The Devil’s Companions – John Misto
Summary:
Twenty years ago a little girl was abducted from a church during a Christmas midnight mass and was never found. New evidence comes to light suggesting maybe she wasn’t murdered, but investigating means uncovering dark secrets. Unfortunately the secrets are flimsy, the characterisation is poor and the story just isn’t worth the time.
Pace: Very fast due to the shallow story line and large format print, not the plot!
Main Character: Constable Greg Raine
This book is like… a McDonald’s Cheeseburger – small, pretty flavourless and very unsatisfying
Bookshop Shelf: Crime Fiction
Pages: 265 pages
Rating: 2
The Book Tiger’s Review
I find it fascinating to try and determine what it is that makes a book well written and what it is that makes it poor. Is it the characterisation? The storyline? The plot? The twist at the end? Or is it just the difference between a good writer and a not so good one? Unfortunately, The Devil’s Companions fell firmly into the latter camp. It just wasn’t worth the read.
The story was about a cold case – the abduction and apparent murder of a little girl from a church during midnight mass some 20 years before this book takes place. Some new evidence comes to light that perhaps the little girl hadn’t been murdered at all? Maybe she was still alive? This forms the basis for the investigation and the story itself.
The book was supposed to be a thriller, set in Australia and written with the aim of keeping the reader on edge. Sadly, the characters were empty to say the least. They felt wooden throughout, drifting through the storyline without ever really engaging with it. None of the characters were really developed enough to feel empathy with them. Although it was a short book (only 265 pages in large format), more emphasis could have been placed on really building the characters into believable people.
They story started well, but within a chapter or two, it began to feel contrived. The author attempted to add twists and false leads, but none of them worked to get the reader truly engaged. The ending wasn’t just a disappointment – it lacked any credibility at all. I understand why Misto finished the book the way he did, but the weakness of the conclusion didn’t do more than emphasize how empty the storyline before it had been.
A light reader for the beach perhaps, but don’t hold your breath. It read more like a story outline waiting for some depth than a completed novel ready for publication.
ISBN: 0-7336-1951-7
Publisher: Hodder Headline Australia
Year: 2005
Date Finished: 11 December 2007
Buy via Amazon.com: The Devil’s Companion – John Misto
If you don’t believe me, try another opinion:
- http://www.theage.com.au/news/Reviews/Body-Count/2005/06/10/1118347580764.html
- http://www.crimedownunder.com/detail/jmdevcom.html
- http://www1.epinions.com/review/The_Devil_s_Companions/content_189427125892
