Before the Devil Knows You're Here

 “When the trees donned their autumnal crowns, it meant winter was circling, waiting to turn the trees to skeletons and the world to ice.”

Before the Devil Knows You're Here was everything I'd hoped it would be for an October read! It felt like a dark & spooky Alice in Wonderland, diving into the depths of human desire and motivations with very tangible fiends. I loved the poetic themes and straightforward plotline. I read the majority of this book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down and while I did manage to highlight a few of my favorite lines, most of the time I couldn't stop reading long enough to highlight because I needed to know what happened next! I'd love to go back and annotate this beautiful book!

I couldn't believe how short it was when I finished it. There is so much packed in its few pages that I feel as if I just read a 400+ page novel as far as content goes! There were many times that I had to set the book down and take a breath to process what happened in the story.

As for content, there are some spooks (obviously) and mentions of gory scenes, but I wouldn't call the book a “gory horror”. As I mentioned before, it gave me Alice in Wonderland vibes, but on a much darker level. There is d3ath and some morbid concepts, but overall, I think Before the Devil Knows You're Here is a poetic story that delves into the darkness that mankind is willing to embrace when afraid of losing our most beloved people. A glimpse at the villainy inside all of us, if you will. If you're a fan of gothic classics, such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and Frankenstein, Before the Devil Knows You're Here belongs on your bookshelf!

Other content: Very mild cursing (less than 5 mild words); one kissing scene (semi-detailed, but doesn't go beyond kissing); and the action/spooks are semi-detailed and while not “terrifying”, they are pretty creepy.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book. All comments and opinions are entirely my own. This review is voluntary.