Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Dec 2022
368 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
"A disorienting, creepy, paranoia-inducing reimagining of the devil-made-me-do-it tale" (Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World) following the harrowing downfall of a tortured graduate student arrested for murder.
The Devil is in Scotland.
Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil's Advocate. The twenty-five-year-old American grad student rose to instant notoriety when he confessed to the slaughter of his classmate Liam Stewart, claiming the Devil made him do it.
When Hale is found hanged in his prison cell, officers uncover a handwritten manuscript that promises to answer the question that's haunted the nation for years: was Hale a lunatic, or had he been telling the truth all along?
Unnervingly, Hale doesn't fit the bill of a killer. The first-person narrative that centers this novel reveals an acerbic young atheist, newly enrolled at the University of Edinburgh to carry on the legacy of his recently deceased father. In need of cash, he takes a job ghostwriting a mysterious book for a dark stranger, but has misgivings when the project begins to reawaken his satanophobia, a rare condition that causes him to live in terror that the Devil is after him. As he struggles to disentangle fact from fear, Grayson's world is turned upside-down after events force him to confront his growing suspicion that he's working for the one he has feared all this time—and that the book is only the beginning of their partnership.
A History of Fear is a propulsive foray into the darkness of the human psyche, marrying dread-inducing atmosphere and heart-palpitating storytelling.
"Did the devil really make him do it? That question haunts Dumas's stellar debut, a complex whydunit... Vivid prose enhances the twisty plot; Liam's Scottish accent is 'melodic yet underpinned by something hard and jagged, like clear water flowing over a bed of pointed rocks.' Admirers of Andrew Pyper's The Demonologist will be riveted." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Lean and propulsive, this dissection of evil marches forward with a deadly logic and sleight of hand...It's a...patient book, one that builds without the reader quite realizing it. It blurs the line between mental illness and something less definable, more supernatural and sinister. A muscular, enigmatic, and devilishly smart read." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Scariest and most relatable for collections with a young adult readership tackling college in the near future." - Library Journal
"A delicious walk along the razor's edge between the imagined and the supernatural, A History of Fear is candy for readers who like their thrills real and their horror a worrying whisper in their head." - Andrew Pyper, author of The Demonologist and The Residence
"A History of Fear presents itself as a disquieting cache of nightmares, a nested doll narrative that reads like a found-footage Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg. Readers, beware: this novel is not safe and will have you questioning what's real for many sleepless nights to come." - Clay McLeod Chapman, author of The Remaking, Whisper Down the Lane, and Ghost Eaters
"A History of Fear succeeds on so many levels—as a haunting tale of the supernatural, a harrowing story of suspense, and a stark warning about the power of our inner demons. I consumed this book breathlessly, and every time I think of its jaw-dropping ending, I feel a chill all over again." - Megan Collins, author of The Family Plot
This information about A History of Fear 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.
Luke Dumas was born and raised in San Diego, California, and received his master's degree in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh. His work has appeared in Hobart, Last Exit, and the queer anthology The Whole Alphabet: The Light and the Dark, among others. A History of Fear is his debut novel.
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