Devil House
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- Create Date：2022-01-21 21:22:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：John Darnielle
- ISBN：0374212236
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Summary
Gage Chandler is descended from kings。 That's what his mother always told him。
Now， he is a true crime writer， with one grisly success--and movie adaptation--to his name， along with a series of subsequent lesser efforts that have paid the bills but not much more。 But now he is being offered the chance for the big break: To move into the house--what the locals call "The Devil House"--in which a briefly notorious pair of murders occurred， apparently the work of disaffected 1980s teens。 He begins his research with diligence and enthusiasm， but soon the story leads him into a puzzle he never expected--back into his own work and what it means， back to the very core of what he does and who he is。
Now， he is a true crime writer， with one grisly success--and movie adaptation--to his name， along with a series of subsequent lesser efforts that have paid the bills but not much more。 But now he is being offered the chance for the big break: To move into the house--what the locals call "The Devil House"--in which a briefly notorious pair of murders occurred， apparently the work of disaffected 1980s teens。 He begins his research with diligence and enthusiasm， but soon the story leads him into a puzzle he never expected--back into his own work and what it means， back to the very core of what he does and who he is。
Reviews
Ella Birt
，
“What happens when somebody tells a story that has real people in it？ What happens to the story; what happens to the teller; what happens to the people？”Devil House by John Darnielle is part crime novel， part novel about a writer， writing。 The main character， Gage Chandler， narrates most of the chapters。 We hear the stories of his most successful book， The White Witch， and his current book， Devil House， and some of my favorite bits are the chapters that discuss his writing style and methods。 “I “What happens when somebody tells a story that has real people in it？ What happens to the story; what happens to the teller; what happens to the people？”Devil House by John Darnielle is part crime novel， part novel about a writer， writing。 The main character， Gage Chandler， narrates most of the chapters。 We hear the stories of his most successful book， The White Witch， and his current book， Devil House， and some of my favorite bits are the chapters that discuss his writing style and methods。 “I try to honor the dead in my books。 It’s one of the things， I hope， that sets me apart a little from my partners in true crime。 When I read what others write about places where the unthinkable became real， the focus always seems off to me。 Victims spend their entire time in the spotlight just waiting for the fatal blow， on a conveyer belt that leads to the guillotine: I pity their fates， but it’s hard to grieve for them， because the treadmill on which they ran feels specifically designed to kill them。”The undercurrent running through this book is about the act of creating a story and honoring the subjects。 How can we do that and create a story people want to read？ How can story possibly convey a version of truth reverent of all the people involved？ Perspective and place color any story， making the deeper truths， beyond objective statements of fact， mirage-like。 Every person can be seen in a million different ways through a million different eyes。 So what is the truth we tell？ Is anyone truly interested， or are their curiosities really expectations？ The character Seth explains this conundrum well， “‘They didn’t see me， and you don’t see me， and nobody’s ever going to see me except the people who actually know me outside of that whole story，’ he concludes - there’s no rancor in his voice， no anger。 He’s just laying out the facts on the ground for me， making his case。 ‘Unless you were actually inside， any story you end up telling will be some distortion。’”All of Darnielle’s characters have depth and complexity， and I love when authors include gifted characters。 Seth is noted as having a fantastic memory， vivid imagination， issues with focusing when something isn’t interesting to him but he has laser focus with his passion projects。 He’s entrepreneurial and prefers small intimate conversations with one other person to crowds which can feel overwhelming。 Gage Chandler says， “I get the feeling that there is no point in trying to hide things from Seth， who reads moments accurately while they’re still developing。”While I found the writing to be spectacular， there were a number of repetitive details。 Derrick getting ready for college， for example， seemed a detail I heard so much about， many pages devoted to his background that could have made their point much more quickly。 “Enough with his college applications，” was one of my notes mid-way through the book。 My larger curiosity kept me interested despite the many detours and sometimes draining detail。 I sense the writer had a deeper purpose in all of his choices， one that maybe even mirrored the internal experience of Gage Chandler， yet I found myself frustrated a number of times， wanting to get back to the really good stuff。 There was an entire chapter that seemed completely unrelated to the story other than to link the truths of the children in Devil House to classic archetypes and mythologies （another version of their personal truths that would not be told in any crime novel， except Darnielle's）。 As I write this， I might be changing my stance on this chapter。 I expected this to be a horror story going into it， and while there were components of the crimes that were grotesque， it was not a horror novel。 “Even when we don’t find ourselves doing something wild， we sort out several selves along the line as we’re becoming the people we will be。 It’s a constant， half-conscious process。” This quote is talking about the character Angela， but I feel this applies to Chandler。 He is half-consciously communicating with several layers of his Self while writing this book， integrating his experience。 This is my favorite aspect of Devil House。 It’s not just telling you the surface stories， it’s leading you through a half-conscious journey of growth and connections， which is in part possible due to the method in which the story is told。 Really fascinating。I would recommend this book。 It was dense and not something to be devoured in one or two evenings， but it was so well-written and had layers of depth that kept me reflecting on human nature， story， and my own expectations while reading。 I think other writers， or wannabe writers， would enjoy this read， people who enjoy true crime or historical fiction， and philosophers who love a read about human nature。 。。。more
Sue
，
The author is a singer-songwriter with an indie band （the Mountain Goats）， & according to the NYTimes reviewer， he "lobs his novels in from the margins of American life。" The author is a singer-songwriter with an indie band （the Mountain Goats）， & according to the NYTimes reviewer， he "lobs his novels in from the margins of American life。" 。。。more
Stéphanie
，
