An even better follow up to an already fantastic opener (The Devil's Detective)! This time, Thomas Fool, Information Man of Hell, deals with the repurcussions of the events of the previous novel. Both an new status quo and new view of his existance keep him off balance. But when he is instructed to investigate a murder in Heaven, is when everything really takes off. Dark and bleakly humourous at times, there is a lot to like here. Great characters, well done action scenes, horrific and hevenly imagery. The only flaw was the mystery itelf. Like with the previous novel, I had the 'killer' pegged very early on. It was still facinating to see the 'how' of the 'who'.

If Simon Kurt Unsworth decides to keep on with this series, I'm more than willing to follow him back into Hell.

The Devil's Evidence is a great sequel to The Devil's Detective, and just as good as the first one.

It took me a while to finish this book even though I really enjoyed it because some scenes are very gruesome and sometimes I really felt for Thomas Fool. He really struggles to define the line between establishing some "justice" (whatever that is in hell) and rebelling against the imposed system that he doesn't fully understand. He questions himself and doubts his decisions and choices all the time, and it's difficult not to feel for him in his discoveries, adventures and misadventures in Hell and Heaven.

The plot is just as brilliant as the first one and Unsworth brings it even further by turning his attention to Heaven, where despite being described as a place of eternal happiness and content, it reveals to have a dark side too.

Definitely recommend it after the reading of "The Devil's Detective".

I recently reviewed The Devil's Detective (Thomas Fool #1) by Simon Kurt Unsworth. I found the book was stunning in it's originality and descriptions. The Devil's Evidence, the second book is the series maintains the high level of originality while introducing new characters and concepts. As with the first book, the characters are a wide range in creation. There are new individuals and new species. There was also new information that contributes to the world building. And Mr. Unsworth has built an amazing world.

It is hard to discuss the plot of either book without spoilers. The basic premise is that heaven and hell do exist. They are not your grandparent's concept of heaven or hell. The humans (yes humans because there are so very nasty non-humans lurking in these pages) do not know why they have been sent to hell. They cannot remember their lives. They only know that they committed sin(s) so heinous to sentence them to an eternity in hell.

So we have hell and we have Thomas Fool whose job is to investigate crimes in hell. Let that one sink in for a moment. Investigating crimes in a major city would be quite a job but in hell, where every human there because he deserves to be and demons just add to the chaos, it is close to impossible. In the second book, Thomas Fool takes a trip and becomes involved in investigating crimes in heaven. You know, perfection, harmony, all peace and fluffy clouds. You would not think there would be a lot of crime but heaven is out of balance and pulling hell out of whack to.

My descriptions do not even begin to do justice to this incredible book. Let me just quote one small section:
"fire had a voice, it talked in a constant bitter mutter, the sound of something chewing its own teeth, a one-sided conversation that babbled as the flames burrowed deep into wooden frames around now-glassless windows and ate warping doors buckling in their mounts. And as the fire talked and drew itself on, it cleaned, leaving no spore or trail"

Every time I read that section it takes my breath away. The prose, the characters, the descriptions, everything is done well in this book. I recommend you read The Devil's Evidence as soon as you read The Devil's Detective. The books are just fantastic.

I received my copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Devil's Evidence is a great sequel to The Devil's Detective, and just as good as the first one.

It took me a while to finish this book even though I really enjoyed it because some scenes are very gruesome and sometimes I really felt for Thomas Fool. He really struggles to define the line between establishing some "justice" (whatever that is in hell) and rebelling against the imposed system that he doesn't fully understand. He questions himself and doubts his decisions and choices all the time, and it's difficult not to feel for him in his discoveries, adventures and misadventures in Hell and Heaven.

The plot is just as brilliant as the first one and Unsworth brings it even further by turning his attention to Heaven, where despite being described as a place of eternal happiness and content, it reveals to have a dark side too.

Definitely recommend it after the reading of "The Devil's Detective".

Thomas Fool has the unenviable job of investigating crimes in hell. One might think that no one would care, given that everyone there supposedly did something to deserve their punishments. Still, hell’s higher ups us Fool and the other Information Men to make sure that nothing horrible happens to people that they didn’t plan. The Devil’s Evidence, by Simon Kurt Unsworth, is the sequel to The Devil’s Detective and continues Fool’s adventures in the afterlife. Fool still investigates crimes but, as the book opens, he is stymied by competition from hell’s bureaucracy and a baffling series of massacres and arsons...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

Whether it be in the eternal fires of hell or in the eternal joys of Heaven, Thomas Fool, Information Man, conducts his investigation and nothing, be it angel or demon better get in his way.

I loved the creativity of this book! Building upon the hell he established so well in The Devil's Detective, this time Simon Kurt Unsworth turns his imagination to building a heaven. Turns out, his heaven is just as warped as his hell; maybe even more so. There are angels, the Malakim, (the messengers of heaven) and the Estedea, ("Pray their sadness never reaches you.") Lastly, there's Mayall, (not of the Bluesbreakers variety), heaven's own version of a clown. Or is he more than that?

While conducting his investigation of several mysterious fires in hell, (I know, mysterious fires in hell? It sounds crazy, but I'm telling you, it works), Thomas is called for and sent to heaven to investigate....something. The angels don't want him there, the demons and the Evidence back in hell don't want him there, but someone does. Why? You'll have to read this to find out.

I believe that it would be difficult to pick up this book and understand everything that's going on without having read The Devil's Detective first. There are terms and people, (the Man of Plants and Flowers, for instance), that are introduced in the first book and without any knowledge of them, I think much of the impact of this story would be diluted.

I enjoy the way Unsworth writes. For instance, as Thomas leaves Heaven to return to hell:

"His last view of Heaven was of a motionless rank of beautiful, somber angels surrounded by falling snow and, behind them, the chapel of all faiths standing alone and mute in the storm light."

I love that quote because I can picture it perfectly in my mind.

I did have an issue with the self-deprecating Thomas Fool beating up on himself every 5 minutes. (Stupid little Fool! Know nothing Fool!) It became irritating but after about halfway, it occurred less often.

With fascinating world building, highly imaginative and creative ideas, it's difficult for me to find any other faults with this book. I've never read anything like these Fool books before. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will meet Thomas Fool once again.

If you liked the first book I HIGHLY recommend you pick up The Devil's Evidence.

*Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*

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