Book Review: The Devil Upstairs by Anthony O’Neill

Not all of us like to be scared out of our wits for Halloween but do like to venture over to the darkside. If you are one of those people, I have the perfect Halloween read for you.

Goodreads Blurb

The Devil Upstairs by Anthony O’Neill

In a quiet corner of Edinburgh, Cat Thomas is going through hell.She’s tried everything. He respects nothing.

If your neighbour was making your life hell… Would you call upon the devil?

Cat Thomas, a brilliant fraud investigator, has just relocated from Florida to a dreamy flat in historic Edinburgh. Everything seems perfect. Everything seems serene. Except for the unbelievably noisy wannabe rockstar upstairs.

Soon Cat’s blissful new life is in ruins. Desperate, she’s willing to try anything. When all else fails, she makes an appeal… to Satan.

And suddenly everything is eerily quiet. But her nightmare has only just begun…

Review

I totally misread the blurb of The Devil Upstairs at first and thought I was getting a murder mystery. While it was one of sorts, it was something completely different to what I was expecting. Once the supernatural element kicked in and I realized where the story was going I was intrigued by this unique and interesting story.

You already know it’s going to be a great supernatural story when you see the setting is Edinburgh. The author’s wonderful description of the city makes for an eerie and spooky backdrop to the main plot. It’s easy to see why the devil would set up shop in Scotland’s capital.

While, of course, we are not supposed to like the devil, the other characters in The Devil Upstairs were likeable. I particularly enjoyed Cat’s character development as she begins to realize that recent goings on aren’t as coincidental as she might have first believed. She really brings home the opinion that we all have a dark side. Agnes, Cat’s colleague, brings a more comical element to the story. I liked the scenes in which both of them are together, although there were instances where I would have hoped for more engaging dialogue.

The Devil Upstairs was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. If that’s what you look for in a book, then certainly add this to your list.

The Devil Upstairs by Anthony O’Neill is available to buy now.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.