By: Ben Schenkman
I previously reviewed the first book in this series, My Boss is the Devil (here), and almost right away, I listened to the second book. I had the idea that I wanted to review the entire series as whole rather than each individual book, but as the third book was not yet available on audio, I decided to wait for it to be released. Then, as is so often the case, I forgot all about it, life happened, and other books needed to be read and reviewed.
Even so, Nick’s adventures kept sitting in the back of my head, and when I heard a fourth book was on the way, I decided it was time to catch up. As such, here are my thoughts on the first three books of The Devil You Know.
This review may contain some minor spoilers, but they’ll be more on an abstract level than about important plot points. It shouldn’t ruin the story.
Now, about that devil…
The first book follows Nick as he lands a a new job. In essence, he’s to assist people who are willing to make a deal with the devil. The devil apparently, is very busy, and he employs ordinary humans to manage a lot of his deal brokering. Contracts, research, negotiations – that kind of thing. Not to mention: your immortal soul.
In all honesty, it’s quite a while since I read the book, and I don’t remember the exact job description, but it’s something along those lines. The important point is that for every deal Nick seals, he’s allowed to use company (Devil Inc.) resources for a personal project, which can be anything he wants. Now, Nick’s a kind, upstanding fella, and he genuinely wants to do good. Naturally, there are complications. Three books worth of complications actually, and a fourth one coming. It’s great.
As a whole, The Devil You Know isn’t your average fast paced urban fantasy banger. The story plays out in a modern day city, with a lot of modern day sensibilites, but it’s more about characters and ideas than about action and romance. That doesn’t mean there isn’t action or romance. It’s definitely there, but it’s not the focus on the story.
Instead, the story is borderline cozy, with a dash of violence and a generous dollop of moral quandaries. There’s a fair bit of “dark stuff” going on, but despite this, the overall tone is pleasant and light.
One interesting thing about this series how it changes between books. Where the first book was all about Nick, the second book has two point of view characters, and the third book, three. The character’s change and grow, and so do their circumstances and the challenges they face.
The stage set up in the first book is the same throughout all the books, and while it’s added to, the fundamentals do not change. This allows the latter books to contain more dramtic events, as there’s less need to explain an already familiar setting.
What I’ll Whine About
Needs more Nick. In the initial book, Nick is an engaging and relatable main character, and I enjoyed experiencing the changes to his life with him. However, with the second and third book introducing a new main character each, there’s less of Nick and more of the other two. I have nothing against either of the new additions, but they kind of steal the show. Nick is still around, and we get chapters from his point of view, but he makes much less of an impression in the third book than in the other two.
What I’ll Gush About
Premise. I really enjoy the idea behind this series and how it’s executed. When I picked up the book, only knowing the title and ignoring the description (I almost always do), I had a lot of expectations of what this might be. These expectations grew throughout the introductory parts of the first book, only for the story to shrug them all off and turn into something completely different. This was not the story I thought it would be, and I love what I got instead.
On the surface, it might not look like much, but there are a lot of interesting little details and hidden layers once you get into it.
Final Words
An almost wholesome, almost cozy tale about working for the devil.
Find the first book in the series, My Boss is the Devil, on Goodreads.
