Synopsis
The bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil mines the subtle horrors of 1950s America in a gripping novel about a woman under pressure—from the living and the dead.
The first day of autumn brought the fever, and with the fever came the voices.
Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They’re the picture of domestic tranquillity—until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they’re real—and frightening. Defying Pete’s demands, Loretta finds an encouraging supporter in parapsychologist Dr. Curtis Hansen. He sees a woman with a rare gift, more blessing than curse.
With Dr. Hansen’s help, Loretta’s life opens up to an empowering new purpose. But for Pete, the God-fearing image he’s worked so hard to cultivate is under threat. No longer in control of his dutiful wife, he sees the Devil at work. As Loretta’s powers grow stronger and the pleading spirits beckon, Pete is determined to deliver his wife from evil. To solve the mysteries of the dead, Loretta must first save herself.
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Praise
“A brilliantly layered suspense thriller and feminist nightmare wrapped into one, The Devil and Mrs. Davenport grips you and never lets go. This book will cement Kennedy as one of the most important voices in modern feminist literature at a time when we need it most.” —Constance Sayers, bestselling author of A Witch in Time
“Paulette Kennedy is the modern Daphne du Maurier with her dazzling ability to usher readers into any point in history while making it feel vibrant and fresh with her magical, gothic touch. Her newest novel deftly captures both the simplicity and horrors of being a midcentury housewife in a patriarchal society. With gorgeous lyricism and a determined heroine, the story spellbinds from the first page until the harrowing end.” —Heather Levy, Anthony Award– nominated author of Walking Through Needles
“Powerful, poignant, and soul-stirring, The Devil and Mrs. Davenport will haunt you with its chilling supernatural phenomena and claustrophobic domesticity, Paulette Kennedy brilliantly explores the limits of forgiveness while centering deep and compassionate love. You’ll weep and cheer for Loretta as she fights a truly terrifying evil. This is a book to treasure!” —Jennifer Sherman Roberts, author of The Village Healer’s Book of Cures
“Mesmerizing from start to finish! Paulette Kennedy delivers suspense, empathy, compassion, resilience, and just a hint of the paranormal in a way that keeps the reader guessing until the last page.” —Mansi Shah, bestselling author of The Direction of the Wind
Review
What devil is worse – the known or unknown?
This book combined many of my favorite genres, with a few others sprinkled in to round out the story. It is a combination of suspense, historical, horror, paranormal, and a touch of romance.
Loretta Davenport is trapped in a marriage that has gone downhill over time. But is it her doing or her husband’s fault? The answer is not that simple, and with the book set in the 1950s, there is more she has to overcome than just a bad relationship. This is a time where women were not allowed to open bank accounts without a male family member’s permission and signature. That alone sends shivers down my spine. Top that with women are considered weak and crazy, it isn’t hard to see why Loretta is fighting for her life and her children.
There is another twist to the story: Loretta is psychic and doesn’t discover her abilities until later in life. She isn’t sure what is going on, but her husband, Pete, is no help whatsoever. However, there is a psychologist who studies parapsychology, and he is able to guide her in these new abilities. It doesn’t hurt that he can use her as a study subject for his field. It isn’t all work for Dr. Curtis Hansen, and there is attraction and admiration for Loretta that brings them closer together.
It is hard to sum up this story in a few words or sentences. The story is gripping, and if you have ever been exposed to the Pentecostal faith and casting out of demons and such, you might understand this book a bit more. There is the time setting that works against Loretta, and then Pete’s religious fanaticism causes issues for them. It is like a train wreck that you can’t look away from because you know what is going to happen.
I rooted for Loretta and admired her attempts to find a way to support herself should she be able to leave her husband. It isn’t easy since women aren’t given high paying jobs, if they can even find one outside of the home as a housewife. But she digs down and finds a way. Top it off with these discovered psychic abilities; she is able to assist in solving several crimes. It is a good thing that some people believe in her abilities!
There are many moments that I held my breath wondering if certain situations would work out for Loretta and those around her. I also appreciated a jump forward twenty years to see where her life ended once everything was resolved.
This was a fantastic read, and we give it 5 paws up.
About the Author
Paulette Kennedy is the bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil, which received the prestigious HNS Review Editor’s Choice Award. She has had a lifelong obsession with the gothic. As a young girl, she spent her summers among the gravestones in her neighborhood cemetery, imagining all sorts of romantic stories for the people buried there. After her mother introduced her to the Brontës as a teenager, her affinity for fog-covered landscapes and haunted heroines only grew, inspiring her to become a writer.
Originally from the Missouri Ozarks, she now lives with her family and a menagerie of rescue pets in sunny Southern California, where sometimes, on the very best days, the mountains are wreathed in fog.
As a history lover, she can get lost for days in her research—learning everything she can about the places in her novels and what her characters might have experienced in the past.
