Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Oct 2019
320 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
Will Connor returns to his hometown, a village north of Boston, to care for his injured mother. He's kept his distance from the town since high school, but once home he finds himself reexamining a horrific incident that took place during one of his mother's "spirit circles."
His mother had embraced the hippie generation's fascination with New Age and the arcane, but the unexpected death of a close friend put an end to the meetings of the modern-day coven.
Or did it?
As Will looks deeper into his family's history he discovers that her practices weren't so much a passing fad but the latest link in a long tradition of New England witchcraft, which still seems to hold a strange power over the town. Will hopes that unearthing the facts about the death will put his questions to rest, but there are those willing to resort to violence to keep those secrets buried.
"The paranormal elements are subtle, gradually creeping in around the edges with unsettling effect. Both mystery and weird fiction fans will be pleased." - Publishers Weekly
"A suspenseful story that examines how families haunt each other in life and death; possibly too creepy for late-night reading." - Kirkus Reviews
"An appealing, atmospheric yarn." - Booklist
"Hauntingly atmospheric and relentlessly suspenseful, this dark and compelling mystery reveals a shocking bedrock of buried secrets—and shows what can happen when traditional New England witchcraft meets the light of modern day. Before the Devil Fell will keep you guessing on every unpredictable—and unsettling—page." - Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of The Murder List
"Before the Devil Fell is a suspenseful, atmospheric and eerie tale of small-town secrets and a dangerous bond that links families through the centuries." - Megan Chance, author of A Drop of Ink
"Neil Olson is an unassumingly subtle writer, and Before the Devil Fell is not the kind of thriller that goes boo, but the kind that makes you think—about human nature, daemonic nature, and a lot that lies between." - Madison Smartt Bell, author of Behind the Moon
This information about Before the Devil Fell was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Neil Olson is the author of The Icon, a novel of art theft and family intrigue, and the play Dealers. He lives in New York City with his wife and works in the publishing industry.
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