This was pretty good! I don't feel like it was particularly memorable or like I'll have a lot to say about it when I type up a review, but it was a solid introduction to Ania Ahlborn's work and I'm looking forward to picking up another story of hers soon!

✨ Representation: disabled protagonist (missing multiple fingers) with an undiagnosed mental illness (implied schizophrenia) and Tourette's 

The Devil Crept In was my first Ania Ahlborn read and while I wasn’t totally in love, I enjoy her writing style enough to read more from her. (Most likely Brother because that seems to be the one people talk up)

This book was a little slow pace for my liking, I really struggled to get through the first half of it when usually a book this length would maybe take me three days at the most, but once the plot picked up around the 50% mark I finished it very quickly. 

There were a lot of things about this story that I liked. The atmosphere was great, very creepy and gritty, parts of it definitely made me feel gross to read.

I enjoyed Stevie as our main narrator (I love the unreliable narrator trope) and I thought it was very effective that we saw things from his POV and how frustrating it was when no one would listen to him or take the time to understand him. It’s horrific to feel as if you have something very important to say and not have the ability to express it, though this is a reality a lot of people face. It was sad to see the way in which every adult in Stevie’s life failed him,

culminating to one major tragic event that ultimately he will bear the burden for.

I did think making the creature kind of a monster and kind of a disabled person was a little on the nose but I saw what Ania was getting at there, I’m just not sure it was 100% successful in its delivery.

I enjoyed the ending too though I understand why it wouldn’t be for everyone.

I like an ambiguous end and though I was sad that Stevie got no Justice for the unfair life he lived, sometimes unfairness is just the truth of things and that’s the scariest possibility of all. My only complaint about the ending is that while I liked the man moving into the town afterward sorta setting up shop in the trauma he caused in order to find his next victim, I really wish we got to know more about that bit of the story. Rosie running into this man and then having a one night stand with the devil is a huge plot point but is nothing more than a few sentences here and there. I would’ve liked to hear more about the experience from Rosie’s POV and her grappling with the fact that she may have had sex with Satan and birthed his offspring. I mean, that seems pretty significant.

This was a solid read. It was gritty, challenging, tense, sad, dark, and unnerving, but I wouldn’t suggest this novel for everyone, I think the level of bleakness and ambiguity would be a hard sell for most. However I’m excited to see what else Ania Ahlborn has to offer. 

A convergence of two stories that ended much differently than I expected. Thrilling, horrifying, and wonderfully scary, I really enjoyed it! 

My biggest issue was the ambiguity of the ending, and there were a few questions that didn’t get answered.  But a super entertaining read!