Book Review
Title: The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino
Genre: Young Adult, Horror
Rating: 5 Stars
The opening to The Devil Makes Three was interesting as we are introduced to Tess Matheson who worked at the Jessop English library of her new school, Falk. Falk is a school for very off children and Tess and her sister, Nat are only there because her aunt’s connection to the school. Tess dreams of playing her cello but has to work in order to support her and Nat because it seems that their father’s business has gone under which is the reason for the move. Tess has the job this day of collecting over 100 books from the stacks for someone named Eliot Birch who she believes is the headmaster of Falk, Dr. Birch and leaves horrible notes over them intending to remove them later. However, Eliot is the headmaster’s son and the other assistant, Regina gives him the books without removing the notes and asks why Tess hates him so much even when it is clear that they don’t know each other. The misunderstanding of the name was funny and gave a unique way for Tess and Eliot to meet each other. Eliot was also interesting because his mother is sick which is why he stays with his father but he has an interest in witchcraft from his mother which might be real magic that he is trying to train himself in.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Eliot ends up confronting Tess about the notes and she has to explain she thought the books were going to his father and this creates a rapport between them since Eliot doesn’t like his dad either since he all but abandoned his mother when she became sick. Later Eliot bumps into Tess at her other job and asks her for the favour of getting into the stacks since very few people have access and thinking he is blackmailing her she agrees. Together they go into the stacks looking for the grimoires that Eliot isn’t able to request since they are in the special collections in the basement of the library. However, in there they find a secret switch that makes one of the stacks disappear and a secret passageway emerges behind it. Tess is immediately frightened since she has seen no sign of this before and wants to leave the stacks but Eliot is determined to explore the strange tunnel. In the tunnel they find a room containing only one book and immediately Tess gets an ominous vibe from it but Eliot is fascinated with it and wants to take it back to his office. Tess allows this because he won’t leave the tunnel otherwise and they almost get caught by Matilde but manage to escape. In Eliot’s office they notice something written on one of the pages and Tess reads it out loud and when she does she and Eliot erupt in flames. The pain is so real yet within seconds the flames are gone and no evidence remains of them but it freaks out Eliot and Tess. Tess decides they should return the book to where they found it the next day but I don’t think they are going to the chance as they seem to have released something from the book as it speaks to Tess inside her mind.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, they seem to have realised a devil from the book and it knows that Tess released him but it doesn’t want to kill her but rather possess her although it does mention that Eliot is the perfect vessel. Tess begins to experience some strange things from horrible nightmares where the devil speaks to her to phantom ink appearing on her and various other hallucinations which make her extremely afraid and she knows the book is the source. The worst thing for her is strange things written in her handwriting but she has no memory of writing them and they tell her that they are the same being and it will have her. Over the next couple of days she keeps an eye out for Eliot but he seems to be avoiding her, Eliot hasn’t experienced the range of things Tess has but he has seen the phantom ink appearing and wants to know the reasons behind it. It seems like he isn’t going to have the chance though since Tess finds out he has been using his father’s passcode to get in and out of the library without her noticing but she takes the book back and intends to return it to where they found. It is interesting to note in this interaction she asks Eliot is there were on fire and he evades the question making Tess feel like she is going mad but she doesn’t volunteer any information about what she has been experiencing recently. Eliot would believe these things given his magic and the things he can do but she doesn’t.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Tess is completely creeped out by the book as well as the dreams and visions she has been having and manages to get Eliot to return it with her. However, handling the book makes Tess feel very ill and she ends up vomiting ink all over Eliot before passing out. Tess obviously plays this off but we learn from the devil that it can only possess the person who summoned eternally even other vessel would die so it ramps up its efforts to persuade Tess to allow the devil to possess her. In between this Tess is sure Mathilde knows something is going on and Nat is bugging her to go home but she has hidden the truth behind their leaving from her sister. It turns out their father was stealing money that Tess was earning and their college funds to keep his dying