This book was really promising。 It seemed like it was going to be great， I was really excited to read this one。 I loved the first half of the book but after about 50% it seemed like there was just too much filler and I had a hard time staying interested。 This one was not for me。Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review！
Karen Bullock
，
A story about embellishments。People who want to retell an event or a tall tale， embellish/exaggerate， gloss things over。Gage Chandler， an author from the San Francisco area is encouraged by his editor to do what he does best， investigate and write another best selling true crime novel in hopes of scoring another movie deal。The crime in question: a double homicide， in small town California， mid 1980’s， with hints and speculation of devil worship involvement。Gage， reluctantly agrees and finds hims A story about embellishments。People who want to retell an event or a tall tale， embellish/exaggerate， gloss things over。Gage Chandler， an author from the San Francisco area is encouraged by his editor to do what he does best， investigate and write another best selling true crime novel in hopes of scoring another movie deal。The crime in question: a double homicide， in small town California， mid 1980’s， with hints and speculation of devil worship involvement。Gage， reluctantly agrees and finds himself more intrigued once he purchases the house and gets a lay of the land。The house now has a reputation and is known by locals as Devil House。Gage， is a planner and believes heavily on details and intense research。 He manages to locate copies of police files， radical records， floor plans and the history of the house itself。How creepy would it be to live in a house that was the scene of a horrific crime？ Questionable religious practices？ The deeper Gage digs in， the more disturbing the information on the history of the house。 “The devil is in the details” is a thought that comes to mind。This was an intensely detailed story， embellished for sure， long wordy chapters that seemed to be information overload。The “actual” story and theme were good but everything else？ Too much and distracting。Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review。 。。。more
Calley Garcia
，
Guys， I’m not one to put a book on my DNF list， but as for right now， it’s having to slide on over because I’m just not understanding this one。 I’ve made it about 20% into the book and I keep finding myself lost。 I’m assuming since I thought it was a horror story and have now discovered it definitely is not， I’m just not for it。 The author has a special writing style that isn’t for everybody so definitely read reviews before starting this book。 I can definitely say if you are into this spaced ou Guys， I’m not one to put a book on my DNF list， but as for right now， it’s having to slide on over because I’m just not understanding this one。 I’ve made it about 20% into the book and I keep finding myself lost。 I’m assuming since I thought it was a horror story and have now discovered it definitely is not， I’m just not for it。 The author has a special writing style that isn’t for everybody so definitely read reviews before starting this book。 I can definitely say if you are into this spaced out， very detail oriented， getting the whole back story plus what that back story had for breakfast， then this one is for you。 Unfortunately this was not the one for me！Thank you to the publisher and #netgalley for this ARC in exchange for a honest review。 。。。more
Beauregard
，
I have had previous experience with Darnielle's other books， so I knew what expect roughly going in， but this was still a doozy。Darnielle does a masterful job layering the different stories of the people involved with the Devil House and its many iterations with plentiful and vivid detail。 This is one of the strongest parts of the book， and also something I struggled the most with when I was reading。 While I do think the book itself was good， the experience of reading it dragged quite a bit。The I have had previous experience with Darnielle's other books， so I knew what expect roughly going in， but this was still a doozy。Darnielle does a masterful job layering the different stories of the people involved with the Devil House and its many iterations with plentiful and vivid detail。 This is one of the strongest parts of the book， and also something I struggled the most with when I was reading。 While I do think the book itself was good， the experience of reading it dragged quite a bit。The parts of the book I personally enjoyed the most was the section of the White Witch， and the letter toward the end。 The author touched on criticisms of the true crime genre that I very much agree with！ I understand what he was going for narratively when he went off into olde English and knights and such， I truly do！ But the entire act of Gorbonian was trying even for me。Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Michael Burke
，
"Devil House" refers to a building where unsolved murders occurred， where twisted pornography and satanic symbols were left behind。 It sounds like we are in for a creepy， terrifying read。 We are introduced to Gage Chandler， a true crime writer who is out to investigate what really happened。 He is meticulous， trying to recreate every aspect at the scene of the crime。 He notes that it matters whose air he is breathing。Early on we get sidetracked by his previous book， "The White Witch of Morro Bay， "Devil House" refers to a building where unsolved murders occurred， where twisted pornography and satanic symbols were left behind。 It sounds like we are in for a creepy， terrifying read。 We are introduced to Gage Chandler， a true crime writer who is out to investigate what really happened。 He is meticulous， trying to recreate every aspect at the scene of the crime。 He notes that it matters whose air he is breathing。Early on we get sidetracked by his previous book， "The White Witch of Morro Bay，" an interesting story， maybe more interesting than the "Devil House" one。 The narrative changes a number of times and the momentum suffers。 Just when things slow， we are subjected to "Song of Gorbonian，" a whole chapter about some ludicrous medieval knights。 I can not say what it had to do with the rest of the book， I forced myself to skim over it just to see if there was anything that would pull me back into the orbit of the plot。I did like the meat of the book， it was just like an album you enjoy except for the filler。 I hate to give it just two stars--I just can not see recommending it to anyone who does not need to read it because of their love for the author。 Thank you to Farrar， Straus and Giroux and to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Alex Sarll
，
