in order to be taken seriously. Hence many books from Canadian writers are ‘serious’, i.e., turgid duty reads.
So I read The Devil You Know as a thriller. (Was there no better title available? This has been used a lot for other recent books and movies.) On that basis, does it work?
Half the time it does. We fear for Evie while at the same time share her compulsion to complete the story’s journey. Suitable red herrings are introduced and the world of early 90’s Toronto is well-wrought and the emergence of the Internet is trippy. And yet…
The use of the early Internet as part of Evie’s search is not all that interesting, ultimately. A physical search to make the connections, as happens later in the novel, would’ve been more interesting, but isn’t ruinous. There are sequences in the book where the writing is very lyrical (DeMariaffi is also a poet) but don’t do much to push the story along. The book is 320 pages but formatted in such a way to heft it out, so in a way such digressions feel like padding.
The plot ultimately fizzles in my view and relies far too much on people close to Evie having a history together in a way that strains credulity, the very end almost achieving triteness. So as a thriller The Devil You Know is well written though not a complete success.
That said, I will not be surprised to see the novel nominated for one or more Canadian awards like the Giller. The praise in major Canadian publications has been effusive, though perhaps a bit over the top. More than one reviewer has opined that the book would make a great movie. Maybe, but one we’ve seen before, I think.
Some things in the book worked well while other elements didn’t. The author creates a sense of dread and tension which is highly effective. As a male reader, seeing the world from Evie’s point of view is like inhabiting a parallel universe where violence is always a possibility and this made for truly hair-raising reading.
The quality of the writing overall is precise and punchy and the characters are well drawn. There is a sense of realness to the writing; it’s immediate and relentless, much like DeMariaffi’s short stories.
The book has been described as a literary thriller but I think it’s best to view the book as a thriller, part of a genre. The problem in Canada is that genre writing is usually looked down on, so as a cover, the term literary get stuck on books to boost their merit. (Maybe this helps with getting grants?) I know from my own education in Canada that books with humour or genre books tend to be poo-pooed. It’s as if a decision was made somewhere along the way that Canadian fiction shouldn’t be funny or genre-based in order to be taken seriously. Hence many books from Canadian writers are ‘serious’, i.e., turgid duty reads.
So I read The Devil You Know as a thriller. (Was there no better title available? This has been used a lot for other recent books and movies.) On that basis, does it work?
Half the time it does. We fear for Evie while at the same time share her compulsion to complete the story’s journey. Suitable red herrings are introduced and the world of early 90’s Toronto is well-wrought and the emergence of the Internet is trippy. And yet…
The use of the early Internet as part of Evie’s search is not all that interesting, ultimately. A physical search to make the connections, as happens later in the novel, would’ve been more interesting, but isn’t ruinous. There are sequences in the book where the writing is very lyrical (DeMariaffi is also a poet) but don’t do much to push the story along. The book is 320 pages but formatted in such a way to heft it out, so in a way such digressions feel like padding.
The plot ultimately fizzles in my view and relies far too much on people close to Evie having a history together in a way that strains credulity, the very end almost achieving triteness. So as a thriller The Devil You Know is well written though not a complete success.
That said, I will not be surprised to see the novel nominated for one or more Canadian awards like the Giller. The praise in major Canadian publications has been effusive, though perhaps a bit over the top. More than one reviewer has opined that the book would make a great movie. Maybe, but one we’ve seen before, I think.
December 2, 2019
I read this with my book club. I choose it partly because it's a thriller and we hadn't read a thriller yet, and I thought it would be considerate of the group to mix things up. Everyone thought the book was pretty dark. One member said she only finished it because it was for book club. Another member was really pretty pissed off with me for choosing a book that she thought was too dark - though she did say it was well written. A single person loved it and said she couldn't put it down. So a mixed bag of reactions, but skewed to "No more serial killer stuff, please."
This is not the type of book that I'm normally drawn to, but I did find some really good sentences, which I always appreciate. And I enjoyed reading some of the reviews of The Devil You Know which pointed to a sensitive or thoughtful handling of the subject matter -- even if my book club mostly didn't see it that way. (Yikes.)
This is not the type of book that I'm normally drawn to, but I did find some really good sentences, which I always appreciate. And I enjoyed reading some of the reviews of The Devil You Know which pointed to a sensitive or thoughtful handling of the subject matter -- even if my book club mostly didn't see it that way. (Yikes.)
September 1, 2014
This literary thriller has a slow build toward chilling fear for the safety of the vulnerable young protagonist, Evie Jones. It is 1993 and she is a young reporter for the Free Press in Toronto, living in a walk up apartment, making a living on her own. As a rookie her assignment is usually the background research work which she passes on to the more experienced reporters. But her boss Angie hands her a new assignment and a new tool that changes everything.
