Devil House Explained

Devil House
Author:John Darnielle
Country:United States
Set In:Milpitas, California
Publisher:MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pub Date:January 25, 2022
Media Type:Print (Hardcover / Paperback)
Isbn:9781250862884

Devil House is a 2022 novel by American singer-songwriter and author John Darnielle. It depicts true crime author Gage Chandler working on an unsolved double homicide committed in the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, further discussing the moral implications that arise as a result of working in the genre. Darnielle uses metafiction to tell Devil House's story.[1] The novel is set largely in the California towns of Milpitas and San Luis Obispo, where Darnielle was raised.

The novel debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List on February 13 at #7, staying on the list for two weeks.[2]

Reviews

The New York Times called the book a "confident, creepy novel."[3] NPR said, "Devil House is not a novel about karma or comeuppance. It is a portrait — sometimes direct, sometimes refracted — of a man realizing that his career, combined with his powerful imagination, has taken him far from his morals."[4] In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews deemed it Darnielle's best novel to date.[5]

Publishers Weekly named it one of the top ten books of fiction published in 2022.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brookins . Jake Casella . 2022-01-27 . Imperfect Speakers: the Meta-Mysteries of "Devil House" . 2022-03-11 . Chicago Review of Books . en-US.
  2. News: Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Feb. 13, 2022 - The New York Times . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-03-11 . 0362-4331.
  3. News: 'Devil House,' a Confident, Creepy Novel About a Wicked Unsolved Crime. The New York Times . 18 January 2022 . Garner . Dwight .
  4. Web site: A true crime writer struggles with his responsibility to the victims in 'Devil House'. .
  5. Web site: October 27, 2021. Devil House by John Darnielle. March 13, 2022. Kirkus Reviews.
  6. Web site: Best Books 2022: Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly . 2022-10-27 . Publishers Weekly.