For anyone familiar with the Mountain Goats' music， it's no real surprise that their driving force's novels should tend to be set a few years in the past， generally looking back further still， and that they should turn on the details of a world which still feels recent to those of us who lived through it， even as the numbers show it's slipping increasingly far into the past。 Hell， this is the second time a video shop has loomed large in one of them （and the exception was about play-by-mail gamin For anyone familiar with the Mountain Goats' music， it's no real surprise that their driving force's novels should tend to be set a few years in the past， generally looking back further still， and that they should turn on the details of a world which still feels recent to those of us who lived through it， even as the numbers show it's slipping increasingly far into the past。 Hell， this is the second time a video shop has loomed large in one of them （and the exception was about play-by-mail gaming）。 The protagonist this time is a true crime writer， one of whose books was adapted into a film （even there， note that it was a film， not a podcast or a Netflix series） but whose follow-ups have failed to catch in the same way。 Now he's in a small Californian town which matches him nicely; it has one shocking incident in its past which is widely known， but the eponymous house， into which he moves， was the scene of its difficult follow-up killing。 Darnielle is very good on the ickiness of the whole true crime genre; at a convention， a peer tells the narrator "There aren't any villains in a true crime book。 There's the hero， and there's his victims。" At the same time， he uses it as an exemplar of the general human tendency to understand the world in stories， and find significance in the most minor or incidental details as soon as they're presented in a context where meaning seems expected of them: "Victims spend their entire time in the spotlight just waiting for the fatal blow， on a conveyor belt that leads to the guillotine。" While poking awkwardly at all that， though， he himself catches the little things which， while relevant to the story， don't need to be， the moods and moments recognisable from other lives: "There are only three weeks left in the school year; there's no single word in the English language precise enough to describe the atmosphere on campus when it gets close to summer break。 There's electricity in the air， but it's tampered by languor， the promise of lazy days ahead， of long warm mornings with no to-do lists attached; there's excitement， but it's checked by an impending sense of loss among the seniors; there's hope， but there's also suspicion。" Or， of the narrator's gently drifting life before the story begins， the painfully accurate summary "My wheels made an agreeable noise when they spun。"There are enough threads here that you could present any of them as the key theme; the unfairness of a society where a woman killing in self defence gets executed and then also becomes a folk demon; the sense of the "unexplored terrain lurking in known shapes"， the way the most unprepossessing places can become castles or ancient temples to those who fully inhabit them; even the the idea of manifest destiny crumbling in the daylight and， most shocking to the British reader， California running out of room。 But surely at least part of the point of the exercise is precisely to say that all of these things apply， and none of them; this is not a grand scheme， it's the big old tangle that is life。 The impossibility of ever telling a story in a way that the people who lived it really recognise becomes more of a preoccupation as the book progresses， the painful knowledge that you could spend your whole life trying to write one book and still not get everything relevant in。 Fans may find echoes of the songs: there's one kid who seemed a lot like， in a similar shitty situation to begin with， he didn't make it through this year， and it did kill him – with maybe a nugget of Autoclave at the heart， and a reminder why it's so important that No Children is called No Children。 Not everything worked for me – I get what the sections of pastiche mediaeval chronicle are trying to do， but I'm not convinced they pull it off， and I might feel the same way about the resolution， though my sentiments there are a lot more mixed。 But fuck me， Darnielle can catch and convey a mood， without music just as well as with。 And if nothing else， I've now learned there's an official forensic definition of overkill， at 17 stab wounds。 Which may or may not be true， but I'm sure as blazes not Googling to confirm。（Netgalley ARC） 。。。more
Krissy （books_and_biceps9155）
，
Thank you @mcdbooks for my gifted copy！Let’s start by saying this-I’m not going to bash the book。 I’m sure it will be enjoyable for some。 It is NOT a horror novel。 So that could be where the whole thing started off wrong for me。 This is book is slooowwww and like a Russian doll。 There are several stories within the one story which made it extremely confusing and hard to follow。 Our main character is extremely dry， dull and boring。 He didn’t make for an exciting narrator and about 40 pages alone Thank you @mcdbooks for my gifted copy！Let’s start by saying this-I’m not going to bash the book。 I’m sure it will be enjoyable for some。 It is NOT a horror novel。 So that could be where the whole thing started off wrong for me。 This is book is slooowwww and like a Russian doll。 There are several stories within the one story which made it extremely confusing and hard to follow。 Our main character is extremely dry， dull and boring。 He didn’t make for an exciting narrator and about 40 pages alone were used to describe his true crime writing style （could have done without it） The writing is well done and I can see Darnielle has massive talent however， this just wasn’t what I thought it would be， was way to long and wordy。 Not for me。 I will say the best thing about this book is the retro cover 🙊 。。。more
Hannah Krueger
，
FSG was kind enough to pass along a copy of this as an ARC via Net Galley， which I was honestly surprised about so close to the release date。 However， I got to then spend the last week absolutely devouring this book， and y’all are in for a treat。 On the surface， this is about a crime writer who got famous on his book about a local urban legend surrounding an infamous crime potentially finding his next lead and book and moving to the neighborhood。 However， what it’s really about is the stories th FSG was kind enough to pass along a copy of this as an ARC via Net Galley， which I was honestly surprised about so close to the release date。 However， I got to then spend the last week absolutely devouring this book， and y’all are in for a treat。 On the surface， this is about a crime writer who got famous on his book about a local urban legend surrounding an infamous crime potentially finding his next lead and book and moving to the neighborhood。 However， what it’s really about is the stories that people tell each other， the ones we tell ourselves， and what role the writer has in all of this。 In other words， meta as shit， and extremely up my alley。 Very similar to Wolf in White Van in that way。 There’s one section of this that’s structured almost like track titles， and the feel of it is gorgeous。 （I am not entirely sure what was going on with that fourth section， but give me another read down the line and I might have a better idea。） This doesn’t resolve cleanly or simply， and I like that Darnelle denies us that。 Really meta， 90s small town gothic as hell， and definitely an auto rec for me。 Pick it up！！ （/Mountain Goats ska album when） 。。。more
Lisa Leone-campbell
，
