Something lurks in the woods near Hagen’s Cove, something nasty, with big feet, and people who go into those woods never come out again. That’s why they’re called The Devil’s Woods.
Successful novelist, Kyle Elkheart, is still mourning the loss of his wife, two years after her death. Creatively blocked, and a near shut in, he’s surprised one day by a visit from his brother, Eric. Their estranged father, Jon, has gone missing from the reservation where he lives in Canada, and their cousin, Ray Roamingbear, is calling the family together to look for him.
Kyle, Eric and their sister, Shawna, together with Eric’s girlfriend, Jessica, and Shawna’s boyfriend, Zach, waste no time in flying north to the isolated idyll of Hagen’s Cove. However, the rescue mission turned vacation takes a dark turn when the devils don’t stay in their part of the woods, and the Elkhearts are fresh meat.
Written in third person, past tense, The Devil’s Woods spends quite some time building the relationships between the siblings and explaining the dynamics at play within Hagen’s Cove. This foundation becomes especially important later in the book when everything goes to hell. There is a lot of mention of sex and rape in this book, so perhaps one to avoid if you find those topics upsetting.
I liked The Devil’s Woods. My enjoyment increased the more I read, and I absolutely loved the second half of the novel. The ending was very satisfactory. I didn’t love any of the characters, but they were all realistic and didn’t break my suspension of disbelief. The town of Hagen’s Cove and the surrounding woods were very well described, and I felt like I was right there with the characters. I particularly liked some of the Cree elements of the story.
I award The Devil’s Woods…
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Iseult Murphy 