In Friend of the Devil, insurance investigator Sam is looking for a missing rare book at the hoity-toity boarding school, Danforth Putnam. He is helped, and hindered, by the school’s faculty, staff, and students. But what he ultimately finds will be miraculous.
Friend of the Devil is marketed as a horror noir. I admit I did not know what that meant when I began reading. The book definitely has a noir feeling in the beginning. However, that is quickly overshadowed by a young adult horror plot. Only the totally unexpected twist at the end (it literally caused me to gasp!) raised my rating to 4 stars.
Friend of the Devil is probably best for younger horror readers rather than mystery fans. But I still enjoyed it.
Thanks to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.