What do you want to be when you grow up？ Are you sure？ Where will you be when you grow up？Gage Chandler is a true crime writer whose claim to fame was writing a book about a couple of teens who were killed by a teacher， Diana Crane， also known as the White Witch。 What he found out about the murders would profoundly navigate the rest of his career。 A career which has basically stalled。But he is now given the chance of a lifetime！ When asked if he would like to do a story about a double killing in What do you want to be when you grow up？ Are you sure？ Where will you be when you grow up？Gage Chandler is a true crime writer whose claim to fame was writing a book about a couple of teens who were killed by a teacher， Diana Crane， also known as the White Witch。 What he found out about the murders would profoundly navigate the rest of his career。 A career which has basically stalled。But he is now given the chance of a lifetime！ When asked if he would like to do a story about a double killing in the 1980’s in a porn shop， which has since been converted into a house in which he can live in while doing his research he is not convinced at first， but finally agrees。The house is known in the town of Milpitas， California as the Devil House because when they found the mutilated bodies of the realter and owner of the building， there were satanic writings and graffiti everywhere。 This was a time when satanic rituals among teenagers was very prominent。 No one was ever charged with the brutal crimes。 And to make matters worse， this small town had a previous murder back in 1981。 A woman was raped and murdered， and a movie called River’s Edge was made about the case。Locals are not happy to see a writer not only living in the house but stirring up all the bad vibes from the past。 So as Gage immerses himself in research about what the history is of the Devil House and finding out that at the time of the murders two teenage boys， Derek and Seth had basically taken over staying in the building when the manager of the store had taken off， his imagination takes off。He sets about interviewing people and begins to get a sense of what was happening at the time of the murders， with the teenagers and life in general in the small town。 The deeper he delves the more he returns to his first book and how sometimes things are not as they appear to be。 Although the stories are completely different， the similarities are concerning to him。In most tragic murder cases there is the truth and there is what people believe or want to believe is the truth。 There are suspects and there are individuals some wish were suspects。 There is folklore which some take as fact。 Gage finds himself totally immersed in not only this aspect of his current research， but in his past work。He also realizes at some point that he grew up with a friend who moved to this small town during the time frame of the murders。 As he reaches out to his friend for assistance Gage is at a crossroads in his career as to how to go forward。 Sometimes a murder is sadly， just that even though everyone wants to believe it was more。 It is up to the writer to either tell the facts as they are or embellish the truth for more interesting content。 That is his quandary。The Devil House is an interesting look at what being a true crime writer must be like。 Thank you #NetGalley #MCD #DevilHouse #JohnDarnielle for the advanced copy。 。。。more
Josee
，
Having read Wolf in White Van and Universal Harvester， I knew this new book by John Darnielle was going to get weird。 His style of writing and way of revealing his stories is really unique。 In Devil House we follow a true crime writer whose style is to completely immerse himself in a crime scene in order to write about it， going so far as to buy the house where a double homicide occurred in order to write his book。 I’m struggling to put into words what this was about as think I’ll be thinking ab Having read Wolf in White Van and Universal Harvester， I knew this new book by John Darnielle was going to get weird。 His style of writing and way of revealing his stories is really unique。 In Devil House we follow a true crime writer whose style is to completely immerse himself in a crime scene in order to write about it， going so far as to buy the house where a double homicide occurred in order to write his book。 I’m struggling to put into words what this was about as think I’ll be thinking about it for awhile， but I enjoyed the reading experience and felt immersed in the story and the characters。 This book felt longer and a little slower in pace than the other two books I’ve read by this author， but it was worth the payoff。 。。。more
Camille24 （camilleisreading）
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Unfortunately I decided not to finish this book at the 60% mark。 The style is experimental and for me， hard to follow。 I liked the first section of the story quite a bit， where we meet the main character Gage who is a true crime writer。 He decides to buy the Devil House， a building that used to be a diner and after that a news stand， then a porn video store。 A gruesome crime took place in its last iteration， and this is to be the subject of Gage’s next book。 The book meanders through various sec Unfortunately I decided not to finish this book at the 60% mark。 The style is experimental and for me， hard to follow。 I liked the first section of the story quite a bit， where we meet the main character Gage who is a true crime writer。 He decides to buy the Devil House， a building that used to be a diner and after that a news stand， then a porn video store。 A gruesome crime took place in its last iteration， and this is to be the subject of Gage’s next book。 The book meanders through various sections with changing styles， points of view and tenses。 Clearly the author is very interested in the moral conundrum is that accompany writing about true crimes and in the first section， we get the most lurid details of some of the stories that Gage has covered in the past。 This is followed by sections where we actually get to know the victims and perpetrators of those crimes in their multidimensional human selves， which is interesting but definitely lacked a strong narrative pace for me and I found my mind wandering。 Since this is a work of fiction， I found it annoying that the crimes were kept shadowy and the narrator had to guess at detail。 I’d rather read nonfiction for this level of uncertainty about what happened。Fans of experimental prose and of Darnielle in general will likely enjoy this。 It reminded me of REPRIEVE by James Hans Mattson at times; like that story， this one follows many characters and has a strong social justice theme running throughout。 The cover arts suggests a haunted house story but that is not this book。 My expectations were somewhat misaligned with the reality of this book。Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC I exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Doreen
，
1/16/2021 Full review tk at CriminalElement。com。 1/16/2021 Full review tk at CriminalElement。com。 。。。more
Peishan Bartley
，