The assignment is to gather background info on the growing number of murders of teen girls in the Toronto area over recent years. The tool is the LexisNexis resource on the computer. All you need is a subscription and a password, Angie says. Evie soon realizes what a marvelous tool this is.
Back when she was nearly 11, her best friend Lianne Gagnon became a victim of a kidnap/murder scenario that has traumatized Evie ever since. She has spent a lot of time with therapists, yet is still consumed by the fear that the person who killed Lianne could be coming back for her. The suspect remains Robert Cameron, but he has never been apprehended. Though Lianne's murder doesn't fit the time frame Angie has given her, Evie can't help using the LexisNexis resource to find out all she can about Robert Cameron along with research on the girls who are part of the assignment. Before long she is discovering connections that she never would have expected and they are awfully close to home.
At the same time she sees a stranger on her third floor balcony one night. It is snowing and dark outside. The light is on in her kitchen and all she sees outside is her own reflection in the glass patio door. She hears a noise from outside, and assumes it is an icicle falling or perhaps a raccoon. But a neighbor's motion light comes on and there is no doubt that there is a man on the balcony staring in at her. She is terrified, but when she looks back outside he is gone. She calls the police, but tracks are covered before they arrive and there is not much they can do.
Maybe she just imagined it. Or maybe not...
Ms. de Mariaffi's style of writing contributes effectively to the mounting tension. Evie is telling the story in her stream of conscience-style, so we hear her worst case imaginings when she starts to get scared, and can't always be sure if she is telling us what she sees or what she is imagining. But through it all, she keeps plugging away at the mystery, getting closer and closer to the awful truth.
The assignment is to gather background info on the growing number of murders of teen girls in the Toronto area over recent years. The tool is the LexisNexis resource on the computer. All you need is a subscription and a password, Angie says. Evie soon realizes what a marvelous tool this is.
Back when she was nearly 11, her best friend Lianne Gagnon became a victim of a kidnap/murder scenario that has traumatized Evie ever since. She has spent a lot of time with therapists, yet is still consumed by the fear that the person who killed Lianne could be coming back for her. The suspect remains Robert Cameron, but he has never been apprehended. Though Lianne's murder doesn't fit the time frame Angie has given her, Evie can't help using the LexisNexis resource to find out all she can about Robert Cameron along with research on the girls who are part of the assignment. Before long she is discovering connections that she never would have expected and they are awfully close to home.
At the same time she sees a stranger on her third floor balcony one night. It is snowing and dark outside. The light is on in her kitchen and all she sees outside is her own reflection in the glass patio door. She hears a noise from outside, and assumes it is an icicle falling or perhaps a raccoon. But a neighbor's motion light comes on and there is no doubt that there is a man on the balcony staring in at her. She is terrified, but when she looks back outside he is gone. She calls the police, but tracks are covered before they arrive and there is not much they can do.
Maybe she just imagined it. Or maybe not...
Ms. de Mariaffi's style of writing contributes effectively to the mounting tension. Evie is telling the story in her stream of conscience-style, so we hear her worst case imaginings when she starts to get scared, and can't always be sure if she is telling us what she sees or what she is imagining. But through it all, she keeps plugging away at the mystery, getting closer and closer to the awful truth.
January 29, 2015
Elizabeth de Mariaffi knew exactly what she was doing when she was writing this novel. She was able to create tension, fear, anxiousness ... all in a way that any female walking down the street at night can perfectly imagine. It felt so real. I could imagine myself in the descriptions.
The Devil You Know is being compared to Gone Girl. I would actually say it reminds me more of Before I Go To Sleep and Into the Darkest Corner with a little bit ofThe Lovely Bonesthrown into the mix.
The year is 1993 and Paul Bernardo has just been arrested for a series of murders and rapes. Anyone who is old enough to remember the news, remembers how scary it was. Interwoven into that story (which really is meant to be more of a backgrounder, it isn't the focus)is the story of a kidnapped and murdered little girl from 1983 and how her friend is still trying to find the answers 10 years later. And so we follow Evie as she investigates what happened to her best friend and tries to figure out who that man is standing outside her window. It's pretty creepy.
That said - I found that the dialogue sometimes felt disjointed and because de Mariaffi didn't indicate who was speaking; at times it felt a little confused. And the ending was a bit of a let-down.
Good debut novel? For sure. Would I recommend it? Yes.
The Devil You Know is being compared to Gone Girl. I would actually say it reminds me more of Before I Go To Sleep and Into the Darkest Corner with a little bit ofThe Lovely Bonesthrown into the mix.
