American Devil - Oliver Stark

I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this debut novel by Oliver Stark which will be a find for those who love crime fiction. At over 400 pages of densely packed type the book delivers a taut and complex storyline that will have you turning pages long after you should have turned the light out and gone to sleep.

Whilst the premise may seem tired - lone wolf cop with anger management issues and beautiful female sidekick chase serial killer - what Stark delivers is a riveting read full of dead ends and false leads that takes us into the heart of the investigation and into the mind of a killer. That Stark is able to control this length of novel at his first published outing with hardly a slip bodes well for future books from this new novelist.

There are a few moments where dialogue and prose become wooden (particularly the first chapter) but these are very few and far between and do not spoil an otherwise enjoyable read. I will definitely be looking forward to the follow up from Mr Stark.

American Devil is currently out in Hardback and tradepaperback with a paperback edition to be published on 2nd September. My thanks to Bertrams and Headline Publishing for providing an advance copy of this book.