Despite what the cover art may hint at， this is not a horror story。 If you are looking for a haunted house or a gothic horror， this book is not it。 This is also not a true crime story。 If you want something straight forwardly about the evil one can inflict upon another， this is also not it。 This is a book about the true crime genre。 It asks the readers to inspect our motivations， check our gazes， and remember that true crime stories are lived and/or survived by more than just the victim（s） and p Despite what the cover art may hint at， this is not a horror story。 If you are looking for a haunted house or a gothic horror， this book is not it。 This is also not a true crime story。 If you want something straight forwardly about the evil one can inflict upon another， this is also not it。 This is a book about the true crime genre。 It asks the readers to inspect our motivations， check our gazes， and remember that true crime stories are lived and/or survived by more than just the victim（s） and perpetrator（s）。 The book does begin slow。 It takes time to warm up to the narrator's voice。 For awhile， I thought it's going to be a long slog。 But halfway through， you reach the top of the rollercoaster and the ride accelerates until it arrives at an ending that brings to my mind The Life of Pi。 This book is not about closure or answers。 It's about the responsibility of writers and readers and the nature of stories。 。。。more
Tyler
，
This book is a lot of things。 It’s the story of a true crime writer working on his next book; it’s excerpts from his previous book。 It’s real-time storytelling and fractured memories and it asks questions about telling a story from one side， or all sides， or whether to tell it at all。There are times I put this book down — a book I giddily received an ARC to review — and didn’t want to pick it back up。 There are stylistic shifts that grated on me; impromptu code-switches into Arthurian dialect， a This book is a lot of things。 It’s the story of a true crime writer working on his next book; it’s excerpts from his previous book。 It’s real-time storytelling and fractured memories and it asks questions about telling a story from one side， or all sides， or whether to tell it at all。There are times I put this book down — a book I giddily received an ARC to review — and didn’t want to pick it back up。 There are stylistic shifts that grated on me; impromptu code-switches into Arthurian dialect， abrupt shifts in tone and writing style that can throw the reader off。 At times Darnielle switches into second person， which works surprisingly well as the novel’s through-line builds and bubbles。 It takes a while to boil over — at more than 400 pages， Devil House is roughly the length of Darnielle’s first two novels combined — but the water hits the fire eventually。 By the end， Devil House left me thinking。 Like Darnielle’s best works both as a novelist and a lyricist， there is an incredible perspective here when it comes to storytelling。 It’s layered， and meta， and often a commentary on itself。 And even when that makes for a few choppy passages or lulls in momentum， the end result feels like you’ve gotten somewhere。 It’s not about the journey and the destination; it’s about whether one can really live up to the other。I struggled to finish this book， until I didn’t; I dragged through the first two-thirds before blitzing through the end。 I devoured pages on the white witch and skimmed large chunks about swords and knights。 I can still picture the inside of the Devil House。 This book is broken up and and at times jarring; often beautifully written if stylistically inconsistent。 It's a frustrating book that’s actually multiple books。 It is layered and complex。 It took me months to power through， but I did， and I think it was worth it。 Devil House isn’t John Darnielle’s best work， but it features some of his best writing。 And maybe that’s enough。 。。。more
ElphaReads
，
Thank you to NetGalley fro providing me with an eARC of this novel！I think that DEVIL HOUSE kind of fell into the same trap that UNIVERSAL HARVESTER did， in that it is marketed in a way that is different from the final product。 I should have expected that， and that isn't to say that the story that Darnielle tells isn't well told。 Darnielle has serious writing prowess， his style evocative and very emotional in a lot of ways。 I think that for me， this was less an examination Satanic Panic hysteria Thank you to NetGalley fro providing me with an eARC of this novel！I think that DEVIL HOUSE kind of fell into the same trap that UNIVERSAL HARVESTER did， in that it is marketed in a way that is different from the final product。 I should have expected that， and that isn't to say that the story that Darnielle tells isn't well told。 Darnielle has serious writing prowess， his style evocative and very emotional in a lot of ways。 I think that for me， this was less an examination Satanic Panic hysteria and more of an examination （and sort of condemnation） of the entire True Crime genre。 And hey， that's probably fair， as there are a lot of questions to be asked about the ethics of taking real life tragedy into entertainment for the masses。 But it didn't connect as well for me as I would have liked， for a couple of reasons。 For one， I think that Darnielle never quite got the right questions out about the genre。 His biggest focus， to me， was on the victimization of the mother of one of the perpetrators of one of the crimes， making her pain feel more elevated than that of the woman that her son attacked （and was killed by， in frantic overkilly self defense）。 I also thought that this book did get a little self indulgent at times。 I like that Darnielle likes to experiment with language and voice， but some of his choices felt very out of left field and like they didn't really fit outside of being unique for the sake of uniqueness。 I'm still super intrigued by Darnielle's writing。 This one just didn't hit the way I thought it would。 。。。more
Jim
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Devil House by John Darnielle is a meta-narrative on the role an artist plays in the lives of his or her subjects。 I found many of the themes resonant， particularly in an era of incredibly popular true crime TV， books， and podcasts， but ultimately the novel he’s written feels kind of hollow。 Devil House primarily follows true-crime writer， Gage Chandler， in pursuit of his next writing project in suburban northern California。 Gage buys “the Devil House，” a former comics/pornography shop near an o Devil House by John Darnielle is a meta-narrative on the role an artist plays in the lives of his or her subjects。 I found many of the themes resonant， particularly in an era of incredibly popular true crime TV， books， and podcasts， but ultimately the novel he’s written feels kind of hollow。 Devil House primarily follows true-crime writer， Gage Chandler， in pursuit of his next writing project in suburban northern California。 Gage buys “the Devil House，” a former comics/pornography shop near an overpass that will serve as the subject of his next book。 Now a renovated turn of the century modern home， the Devil House was also the scene of a grisly double homicide 15 years earlier that remains unsolved。 The novel follows Gage as he explores how the murder happened and engages with the community， which has already suffered the Hollywood glorification of another brutal murder。 For a book with the title “Devil House，” there really isn’t anything particularly horrifying about this book。 This is clearly the author’s intent， so don’t pick up this up thinking you’re going to get the second-coming of The Shining。 Darnielle is much more interested in the responsibility of a nonfiction writer in accurately depicting his subjects， and how that depiction may ultimately affect community’s affected by great tragedy。 I appreciated Darnielle’s mission here， and think that he points at something that seems pretty insidious about true-crime culture today。 Still， I struggled to latch onto the book’s content。 Darnielle has to write his character’s at arm’s length in order to accurately depict the process of writing a true-crime book， and in doing so replicates some of the genre’s most banal qualities。 Readers who enjoy true-crime may enjoy this book， but they also may feel they’re getting a lecture in some parts （without the benefit of this being based on a true event！）。 I would suggest readers come to this one with an open mind。 They’ll undoubtedly appreciate the message， even if the story lacks in focus。Thanks to NetGalley and FSG/MCD for the eARC and the opportunity to leave this unbiased review。 。。。more