The year is 1993 and Paul Bernardo has just been arrested for a series of murders and rapes. Anyone who is old enough to remember the news, remembers how scary it was. Interwoven into that story (which really is meant to be more of a backgrounder, it isn't the focus)is the story of a kidnapped and murdered little girl from 1983 and how her friend is still trying to find the answers 10 years later. And so we follow Evie as she investigates what happened to her best friend and tries to figure out who that man is standing outside her window. It's pretty creepy.
That said - I found that the dialogue sometimes felt disjointed and because de Mariaffi didn't indicate who was speaking; at times it felt a little confused. And the ending was a bit of a let-down.
Good debut novel? For sure. Would I recommend it? Yes.
April 3, 2015
I wish I could say The Devil You Know was as captivating as its title. Instead of being on the edge of my seat, cloaked in suspense, dying to know what happens next, I was bored. It had potential - sure. The storyline could've developed a million different ways. I was hoping for one that was suspenseful, scary, and kept me yearning for more - but instead, it was dull, unimaginative, and slow. Mariaffi's writing wasn't impressive enough to keep me interested, and the characters weren't personal enough for me to feel for them. Everything just fell flat, and left me disappointed.
Also - the dialogue was written in the weirdest way. It made the characters so impersonal and the conversations lacking any sort of energy. Without quotation marks indicating the beginning and end of a character's statement, everything just blended together and created a sort of monotonous tone.
Would I recommend this? No. It was ok, but not nearly entertaining enough for me to expect someone else to enjoy it. I don't regret reading it, but I do regret wasting my gift card on it. Ugh. Life is rough.
Anyway - hope you all are well. Have a very nice weekend and a very happy Easter.
Also - the dialogue was written in the weirdest way. It made the characters so impersonal and the conversations lacking any sort of energy. Without quotation marks indicating the beginning and end of a character's statement, everything just blended together and created a sort of monotonous tone.
Would I recommend this? No. It was ok, but not nearly entertaining enough for me to expect someone else to enjoy it. I don't regret reading it, but I do regret wasting my gift card on it. Ugh. Life is rough.
Anyway - hope you all are well. Have a very nice weekend and a very happy Easter.
January 6, 2015
Rookie reporter Evie Jones is determined to solve the murder of her best friend, Lianne Gagnon, a crime that continues to haunt her even though it happened half a lifetime ago when the girls were eleven. As Evie’s research digs into the past, the suspense ramps up and a few nifty twists unexpectedly wend their way into the story.
“The Devil You Know” is written with Evie serving as the narrator; unfortunately she has a tendency to ramble along in a sort of stream of consciousness style that many readers will find quite off-putting as it has the unintended consequence of bogging down the often-confusing storyline it creates.
A frustrating writing style, dialogue without quotation marks, may have been meant to create a perception that the narrator is confiding in the reader, but it’s likely to be a distracting stumbling block for readers who expect certain writing conventions.
“The Devil You Know” is written with Evie serving as the narrator; unfortunately she has a tendency to ramble along in a sort of stream of consciousness style that many readers will find quite off-putting as it has the unintended consequence of bogging down the often-confusing storyline it creates.
A frustrating writing style, dialogue without quotation marks, may have been meant to create a perception that the narrator is confiding in the reader, but it’s likely to be a distracting stumbling block for readers who expect certain writing conventions.
February 21, 2015
It was 2am before I finally closed the last page on this -- there was no way I would sleep until I was finished. The Devil You Know is set in familiar territory for me -- the horrors of the disappearance of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy will never leave me, and with a sister attending Scarborough College at the same time as Paul Bernardo, I've always been haunted by "what ifs." Spooky, thrilling, and chilling, the book perfectly captures not only the sense of a community on high alert when young girls go missing, but the very personal, individual, cold sweat anxiety of women who are never quite sure if they're alone, if they're safe.
October 22, 2014
received this book as advance reader's edition from Simon and Schuster.
story of a female reporter playing at detective to solve disapperance/murder of her best friend years ago. I got lost several times in the plot trying to figure out where I was in solving the murder mystery. thought there were extra words that did not need to be in the story. also kept thinking that this was a lot like an early "Gone Girl" and needed a good editor to shape the story. will pass this book on to friends to get their input.
story of a female reporter playing at detective to solve disapperance/murder of her best friend years ago. I got lost several times in the plot trying to figure out where I was in solving the murder mystery. thought there were extra words that did not need to be in the story. also kept thinking that this was a lot like an early "Gone Girl" and needed a good editor to shape the story. will pass this book on to friends to get their input.
