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THE DEVIL'S ONLY FRIEND
by Mitchell Bartoy
St Martin's Minotaur, October 2006
256 pages
$23.95
ISBN: 0312340893


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Pete Caudill, a former Detroit police officer, is trying to find his way now that he is no longer on the force. While he does not regret resigning, he is unable to decide what to do with his life. One of his acquaintances, Walker, wants Caudill to investigate the murder of his sister, Felicia.

Felicia's body was discovered outside of a factory owned by the Lloyd family. Caudill does not want to investigate but ultimately agrees to ask some questions. He refuses any offer of money, as he does not believe he will accomplish anything. Jasper Lloyd sees a connection between Felicia’s murder and the murder of another woman found near another one of their factories. He wants Caudill to investigate both deaths and plans on paying him.

Shortly after Caudill begins investigating, he is severely beaten and warned off the case. Never being one to take advice, Caudill continues with his investigation, determined to locate a murderer. This proves dangerous as Caudill is now in poor health, has few friends or resources to use and is trying to confront the system in order to find the killer. Luckily Pete Caudill is not a man to give up.

THE DEVIL’S ONLY FRIEND takes place in 1944 Detroit. The world this book evokes is depressive and dreary. The US is still dealing with race riots and the effects of the last war. The future of equality is still many years away and this is reflected in everyone’s behavior.

Caudill does not allow himself to get caught up in race relationship, but the impact of it still affects his every day life. For example, Caudill is scolded by his neighbors for allowing Walker, a black man, to visit him in his apartment. Caudill’s private assistants interact differently with society, as one is a black man and one is a white man. In addition to strained race relationships, this book deals with the poverty and corruption found in a post-World War II city.

Pete Caudill is a troubled character. He is physically damaged as he is missing an eye and several fingers. He is emotional damaged as he cannot handle relationships and frequently makes poor choices that result in him being hurt. He sees the corruption around him and is impotent when it comes to taking action to correct it. Caudill needs to find his path and start living life rather than merely existing.

I have read both this book and the previous book, THE DEVIL’S OWN RAG DOLL and notice that there are a lot of similarities between the two. Both start off slow and take a lot of time to get into the story. Both storylines are rather depressing and both books feature a man uncertain of his life.

Caudill’s stagnation bothers me. While he always ends up doing a good thing, it always seems to be a struggle to get there. I admit that I prefer my protagonists to get right in the middle of things and get results. Caudill does have the potential to become the type of protagonist that I like but is currently not there yet.

Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, December 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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