Abra Kurt
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Meta-true crime-horror fiction-memoir。 The storyteller becoming the story。 The story within the story。 Flipped narratives。 I enjoy this kind of non-linear novel so much so that Richard Chizmar's Chasing the Boogeyman made my overall 'best of 2021' list after having been featured among my Halloween reads。 Darnielle mashes up all of the above in Devil House， doing something similar but to a different end and effect here - with less of Chizmar's fear-building suspense and more gore。 Dropping narrat Meta-true crime-horror fiction-memoir。 The storyteller becoming the story。 The story within the story。 Flipped narratives。 I enjoy this kind of non-linear novel so much so that Richard Chizmar's Chasing the Boogeyman made my overall 'best of 2021' list after having been featured among my Halloween reads。 Darnielle mashes up all of the above in Devil House， doing something similar but to a different end and effect here - with less of Chizmar's fear-building suspense and more gore。 Dropping narrative breadcrumbs early on like， "。。。they settle on whichever version of the story eases the burden a little。 The burden？ The burden of the story they don't want to tell。" Darnielle begins to let readers glimpse the hidden thread underlying this story， weaving it all the way through to the big reveal。 His effective use of differing voice like Old English and Arthurian Legend skillfully shows a character's inner world and furthers the twisty narrative。 Good writers show vs。 tell， and Darnielle's style of showing has unique flair。 I also appreciated Devil House for its study on writers and consumers of true crime and the powerful， often devastating， impact point of view can have on those who live "on the other side of the flames。" Like Boogeyman， Devil House has shades of Stephen King's nostalgia for boy life， while weaving in real-world true crime， like the River's Edge story， for maximum effect。 Compelling， unsettling， and thoughtfully layered， this title has already claimed a spot on my 2022 Halloween reads list。I received a digital pre-publication copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Madhuri Sridhara
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DNF at 56%I saw the other reviews and tried my best to keep at it but this is where I end my journey with this book。This is a complex tale of of a true crime writer who after writing a few books， comes upon the less known story of "The Devil House'， which I'm sorry to say isn't as spine-tingling as it sounds。Rather， this book is about the narrator trying to do justice to the story of what really happened at Devil House by writing the truth in as much as truth can be written about something that DNF at 56%I saw the other reviews and tried my best to keep at it but this is where I end my journey with this book。This is a complex tale of of a true crime writer who after writing a few books， comes upon the less known story of "The Devil House'， which I'm sorry to say isn't as spine-tingling as it sounds。Rather， this book is about the narrator trying to do justice to the story of what really happened at Devil House by writing the truth in as much as truth can be written about something that happened a long time ago。 It's meta， it's a great idea but unfortunately I didn't resonate with the story at all。 There were times where I was lost because there is no set format to the book。 It tells multiple stories， including one about "The White Witch" which is about the narrator's first book。 This is actually an interesting story。But the main story about Devil House is long and boring。 I'm sure there are others who will find it interesting and will love it but it just wasn't me。To me， the entire book was lost in clunky writing and shifting formats。 Thanks to Netgalley and Scribe UK for the e-arc。 。。。more
Janelle Janson
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This is NOT a horror novel， but I really enjoyed it。 I was captivated from beginning to end。
3 Things About This Book
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Devil House is an interesting take on true crime phenomenon。 It's known to be Americans favorite pastime， but for some cases we are not even sure that story reflects the reality。 How much do we know about victims？ How much do we know about the guilty party？ Obviously， I'm not talking about horrible monsters that we shouldn't think twice about where crime and brutality of it as clear as a day。 I'm talking about not so clear yet glamourized cases。 Law enforcement might have the bigger picture， but Devil House is an interesting take on true crime phenomenon。 It's known to be Americans favorite pastime， but for some cases we are not even sure that story reflects the reality。 How much do we know about victims？ How much do we know about the guilty party？ Obviously， I'm not talking about horrible monsters that we shouldn't think twice about where crime and brutality of it as clear as a day。 I'm talking about not so clear yet glamourized cases。 Law enforcement might have the bigger picture， but how do true crime novels， shows， podcasts shape our perception of it？Gage was a true crime author。 He wrote a very successful book about a local case， which later turned into a film。 His next challenge was another somewhat local case that involved a adult store and high schools students。 He appeared to be very hardcore about his research。 He bought the adult store that turned into a house to start his adventure。 Then what came after was for us detangle。 I imagined this story almost as a pyramid: you start with the author， then dive into his previous successful story， then Devil house， after peaking at Gage's royal roots， it continues in reverse order coming back to Gage。 You should be a true crime researcher yourself to pick up certain cues。 At the end it leaves you with more questions than answers， but I still liked the style and story！ 。。。more
Stella
