The Devil’s Prayer by Luke Gracias

The Devil’s Prayer by Luke Gracias is a historical thriller that will make you read it in one breath. It combines series of nested stories which follow two generations of one young woman’s family.

Immediately after I’ve read the story description, I just knew that it was a book for me. The history of religion, secret societies, ancient lost manuscripts, brutal scenes and engaging, strong female protagonists. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to start reading The Devil’s Prayer. However, there is:

Explicit Content Warning: The Devil’s Prayer is a historical horror thriller that contains brutality, rape, sex, drug abuse and murder. Readers may find its content offensive and confronting.

STORY

The story begins with Siobhan. She is the elder daughter of Denise Russo, who disappeared decades ago only to turn up dead in Europe. After her mother’s death, Siobhan finds out that Denise had lived in self-exile as Sister Benedictine and she embarks on a journey to Spain. There Siobhan acquires a mysterious book, a journal in which her mother confessed grave circumstances of her life.

While we follow Denise’s story, we find out about the brutal incident that left her completely paralyzed.  The mystery of “who–done–it” kept me turning pages after pages. I caught myself being unable to put the book down. It is not so rare to read a book in which the plot is constructed in such manner that you cannot stop following the story, but it is rare to find a book with beautiful and clever writing. That is yet another aspect of The Devil’s Prayer which truly delighted me. Garcias is a talented writer who pays attention to details, story structure and to the plot as well, but he never neglects the art of writing.

WORLDBUILDING

Meanwhile in the story, Denise continues to describe terrible crimes, the treachery of close betrayal, and the deal she made with the Devil in order to get her vengeance. Another interesting layer to this book is the historical telling of Armaud Almaric and the creation of the Devil’s Bible. We see Denise traveling across the world, meeting with ambiguous characters, just so she could uncover the hidden truth. She bravely keeps fighting the greatest battle of her life (and of whole humanity) – where the enemy is the Devil himself.

Luke Garcias’ writing style is a brilliant mixture of high-leveled suspense and dramatic tension. It will certainly make you wonder what will happen next. I have read on Netgalley that the book will be pitched for TV series, and honestly, it would make a great show.

If you like historical fiction, mystery and thriller books, books like The Historian, Shutter Island, Dan Brown’s books, you would love The Devil’s Prayer.