Publication Date: September 1, 2022
Atlanta. 1963.
Three adolescent girls go missing. And a killer is on the loose.
Young Billy Tarwater, eleven years old at the time and infatuated with one of the girls, thirteen-year-old Cynthia Hudspeth, finds himself caught up in the drama and suspense of the kidnappings.
Fast forward to 1980. Tarwater, now an up-and-coming newspaperman, sets out to find the killer and free an innocent victim of injustice.
THEÂ DEVILÂ YOUÂ KNEWÂ masterfully combines coming-of-age poignancy with the cliffhanging suspense of a noir thriller.
The reader is taken on a journey of twists and turns to an unexpected end.
Little did 11-year-old Billy Tarwater know how the abduction of three young girls in his community would change his life.
Author Mike Cobb uses dual timelines—1963 and 1980—to deliver a rich historical thriller in The Devil You Knew. While Billy serves as the main narrator, the story includes perspectives from multiple characters.
Weighing in at over 450 pages, the book includes short chapters clearly labeled with the character’s name and the date. The author does an excellent job portraying the mannerisms and thought process of a preteen boy. Billy’s maturity is evident in the second part as his newspaper career evolves.
Billy’s got a vested personal interest in the case and knows the man in jail is innocent. He uses his investigative skills to ferret out the secrets of the past.
The Devil You Knew serves up a suspenseful drama illustrating how easily evil can hide behind a seemingly respectable mask.
Mike‘s body of work includes both fiction and nonfiction, short form and long form, as well as articles and blogs of literary interest.
While he is comfortable playing across a broad range of genres, much of his focus is on historical fiction, crime fiction, and true crime. Rigorous research is foundational to his writing. He gets that honestly, having spent much of his professional career as a scientist.
Mike splits his time between midtown Atlanta and a lake in the North Georgia mountains, far away from the rat race of the city. The balance between city life and mountain life inspires his writing.
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Great review. This sounds like an amazing book!
Thank you, Amy! I’m glad you enjoyed the book. I’m working on the sequel now, due out early next year.