09 July, 2016

The Devil's Prayer by Luke Gracias - [Book Review]

WriteTribe Festival of words is starting from today and I am glad to join it with a book review for today. 



Book Details:
Title: The Devil's Prayer
Author: Luke Gracias
Genre: Historical Fiction, Dark Suspense, thriller
Source: A free review copy from the author through writersmelon.com



Book Blurb:


A nun commits suicide in front of thousands in Spain. In Australia, Siobhan Russo recognizes that nun as her mother, Denise Russo, who disappeared six years ago. 


In search of answers, Siobhan travels to the isolated convent where her mother once lived. Here she discovers Denise’s final confession, a book that details a heinous betrayal that left her crippled and mute, and Denise’s subsequent deal with the Devil to take revenge. In the desperate bargain, Denise made with the Prince of Darkness, she wagered Siobhan’s soul. 


As Siobhan discovers the fate of her soul, she learns that hidden within the pages of her mother’s confession is part of The Devil’s Prayer, an ancient text with the power to unleash apocalyptic horrors. 


And now her mother’s enemies know Siobhan has it. 


Can Siobhan escape an order of extremist monks determined to get the Prayer back? Can she save the world from its own destruction? 


Explicit Content Warning: "The Devil’s Prayer" is a historical horror thriller that contains brutality, rape, sex, drug abuse and murder. Readers may find its content offensive and confronting.


You can view the video teaser for the book onhttps://vimeo.com/156061258.


My Review:


Wow! I realized that my favourite genre is Historical fiction after reading this book. I loved the Dan Brown novels earlier which were a combination of religion, history and suspense.The Devil's prayer is nearer to that.

This is the story of a woman Denise Russo who disappears suddenly leaving her 2 children with her mother. The elder child Siobhan is the protagonist who receives a  message about her mother's demise after 6 years and a note to meet a person in Zamora, a small village in Spain. Since Siobhan want to know why her mother disappeared away from them without any clue, she follows the path guided by her mother only to find a story of betrayal, revenge, her mother's deal with the Devil, her knowledge on deciphering ancient texts related to Bible,the birth of Devil and The Devil's prayer.

What is Devil's prayer? What is the relationship of Devil with her sister Jess? What is her mother's purpose of life?? All these questions are answered in the climax.

What I loved?
It's a fast-paced thriller with so much detailed information on ancient texts, monasteries, The Bible and it's versions, information on doomsday prophecies etc., There are many twists in the story which keep you hooked to the book and the plot is not very predictable. Even though the story is kind of a journal / letter written by Denise to  Siobhan, it also covers the feelings of Siobhan in her quest.  Luke has done a lot of research and that made the novel narration very detailed.

What would have been better?
I didn't like the climax. The climax is not bad but the author leaves you to imagine the next steps of Siobhan  without giving an answer. I am not sure if the author planned a sequel, but I feel, he should write one to connect the dots. I felt incomplete at the  end of the book as I didn't get answers to some of my questions like 
Why the Devil does all these? What is Jess's role and her intention? What are Siobhan's next steps? etc.,

Some of the beautiful quotes from the book:


“The problem is neither with religion nor with God. The problem is with man and what he does in the name of God. Religion is like a knife: in the hands of a surgeon, it heals, but in the hands of a murderer, it kills.

The greatest fear of the human race is loneliness. Religion offers you God as your companion, to be with you all the time, wherever you go.
Ps: I have received this book from the author through Writersmelon in exchange of an honest review  and this is my unbiased opinion on the book.

My Rating:
4/5

PurchaseLink :

Amazon

About the Author:
Luke Gracias is an environmental specialist who has been working part time in the film industry since 2006. An avid photographer, Luke traveled through Europe during the development of the film script for The Devil’s Prayer in 2014 and 2015, documenting a 13th Century conspiracy between the Mongols and the Papal Inquisition on which The Devil’s Prayer is based.


Until next time,








20 comments:

  1. Had it not been horror, I would read it. I like historical fiction. But not sure about this one. Liked the quotes you shared from the book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Sunaina. I couldn't share many but there are very hood quotes about religion and humanity in the book.

      Delete
  2. Sounds interesting. Will consider putting it on my too read list. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Suzy. I hope you get to read the book.

      Delete
  3. Honest review. The quotes you have shared are interesting. Would love to read this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Payal. The book is indeed interesting and intriguing.

      Delete
  4. Ohhh....a dark thriller! I haven't read one since my teens, that scared me silly and kept me awake so many nights! Your review seems really interesting....I'll suggest it to my better-hlf!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have loved Dan Browns books as well, but havent read this one. Your review is well written and honest, and I enjoyed it:-) Thanks:-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Historical fictions are always captivating.Would love to read this one!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This sounds very interesting. Plus a quotes - very good ones. I liked your review. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. OMG this is so my kind of book - history, murder, revenge, devil... I got to get my hands on this.
    Regards
    Tina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Tina, the combo is perfect right?

      Delete
  9. Always good to read a review before plunging in blindly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True Tdef. Hope you too will like it.

      Delete
  10. The review sounds interesting. Will check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm not too fond of Historical Fiction as a genre, but I liked the review. :) I will see if I can procure a copy, though I don't expect I'll get to reading it very soon :-D

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for your review. The sequel 'No Shadow without Light' is now out. I hope you can find time to read it. Best Luke Gracias

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for dropping by! please share your opinion :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...