REVIEW: The Devil Aspect

The Devil Aspect
Author: Craig Russell

1935. An asylum outside Prague. Viktor Kosarek is a psychologist who dreams of being able to cure the severely insane. Not just any mentally ill patients...but the most dangerous. The criminally insane. Murderers. Those who have what he calls The Devil Aspect. Kosarek decides to conduct an experiment. He will use narcoanalysis to get inside the heads of six serial killers held in the asylum. Five men and one woman. A cocktail of drugs will allow him to probe for their impressions of their crimes and give him a way to perhaps make them confront their personal demons. What he discovers is more disturbing and twisted than he ever imagined.

This story is chillingly frightening. It really brings home the idea that some things are best left alone. Kosarek has good intentions....he really wants to help people. But, searching for the devil -- even inside the minds of killers -- is never a safe endeavor....mostly because sometimes you find him.

This book is a creepy, disturbing, and twisted tale. I loved it! I halfway saw the twist coming at the end....but was still pleasantly surprised at the way the plot played out. Nicely done! I like this author's writing style. The plot wasn't presented in a heavy handed way, despite the gruesome details. Things progressed more subtlety until the ending smacked me in the head. Totally awesome!

This is the first book by Craig Russell that I've read. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this book from Doubleday Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**