Devils Day, Andrew Michael Hurley
Devils Day, Andrew Michael Hurley
1 Rating(s)
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

Devil's Day

Author: Andrew Michael Hurley

Narrator: Richard Burnip

Unabridged: 10 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/06/2018

Synopsis

In the wink of an eye, as quick as a flea,The Devil he jumped from me to thee.And only when the Devil had gone,Did I know that he and I’d been one …Every autumn, John Pentecost returns to the farm where he grew up, to help gather the sheep down from the moors for the winter. Very little changes in the Endlands, but this year, his grandfather—the Gaffer—has died and John’s new wife, Katherine, is accompanying him for the first time.Each year, the Gaffer would redraw the boundary lines of the village, with pen and paper but also through the remembrance of tales and timeless communal rituals, which keep the sheep safe from the Devil. But as the farmers of the Endlands bury the Gaffer and prepare to gather the sheep, they begin to wonder whether they’ve let the Devil in after all.

About Andrew Michael Hurley

Andrew Michael Hurley lives in Lancashire, where he teaches English literature and creative writing. He has published two short-story collections. His first novel, The Loney, won the Costa First Book Award, was short-listed for the James Herbert Award, and was published in twenty territories.

About Richard Burnip

Richard Burnip is an actor, writer, and historian whose work includes theater, documentaries, audiobooks, and lectures. He has recorded more than seventy audiobooks, including thrillers, histories, biographies, and children’s books. His voice-over work includes documentaries, computer games, multimedia installations, and websites.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Dannii on May 30, 2018

Actual rating 4.5/5 stars. What an absolutely mesmerising read! This has the seemingly simple synopsis of following John Pentecost make his annual trip to his family home in the Endlands. This year, however, is different. He is accompanied by a new wife and one face is missing when he returns. This is......more

Goodreads review by Blair on October 18, 2017

After the unexpected success of The Loney, high expectations surround Andrew Michael Hurley's second novel. Can it possibly live up to his award-winning debut? In my opinion, it certainly does (and then some), but it is a very different animal. Readers hopeful that Hurley would continue to mine the......more

Goodreads review by Heidi on March 17, 2019

A slow-moving horror story that asks the reader to consider what may be the truth behind ancient customs and myths, and what secrets a small, isolated community may be hiding from the rest of the world. "One late October day, just over a century ago, the farmers of the Endlands went to gather their s......more

Goodreads review by Ceecee on August 09, 2019

I loved this book so much that I finished it in one sitting. Having also enjoyed The Loney I felt certain this would be my kind of book. What makes it so appealing is the quality of the writing. The author has created a tale full of tradition, tensions, magic and superstition supported by a brooding......more

Goodreads review by Sheyla ✎ on March 17, 2019

I couldn't connect with this story or the characters. I should have known better and stopped reading it. I tried multiple times to continue reading. I forced myself to finish it when I think I should have quit instead. Why didn't it work for me? Mostly, because nothing happens. The prose is so slo......more

Quotes

“The new master of menace. This chilling follow-up to The Loney confirms its author as a writer to watch…Hurley doesn’t need the Devil’s help to grip you. His taut writing does that for him. Nature’s routine cruelties are caught with a fierce accuracy that Ted Hughes would have admired.” Sunday Times (London)

“This is a story with pull. Its lively, building sense of evil is thoroughly entangled with the assumptions of the way of life depicted, that apparently timeless relationship of the smallholder and the moor. As the young Adam soaks up his father’s tales of the Devil, he’s also learning how to manage the local landscape, how to live in, identify with and take responsibility for the Endlands. These two types of knowledge, the symbolic and the practical, are presented as distinct but interdependent…The devil flickers and dances in the woods, and John Pentecost’s self-deceptions are bared for the reader in a horrific climax.” Guardian (London)

“Masterly thriller…an intensely suspenseful tale memorable for what it says about unshakable traditions that are bred in the bone.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This beautifully told gothic story of love, obligation, and legacy blends genres superbly. Hurley is considered one of the leading figures in what is called the British folk-horror revival.” Booklist (starred review)

“Hurley explores the mysteries of human behavior and how they might explain strange events—not to mention the evil that men do—better than demonic influence. He delivers all this with consistently strong scenes, a few fine surprises, and good writing that often sparkles…A complex and highly satisfying work.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This atmospheric, eerie novel is perfect for a rainy night in.” BookPage

“The work’s dark tone and slow build-up of suspense will…interest readers of gothic fiction.” Library Journal

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