The Devil You Know

October 27, 2014
Set in and around Toronto in 1993, Canadian author de Mariaffi’s artful first novel chronicles the efforts of journalist Evie Jones to track down the man who murdered a friend of hers, 11-year-old Lianne Gagnon, in 1982. Robert Nelson Cameron was identified as a suspect but never caught. Jones researches the killer through old newspaper articles using the nascent Internet, aided by her cautiously flirtatious friend, David Patton. Since Lianne’s death, Evie has suffered from some form of post-traumatic stress; the man she often sees at her apartment window could be real or the product of an overheated imagination. When Evie points out to her mother, Annie, that women read more true crime than men, Annie replies the reason is not entertainment but survival: “It’s so we learn how to get away.” Hooked readers will silently implore Evie to refrain from entering a basement or a cabin in the woods in pursuit of a story—and a killer. Agent: Samantha Haywood, Transatlantic Literary Agency (Canada).

April 1, 2015

Evie Jones is a 21-year-old reporter in Toronto who is still traumatized by the unsolved abduction and murder of her best friend Lianne when they both were 11. She lives in constant fear that Lianne's killer may be stalking her, a fear that is compounded by the man she sees looking in her apartment window at night. Determined to discover who killed Lianne, Evie follows a trail that involves her friend David's father and even her mother's early life. De Mariaffi (How To Get Along with Women) sets this psychological thriller in 1993 and includes real cases of girls tortured and murdered by serial killer Paul Bernardo. While de Mariaffi succeeds in capturing the frightened mood of Toronto during the time the "Scarborough rapist" was at large, she prolongs her story with too many confusing twists and turns. Reader Audi Arndt portrays Evie's youthful obstinacy in a voice sounding like a rebellious teenager. VERDICT Despite these flaws, fans of thrillers and those familiar with Toronto and its suburbs should enjoy the book. ["De Mariaffi...expertly builds suspense throughout this...debut novel," read the review of the Touchstone hc, LJ 12/14.]--Nancy R. Ives, SUNY Geneseo

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