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I'm a massive fan of John Darnielle。 Less him as a musician and more him as a writer。 His books are works of art， strange strange art and his twitter feed is a gift。 His recent thread on potatoes was。。。*chef's kiss*。Devil House is magic。 It straddles the line of mystery and fiction。 It's odd。 It's a story， within a story， within a story， within a story。 There's no real narrator - I guess Gage Chandler is our main character - however he goes from our narrator to a character。 He's a true crime wri I'm a massive fan of John Darnielle。 Less him as a musician and more him as a writer。 His books are works of art， strange strange art and his twitter feed is a gift。 His recent thread on potatoes was。。。*chef's kiss*。Devil House is magic。 It straddles the line of mystery and fiction。 It's odd。 It's a story， within a story， within a story， within a story。 There's no real narrator - I guess Gage Chandler is our main character - however he goes from our narrator to a character。 He's a true crime writer， who has found success writing about a murder in his hometown and has now been tasked to write about a murder during the 1980's at the "Devil House" outside of San Francisco。 But， then - turning the page， we - the reader - are thrust into a different book - a different voice - a different narrative。 We are now in Gage's research into his first book about The White Witch， in fact， we are The White Witch。 And then we - the reader - are teenagers - living in the "Devil House"。。。And then we are Gage again。。。This book is different than anything I've ever read and probably that I will ever read。 I can't wait to read it again。 Thanks to NetGalley， the publishers and the fantastic John Darnielle for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance of its release。 。。。more
Simms
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3。5 stars rounded up。 John Darnielle has tricked me before - Universal Harvester sucked me in thinking it was going to be a horror novel， but it really wasn't。 Well， maybe it'd be more accurate to say I thought it was going to be a GOOD horror novel; I think it still wanted to be horror but it squandered its excellent opening in not， y'know， being scary or interesting。 Point is， I came into Devil House with my guard up -- the title and great retro-horror cover design give the impression of horro 3。5 stars rounded up。 John Darnielle has tricked me before - Universal Harvester sucked me in thinking it was going to be a horror novel， but it really wasn't。 Well， maybe it'd be more accurate to say I thought it was going to be a GOOD horror novel; I think it still wanted to be horror but it squandered its excellent opening in not， y'know， being scary or interesting。 Point is， I came into Devil House with my guard up -- the title and great retro-horror cover design give the impression of horror， and you can see how a different author might take it in that direction: true-crime writer （Gage Chandler） working on a book about two murders with overtones of some Satanic ritual moves into the house where the murders happened， and gets caught up in the supernatural residue of the crime， etc。 etc。 But that's not what Darnielle is interesting in， and I'm glad I knew to be skeptical of the book following the expected trajectory。 A played-straight horror story in the right hands could have been good， but what Darnielle is actually doing is more interesting （for novelty's sake if nothing else）。Instead， we get a sort of meta-narrative， telling the story of the "Devil House" murders along with Chandler's research process into the case， as well as the story of a different crime which Chandler had written about in his career breakout; meditations on true-crime literature as a genre， ethically speaking; and， bizarrely， an extended pseudo-Arthurian legend， written in faux early modern English， which forms the middle of the book， ends in mid-sentence， and whose connection to and purpose in the narrative I have yet to remotely identify （really， y'all， anybody who figures that one out holler at me）。 Like I said， what it's doing is new and interesting， and probably would be more so if I were more immersed in true-crime as a genre， and the ending takes it in a cool direction。 But， ultimately， it's trying to cover so much ground that it feels shaggy and unfocused at times （for real， what is up with the Arthurian stuff）， which prevents me from giving it too high of a rating。Thanks to NetGalley and FSG for the ARC。 。。。more
Meghin
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This is completely my fault for going into this thinking it was going to be a horror book without really knowing what this book is about。 The book is about a true crime writer who moves into the house of where the crimes took place he is writing about。 It follows the process of writing true crime。 I ended up DNFing this book。 I started getting extremely confused as the book is very literary and begins switching between 1st and 2nd person and also past， present， and another storyline。 The other s This is completely my fault for going into this thinking it was going to be a horror book without really knowing what this book is about。 The book is about a true crime writer who moves into the house of where the crimes took place he is writing about。 It follows the process of writing true crime。 I ended up DNFing this book。 I started getting extremely confused as the book is very literary and begins switching between 1st and 2nd person and also past， present， and another storyline。 The other storyline is about the crimes that happened from his first book and it completely lost me and had nothing to do with the other storyline。 I was genuinely so confused reading this book and got annoyed with the constant use of “you” in every sentence。 This is mostly my fault though because I thought this book was something that it wasn’t so be aware of that going into this。 It’s not for everyone but some people might enjoy this if this is more their thing。 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC copy of this book。 。。。more
Victor
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I’ve been sitting on my thoughts for this book for a bit because I am feeling very conflicted about this one。 I’m living for this retro horror cover and I bit into the hype of seeing this in so many anticipated horror releases of 2022。 I was absolutely stoked when I got an eARC from NetGalley。 But this is not a horror book and even though I’m left bitter and a little salty about the misleading marketing of this， I do want to be fair in this review。 There’s no doubt John Darnielle can write。 This I’ve been sitting on my thoughts for this book for a bit because I am feeling very conflicted about this one。 I’m living for this retro horror cover and I bit into the hype of seeing this in so many anticipated horror releases of 2022。 I was absolutely stoked when I got an eARC from NetGalley。 But this is not a horror book and even though I’m left bitter and a little salty about the misleading marketing of this， I do want to be fair in this review。 There’s no doubt John Darnielle can write。 This book is full of ambition you will soon see the grand scope of as you start peeling back this book’s layers。 Essentially Darnielle dives into the ethics and craft of True Crime media particularly True Crime books。 We follow a True Crime writer and watch him reminisce and ponder over some of the cases he has written about。 It’s a very layered story and it’s easy to get confused with the narrative structure。 