The Devil by Ken Bruen

On the surface, this a devilishly well written serial murder mystery, but it is so much more than that. It goes beyond the depression and despair of Bruen’s main character, Jack Taylor. This is an allegory about addictions, primarily alcoholism. The devil in “The Devil” is alcoholism. In his other books, I thought Bruen wrote with remarkable candor and honesty about ethanol, the two-carbon monster (to use an old chemistry reference), but he is even better in this one. In the opening chapter, as he falls off the wagon for the first time in six months, Jack suddenly realizes that the barstool next to him has become occupied, and the two men, Jack and the Devil begin a conversation about evil, evil that fills the rest of the novel as Jack's demons grip him. Bruen’s language is similar to what ECD wrote in his review of London Boulevard (my most recent download), staccato, pithy, and direct. For me, his style is entirely captivating. This scary book is a very good read, whether or not you buy into the allegory.