Review : The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : The Devil You Know
Author : Trish Doller
Publication Date :  June 2nd 2015
Publisher : Bloombsury
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble


Eighteen-year-old Arcadia wants adventure. Living in a tiny Florida town with her dad and four-year-old brother, Cadie spends most of her time working, going to school, and taking care of her family. So when she meets two handsome cousins at a campfire party, she finally has a chance for fun. They invite her and friend to join them on a road trip, and it's just the risk she's been craving-the opportunity to escape. But what starts out as a fun, sexy journey quickly becomes dangerous when she discovers that one of them is not at all who he claims to be. One of them has deadly intentions.

A road trip fling turns terrifying in this contemporary story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Personal Thoughts

Trish Doller is an author I consider a favorite. Her contemporary novels are some of the best I've ever read because of how emotional they can be. With The Devil You Know, she dove into YA mystery territory. I struggle with YA mystery books quite a bit, but I was still looking forward to reading this one. While it isn't my favorite Trish Doller book, I still had a good time reading it.

Trish Doller always crafts these unlikeable main characters who you eventually wind up enjoying. She explores the depth of human nature through her characters and that's something that I have always loved about her writing. The protagonist in The Devil You Know was very similar to the author's previous main characters in that she's not the easiest to love. I don't think I ever completely loved Cadie. I admired her for how much she had sacrificed for her family and appreciated her for it. Not many teenagers would be willing to take care of their baby siblings all by themselves without a word of complaint. Cadie did eventually stand up to her father about her wishes to be able to break free from all the responsibilities she had to shoulder. I liked that she was confident enough to speak up her mind. At the same time, however, Cadie could make some very poor choices, such as deciding to go on a road trip with two strangers. And there were times I kept shaking my head at how incredibly stupid and naive she was. Cadie was blind to all the glaringly obvious clues around her and her inability to really see the truth until it was way too late did make it hard for me to completely connect with her character. I also felt very detached from the male characters in The Devil You Know. I honestly didn't care for the two cousins and while Trish Doller knows how to write some seriously swoony kisses, I wasn't exactly a fan of the main romance in the novel.

The murder mystery part of The Devil You Know was very engaging for the most part. Sure, I guessed who the killer was early on because Doller utilized the "he doesn't look guilty, so he's the culprit" technique, which was slightly disappointing, but she was still able to make it a read that gave me the chills and kept me on the edge of my seat. I was waiting for things to blow up in Cadie's face and Trish Doller sure took her time to make that happen, which wound up making the book even more intense. If there's one thing that I loved about The Devil You Know, it was the creepy factor. There were many scenes that had me squirming wanting to ditch the book because I was terrified for Cadie (and I live alone!). The climax of the book, especially, was fast-paced and action packed and had my heart racing. I also have an intense and irrational fear of alligators and there's one scene in particular towards the end that I found nightmare-inducing. Part of me did feel like the book was incredibly short and could have used a few more pages to flesh out the mystery part a bit, but I still wound up enjoying it.

The Devil You Know might not be the best Trish Doller book I've read, but it's an entertaining story that had me flipping through the pages. I recommend this to fans looking for a good YA mystery novel.

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 4/5

**Overall Rating : 3.5/5**

Thank you to Bloomsbury for the ARC of The Devil You Know.


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