In the vein of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, The Devil You Know is a thrilling debut novel about a rookie reporter whose memories of the murder of her childhood best friend bring danger—and a stalker—right to her doorstep

The year is 1993. Rookie reporter Evie Jones is working the crime beat in a city terrified by a serial rapist and a growing number of missing and murdered young girls. As she covers this story, Evie is haunted by the unsolved murder eleven years earlier of her own best friend, Lianne Gagnon. The suspected killer, a repeat offender named Robert Cameron, was never apprehended, turning Lianne’s case cold.

Now twenty-one and living alone for the first time, Evie becomes driven to find out what really happened to Lianne. But every clue she uncovers seems to lead to an unimaginable conclusion. As she gets closer and closer to the truth, Evie is convinced that the killer is still at large—and that he’s coming back for her . . .

Critically acclaimed author Elisabeth de Mariaffi delivers a spine-tingling story about secrets long buried and an obsession that cannot be controlled.

ELISABETH DE MARIAFFI’s debut book of short stories, How to Get Along with Women, was longlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Her poetry and short fiction have been widely published in magazines across Canada. Her first novel, The Devil You Know, was named one of the Best Books of 2015 by the Globe and Mail and the National Post. The Globe and Mail also chose her most recent novel, Hysteria, as one of the Best Books of 2018. Both books were shortlisted for the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. Elisabeth de Mariaffi lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with the poet George Murray and their four children.

Elisabeth de Mariaffi's profile page

• Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award

“[An] outstanding, unsettling debut novel.” — National Post

“A compelling study of the landscape of fear. . . . A skilled writer, de Mariaffi effectively evokes the lingering effects of trauma, the hyper-vigilance it spawns and the vulnerability that terror triggers.” — Toronto Star

“A brilliant debut novel.” — The Globe and Mail

“With so many thrillers cheaply exploiting violence against girls and women, de Mariaffi’s treatment of the topic, through Evie’s vulnerable yet empowered voice, is refreshingly reverent.” — Kirkus Reviews

“The Devil You Know explores the tangled emotional and ideological roots of violence against women with subtlety and humour. More impressively, it does so while delivering the suspense and narrative pace of a good thriller.” — Quill & Quire