There are two sections titled Devil House where I found some really interesting and off putting writing choices （Old English being used in a short section as well as the switch to an Arthurian Legend style of writing where every character has Sir or Lady as part of their name） I didn’t understand the function of these choices and they really took me out。 There’s an entire section in this book that’s about 20 minutes worth of reading that I entirely skimmed。 Who would I recommend this to？ I actually don’t know 😅 you would think I’d recommend this to my friends who love True Crime but I don’t know if I would。 The more I sit on this book the more I think Darnielle actually hates the entire genre。 It feels like Darnielle was trying to argue that’s there’s this inherent badness to True Crime existing as a genre of media and writers and readers of it should feel shame。 Parts of this book I really enjoyed as a literary drama， literary critique， and experiment in narrative structure。 The section “White Witch” was my favorite and it was a 5 star section to me。 Great points about centering victims in True Crime media that I wholeheartedly agree with。 。。。more
R。L。 Bailey
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Darnielle can get under your skin。 This book envelops you with dread， but be warned it's not going to offer you relief at the end。 This also isn't a standard horror novel。 You're entering the mind of an author trying to write a book， but doing it in a House of Leaves way。 At the end of the day I had no expectations and left mostly happy。 However， I can promise once this is released to the masses it will become a love it or hate it debate。 Darnielle can get under your skin。 This book envelops you with dread， but be warned it's not going to offer you relief at the end。 This also isn't a standard horror novel。 You're entering the mind of an author trying to write a book， but doing it in a House of Leaves way。 At the end of the day I had no expectations and left mostly happy。 However， I can promise once this is released to the masses it will become a love it or hate it debate。 。。。more
Justin Chen
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4 starsAn introspective study on authorship and the ripple effect of true crime narrative on its participants， if you're in the mood for fragmented slowburn and cyclical analysis， Devil House will reward you with thought-provoking commentary on the power of storytelling。 First and foremost， Devil House is not a horror novel， no matter how much its devilish title and the eye-catching cover art suggests otherwise; it is firmly rooted in true crime， with a heavy literary fiction flair — make sure y 4 starsAn introspective study on authorship and the ripple effect of true crime narrative on its participants， if you're in the mood for fragmented slowburn and cyclical analysis， Devil House will reward you with thought-provoking commentary on the power of storytelling。 First and foremost， Devil House is not a horror novel， no matter how much its devilish title and the eye-catching cover art suggests otherwise; it is firmly rooted in true crime， with a heavy literary fiction flair — make sure you set your expectation accordingly going in。I was fully engaged by the shifting perspectives put forth in Devil House: from the role of the author， real-life people who lived through the crime （and the media attention surrounding it）， as well as glimpses into what truly happened， before being molded into an expected 'true crime narrative'。 Telling story is never a fully objective， unbiased act; we pick side to favor， twist truth to heighten drama， even fabricate fact for countless reasons — all these 'fact vs。 fiction' concepts are the foundation explored in the novel。 While I admire the obsessively detailed writing style， it does stun the overall flow at times; this is a novel more suited for periodic savoring rather than compulsively turning pages。 It also could've used one more round of editing; as some of its lengthy tangents come across like white noise rather than additive substance。Overall， Devil House brings you deep into the mind of a true crime writer， and the experience is overall a memorable one。 It would be a cautious recommendation from me， primarily for its drawn-out pacing and unpindownable tone （at times deeply observational， but also kind of fantastical？）; worth a try if you're feeling adventurous。 **This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 Much appreciated！** 。。。more
Emily Lind
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A novel about a true crime writer who sets out to write about an unsolved murder during the Satanic Panic 1980's， Devil House also serves as a mediation on true crime writing itself: its aims， it's methods， and it's repercussions on both its writer and its subjects。 The shifting， sometimes disjointed narrative of Devil House is both a positive and a negative。 At times it adds to the sense of building dread and foreboding， at other times it is a cause for frustration and makes it hard to connect A novel about a true crime writer who sets out to write about an unsolved murder during the Satanic Panic 1980's， Devil House also serves as a mediation on true crime writing itself: its aims， it's methods， and it's repercussions on both its writer and its subjects。 The shifting， sometimes disjointed narrative of Devil House is both a positive and a negative。 At times it adds to the sense of building dread and foreboding， at other times it is a cause for frustration and makes it hard to connect to the characters and their stories。 But the strengths of Darneille's deliberate and evocative prose outweigh the negatives and the book is compelling， even as it keeps you always slightly off-kilter。 。。。more
Nicole
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Where do I start？ I thought this was gonna be one thing and it turned out to be something different。 This book is written in a unique way。 Divided in different sections， there were times when I thought what am I reading？ Did I miss something？Gage Chandler a true crime writer is offered the chance to move into the home the locals dubbed ”Devil House”。 The scene of a couple of murders committed in the 80’s， Gage cannot wait to begin his work。 However， his research leads him down a rabbit hole reve Where do I start？ I thought this was gonna be one thing and it turned out to be something different。 This book is written in a unique way。 Divided in different sections， there were times when I thought what am I reading？ Did I miss something？Gage Chandler a true crime writer is offered the chance to move into the home the locals dubbed ”Devil House”。 The scene of a couple of murders committed in the 80’s， Gage cannot wait to begin his work。 However， his research leads him down a rabbit hole revealing things about himself he never saw coming。I think this is one of those books you have to read for yourself。 You will either love it or hate it。Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Devil House
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Devil House&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Devil House&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0