October 15, 2014
Really loved this. Some decent twists. Mostly what I loved was de Mariaffi's attention to just about everything that a woman can find terrifying about simply being alone in her kitchen at night. Will definitely be looking forward to any of her future books.
January 18, 2015
I listened to the audiobook, good narrator it was the plot that was tricky. The potential for a great story is there but to many questions are left unanswered and the ending seems rushed.
January 29, 2015
hard to follow--written without quotation marks--redundant--loose ends---agree with the comment on hot cocoa
February 24, 2015
Brilliant. Kind of "Psychological thriller Noir". Elegantly atmospheric. Full Review to follow.
August 13, 2017
Nothing really happened until the last 30 pages and even then the story was clunky and not really that interesting. I really did try to like it, but just could not.
January 29, 2020
First published by Titan Books in 2015, 'The Devil You Know'' by Elisabeth Mastriaffi , is a startlingly original psychological thriller.
Part mystery-because at the heart of this, is what happened to Lianne-part character study, there is so much depth and subtext to this thriller. It is based on male on female violence, the proprietary nature of predators and the fear that gilrs, and women, live with . The 'if it wasn't her, it could have been me,' nature of what happened to Lianen, not only helped create the grown up Evie, but also creates an atmosphere of 'if obly she could solve this, she might be allowed to move on.'
The nature of childhood based trauma is never allowed to really stay in the background, and informs Evie's job of investigative reporter, which allows her the freedom to explore places which a common or garden person would not.
For example, access to police files, crime reports, forensics and so on...but in the search for the truth, has Evie ever stopped to realise just how badly affected she will be on exposing it?
It's brutal, sparse and wonderfully told with an intimacy created between the protagonist and reader that I really enjoyed. Sometimes it takes me a while to warm up to a first person narrator, but the book has you dropped straight into Evie's thought patterns-almost as if the reader serves as a mirror, or a diary for her to refect her thoughts and perceptions on.
Reality and the relative nature of the truth are played with until threadbare, the plot twists and turns keeping you jumping from cliff hanger chapter end to cliff hanger chapter end like stepping stones of suspense.
Deeply affecting as well as chillingly executed, I can thoroughly recommend this novel to thriller lovers,!
Part mystery-because at the heart of this, is what happened to Lianne-part character study, there is so much depth and subtext to this thriller. It is based on male on female violence, the proprietary nature of predators and the fear that gilrs, and women, live with . The 'if it wasn't her, it could have been me,' nature of what happened to Lianen, not only helped create the grown up Evie, but also creates an atmosphere of 'if obly she could solve this, she might be allowed to move on.'
The nature of childhood based trauma is never allowed to really stay in the background, and informs Evie's job of investigative reporter, which allows her the freedom to explore places which a common or garden person would not.
For example, access to police files, crime reports, forensics and so on...but in the search for the truth, has Evie ever stopped to realise just how badly affected she will be on exposing it?
It's brutal, sparse and wonderfully told with an intimacy created between the protagonist and reader that I really enjoyed. Sometimes it takes me a while to warm up to a first person narrator, but the book has you dropped straight into Evie's thought patterns-almost as if the reader serves as a mirror, or a diary for her to refect her thoughts and perceptions on.
Reality and the relative nature of the truth are played with until threadbare, the plot twists and turns keeping you jumping from cliff hanger chapter end to cliff hanger chapter end like stepping stones of suspense.
Deeply affecting as well as chillingly executed, I can thoroughly recommend this novel to thriller lovers,!
November 23, 2022
Though it uses a well-known Canadian crime as a framing device it isn't about that case. (I won't mention the name of the perpetrator as they get enough press and should die in obscurity). It also references other cases of missing/murdered girls that I remember from childhood. The book is an unsettling reminder of how many of those cases remain unsolved.
The story of the heroine/narrator is an interesting one. Aspects of it are believable and other parts treaded the line of believability. I found several of the character's behaviour to be a bit hard to swallow as a reader. I did appreciate the at the ending didn't stray into fantasy as I expected it to.
What I found interesting and engaging was the mention of local areas that I knew.
The story of the heroine/narrator is an interesting one. Aspects of it are believable and other parts treaded the line of believability. I found several of the character's behaviour to be a bit hard to swallow as a reader. I did appreciate the at the ending didn't stray into fantasy as I expected it to.
What I found interesting and engaging was the mention of local areas that I knew.
December 5, 2018
For a novel with intriguing elements--a cold-case murder of a young girl, connections to Charles Manson, a spunky novice news reporter--this is remarkably flat. It's packed with too many extraneous details, hardly any suspense, and a resolution that was anti-climactic to put it mildly. Don't waste your time.
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