business afloat which means the family is near bankruptcy and Tess makes the decision to call Mathilde to see if she can get them into Falk. At first they only wanted Tess because of her musical ability but she convinces them to take Nat as well which might explain Dr. Birch’s dislike of Tess. Tess also has several other encounters with the devil where it shows her what her future could be if she allows it in versus what it would be if she didn’t and this almost convinces Tess but her concern for Nat allows her to pull away but this isn’t the end of that. Eliot is also dealing with his father and the knowledge that his mother’s cancer is getting worse with each passing day and he hasn’t found the spell to heal her and he isn’t allowed to return home to her either. Coupled with the fact he asked Tess out and she turned him down means he is under a lot of emotional pressure and I think he might try and get the book back if he can.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, things get even weirder when the devil seems to force Tess to cut her own wrist but she still isn’t sure if she is going mad. Her roommate Anna is helpful during this time keeping an eye on Tess and letting her sleep in her room so the devil doesn’t make an appearance but Tess knows she isn’t alone. However, things begin happening to Eliot when he enters Jessop one night to find Regina dead in his office and his calls Tess to come and help which she does. When she arrives Regina’s body isn’t there anymore and the blood and ink staining the whole library disappears and both finally admit out loud that the book has something to do with this. When Regina turns up for work on her next shift at Jessop, Tess immediately knows that something isn’t right with her like she has been possessed and the possessed Regina begins stalking Tess. Tess and Eliot seem to be able to see the devil for what it is, Tess because she summoned it and Eliot most likely because of his magic. Eliot immediately protects himself with spells but he hasn’t confesses this to Tess yet so she is vulnerable to the devil. Eliot also begins researching which is what he does best to find out what the devil is and how it can be dealt with and he learns that there was a fire 30 years before just as Mathilde started working at Jessop and this might be connected to what is happening now. Mathilde has made observations that led me to believe she knows about the book and might have had a run in with the devil decades before and they may have to turn to her for help at some point.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, the devil gets inside Regina and uses her to terrorise Tess into giving in but each time she asks Eliot to help her and together they support each other. So when Regina’s decaying body turns up at Tess dorm and she stabs the girl in the heart so calls Eliot to help deal with the mess and here she learns of his magic and isn’t scared of it like Eliot thought she would be. Afterwards they go to the park and the trust between them is stronger now, enough that both feel comfortable sharing information about their lives that they have kept to themselves for the longest time because they could only trust themselves. They continue their research but when Tess goes to the library for work the possessed Regina is there and she ends up confronting the devil and decapitating Regina’s body dealing with the devil for now. However, she and Eliot know they have to ask Mathilde for help and confess that they summoned the devil and Mathilde knows all about it. Mathilde explains that her husband, Harry found the book in England and they hid it in the crypt under the library for safe keeping but the devil was too strong for them. They thought that if they burnt the book the devil would die with it and this was Harry’s final act as he died in the fire but the book survived. Mathilde had to face down the devil alone but she managed to bind it back to the book until Tess realised it. This time with Mathilde’s help and guidance they are going to try and bind the devil back to the book for good but Mathilde warns Tess and Eliot that it was try and destroy everything they love and Regina was the start of it which makes Tess worried for her family. I am excited to see the final showdown and how Bovalino wraps up the novel since this is her debut book.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, the trio have a plan in place the question is just now whether or not it is going to work. The final section of the book was interesting and it ended was unexpected as it made Tess into a really strong character and allowed Eliot to come into his full potential without more death and destruction. The devil itself was interesting to learn more about especially towards the end and what became of it. If you are looking for an atmospheric horror with some gore but nothing over the top then I’d highly recommend The Devil Makes Three especially for a debut it was great and exceeded my expectations. Overall, Bovalino’s debut had some amazing character work, a wonderful antagonist with solid motivations and a good resolution and it was a solid entry into the horror genre and I can’t wait for her next book.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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