REVIEW: The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

The Devil You Know by Trish Doller
Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2015
[Goodreads] [Book Depository]

Eighteen-year-old Arcadia wants adventure. Living in a tiny Florida town with her dad and four-year-old brother, Cadie spends most of her time working, going to school, and taking care of her family. So when she meets two handsome cousins at a campfire party, she finally has a chance for fun. They invite her and friend to join them on a road trip, and it’s just the risk she’s been craving-the opportunity to escape. But what starts out as a fun, sexy journey quickly becomes dangerous when she discovers that one of them is not at all who he claims to be. One of them has deadly intentions.

A road trip fling turns terrifying in this contemporary story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

I have been wanting to read a good YA mystery for a while, so when The Devil You Know appeared on my radar I was instantly intrigued. I really liked Where the Stars Still Shine, which was also written by this author, so was hoping this book would be just as good. Unfortunately, I had some issues with this one which hampered my enjoyment just a tad. I think it’s because I personally stay away from things that are inherently risky, so the idea of Cadie taking off on a road trip with two guys she just met didn’t sit all that well with me. However, I also liked quite a lot in this book as well, so in the end it sort of all balanced out.

Cadie strikes me as a sort of sheltered girl from a small town. And maybe that’s why she makes the choice to go with Noah and Matt, even though she is aware that it’s not actually the best decision. She’s also doing some rebelling against her father (and her place in the family), which also factors in to her decision. But what bothered me is that she KNOWS she should not be with them. There are things that keep pinging her radar, telling her something is Not Right, and yet she ignores all of this and just continues on. To put it bluntly, Cadie isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. I wanted to reach in and shake her throughout the book because she was just being so stupid, especially since I could see the twist coming from miles away and she just fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

However, the way the mystery was weaved into the narrative was really fun to read. There is a lot of tension in the writing, and the description of the very remote settings made things even more interesting. I am a sucker for good, descriptive writing, and this book has that in spades. It’s ultimately what saved the story for me in the end, because my frustration with Cadie’s decisions sometimes boiled over into full-out irritation. The last 25% of the book or so, though, kicked things into a higher gear and actually did pull me in, even if I was fairly certain how things would turn out. The suspense and danger was ratcheted up, and I very much enjoyed watching the story come to its conclusion.

In the end, The Devil You Know was a decent mystery with a fairly intriguing storyline. I wouldn’t exactly call it a mystery because I’m pretty sure anyone who reads it will have it figured out far before Cadie does, but the descriptive prose and writing style will still make it enjoyable to read. If you like easy reads, do give this one a go!