Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton

“Devils Kill Devils is perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Certain Dark Things and Southern gothic horror. Johnny Compton brings his trademark terror and dread that readers fell in love with in The Spite House to a new roster of monsters—angels, devils, vampires—and a heart-pounding race to save the world.“

After enjoying The Spite House by Johnny Compton I was excited to receive a Netgalley copy of this newest novel, Devils Kill Devils. I don’t read about demons and angels often, but the blurb piqued my curiosity.

Welcome, or Welcome back! My name is Amanda and this is where I share spoiler-free book reviews and other bookish things. Thanks for visiting. Let’s get Smitten For Fiction.

About The Book 📚

Title: Devils Kill Devils

Author: Johnny Compton

Publication Date: Sept. 24, 2024

Publisher: Tor Nightfire

Genre: Horror, Fantasy (paranormal)

Pages: 288

Content Warnings: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/7af9464b-62a4-4c15-9bb3-20887ae54976/content_warnings

Three Words That Describe This Book: gothic, demons, violent

About The Author

Credit: Louis Scott / Scott Photography, San Antonio

“Johnny Compton is a Stoker Award nominated, San Antonio based author whose short stories have appeared Pseudopod, Strange Horizons, The No Sleep Podcast and several other publications. His fascination with frightening fiction started when he was introduced to the ghost story “The Golden Arm” as a child. The Spite House, his debut novel, was released in 2023.”

My Review

› When I saw the cover I wondered, what is this shadowy monster on the cover with big teeth and claw-like hands? Who is the tiny person standing up to it? I love the vibe of this cover. It accurately portrays the creepy monsters found in this story. Devils Kill Devils is different from Compton’s first novel, The Spite House. We left Compton’s creepy haunted house and jumped into an epic tale featuring a cast of angels, demons, and vampires.

› Interestingly, Compton got the idea for Devils Kill Devils from a line of dialogue in an unpublished script he wrote many years ago. A part of the book takes place in an area called “Baby Head Mountain”, inspired by a real location Compton found driving around Texas.

› First Line: “She clicked the light switch on the hotel room wall, and in the infinitesimal space between the absence and arrival of light, a space undetectable to the mind, much less the eye, Sarita Bardales saw someone who could not be in the room.”

Here’s an audiobook clip- Narrated by Imani Jade Powers: https://youtu.be/Mld3sN0uT5A?si=GlC579Lh-Dls-H_Q

› “When her guardian angel, Angelo, murders someone she loves, Sarita begins to see what’s really been lurking in the shadows surrounding her, and she will have to embrace the evil within if she hopes to make it out alive.”

› Why would your “guardian angel” kill someone you love?

› Sarita just married the love of her life, Frank. Their wedding day was beautiful despite his biological mother Harrah who thinks Sarita isn’t good enough for Frank. Most of the people closest to Sarita know about her “guardian angel” who she calls Angelo. He has saved her life several times, so it’s a bit of a shock when he murders Frank on their wedding night (this takes place in the first chapter so it’s not a spoiler). Sarita begins to question everything in her life. If Angelo isn’t her guardian angel, then what is he? Her friend Tori tries to help her make sense of it all as they meet demons and vampires, including one they call “The Founder” (Cela). Sarita and those around her fight for their lives against violent monsters as she tries to uncover why Angelo killed Frank.

› I found the character development lacking and had a hard time connecting with Sarita. I found Harrah and Cela more interesting than Sarita. I enjoyed the description but wanted more world-building. There is a lot of repetition, too many nicknames for characters, too much “telling”, and too much internal dialogue (I did read an advance copy, so some of these things may have been changed in the final copy). The plot had some pacing issues with a very slow middle portion, yet I felt intrigued and wanted to know what was going to happen. There were too many concepts smooshed into one book. It would have been better if there was a lot of trimming and we ended up with a novella. Or, expand it into a trilogy. That would have given the needed space to develop the characters, world, and story. This horror fan loved the violence and gore!

“his throat distend past the width of his jawline and forward to the point of his chin as he swallowed”

“A crunch worth of a car wreck coincided with Cold Eyes’ neck regaining its previous normal size, as the mass of tissue and bone squeezed down past the neckline of his shirt and out of sight.” GROSS!

APPEAL FACTORS
Storyline: unconventional
Pace: slow
Tone: angsty, dramatic, sinister, bleak, creepy, gruesome, violent
Writing Style: spare dialogue, stream of consciousness
Character: awkward, brooding

Read Alikes:
Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
The Briar Book of the Dead by Angela Slatter
Archangel’s Viper by Nalini Singh
A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell Hamilton

› In the past I have given a rating out of ten and converted that to a star rating, but I’m no longer giving a star rating here on my blog. I will continue to do that on Goodreads and The Story Graph.

› Final Thoughts
• Devils Kill Devils is a dark, mysterious, slow-burn story about dysfunctional families, secrets, monsters, friendship and courage. I recommend this one to people who are really into angels, demons, and vampires. In an interview, Compton said he’s working on a paranormal detective “witch book” and I’m intrigued.