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myweereads's review against another edition
4.0
“I’m writing this instead so that you can feel me with you when it’s time. I’m with you, my little girl. I’m with you and it’s going to be okay...”
The Devil’s Staircase by Helen Fitzgerald is the story of a young Australian girl called Bronny who flies over to London for a change in life. She is a sweet girl and has loved her teenage years in caution and finds herself amongst backpacker seeking a rent free life within an abandoned townhouse. What they don’t realise is that somebody is already there.
This is a short novel of just over 200 pages. The blurb makes this sound like a horror story which it most definitely embodies but it’s so much more than that. It’s a fast paced thriller which is quite predictable at so many turns but you simply can’t put it down. After the first part when a wee bomb exploded in the story I was like hold on!!! What just happened and after that there was one bomb after another after another. The protagonist Bronny is a strong willed character who is on journey to escape the reality of what her life may become. She encounters so many intriguing and unique people during this and who they really are becomes a mystery especially when the truth is revealed. I was very surprised by this book because as predictable as it was I couldn’t put it down and enjoyed this twisted, dark and very disturbing story.
The Devil’s Staircase by Helen Fitzgerald is the story of a young Australian girl called Bronny who flies over to London for a change in life. She is a sweet girl and has loved her teenage years in caution and finds herself amongst backpacker seeking a rent free life within an abandoned townhouse. What they don’t realise is that somebody is already there.
This is a short novel of just over 200 pages. The blurb makes this sound like a horror story which it most definitely embodies but it’s so much more than that. It’s a fast paced thriller which is quite predictable at so many turns but you simply can’t put it down. After the first part when a wee bomb exploded in the story I was like hold on!!! What just happened and after that there was one bomb after another after another. The protagonist Bronny is a strong willed character who is on journey to escape the reality of what her life may become. She encounters so many intriguing and unique people during this and who they really are becomes a mystery especially when the truth is revealed. I was very surprised by this book because as predictable as it was I couldn’t put it down and enjoyed this twisted, dark and very disturbing story.
roaze's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked this book up at an op shop when I was a teenager simply because the title intrigued me. While reading I was lulled into a false sense of security only to have the rug ripped out from underneath me half way through. It shook me to my core, my ears became red and hot . I thought about it for days after.
Looking back years later it’s a book that’s stuck with me. I remember reading it vividly. But definitely read the triggers because this book deals with a lot of heavy topics.
Looking back years later it’s a book that’s stuck with me. I remember reading it vividly. But definitely read the triggers because this book deals with a lot of heavy topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Violence, Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Rape, Sexism, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Excrement, Medical content, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Fire/Fire injury
beatrizmagalhaes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ashleighbeanxo's review against another edition
4.0
Nice quick read, but I feel like this book was sold to me as something it wasn't.
I went in thinking it was gonna be a creepy thriller-horror type book, but no. I'm not really sure which category I would put this book in, but it's not exactly a horror or thriller. Also, the tagline on the cover of the book kind of spoiled some of it.
There were a few moments where I audibly gasped such as. Overall, it clearly wasn't one of the best thriller books I've read, but yeah, it was good, and a quick read as I said before.
I went in thinking it was gonna be a creepy thriller-horror type book, but no. I'm not really sure which category I would put this book in, but it's not exactly a horror or thriller. Also, the tagline on the cover of the book kind of spoiled some of it.
Spoiler
Especially as Bronny doesn't actually kill anyone until the very end of the book, and even then, it's in self-defenceThere were a few moments where I audibly gasped such as
Spoiler
the reveal of the two other bodies in the basement, and the reveal that one of the bodies was Zach's missing sister, holy fuck manrealkaylouise's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book over an afternoon and enjoyed the twists and turns. It wasn’t predictable so was really enjoyable to wonder where the story would go.
I didn’t find the ending to be somewhat underwhelming, but only as it seems to be over really quickly.
Overall, an enjoyable short read
I didn’t find the ending to be somewhat underwhelming, but only as it seems to be over really quickly.
Overall, an enjoyable short read
cintacheree's review against another edition
4.0
Read it all in one sitting.
Slightly predictable but nonetheless was a great story.
Also loved that my home town had a few mentions
Slightly predictable but nonetheless was a great story.
Also loved that my home town had a few mentions
sarahcavill's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
amrap's review against another edition
5.0
Bronny is a naïve 18 year old Aussie who runs away from life and ends up in London, trying to hide from her problems in extreme partying. She’s made new friends who live on the fringes of society and are squatting in an empty house where she hears noises coming from the walls that no one else hears. Is it a drug induced hallucination or something more sinister?
I came to this book having already read FitzGerald’s previous work and she did not disappoint. She has a knack for being simultaneously creepy and laugh out loud funny.
I could really relate to Bronny and her naivety as she tries to figure out what she wants in life and engaged with all the characters. There was tension and suspense galore right until the last page with FitzGerald employing the device of shifting points of view with Bronny in first person, and other characters in third. I haven’t seen this technique used often before, but it really worked.
I was riveted by The Devil’s Staircase and ended up reading it in one sitting, not a mean feat with a toddler. This is one book that will remain with me for a long time, and I can see myself reading it again.
I came to this book having already read FitzGerald’s previous work and she did not disappoint. She has a knack for being simultaneously creepy and laugh out loud funny.
I could really relate to Bronny and her naivety as she tries to figure out what she wants in life and engaged with all the characters. There was tension and suspense galore right until the last page with FitzGerald employing the device of shifting points of view with Bronny in first person, and other characters in third. I haven’t seen this technique used often before, but it really worked.
I was riveted by The Devil’s Staircase and ended up reading it in one sitting, not a mean feat with a toddler. This is one book that will remain with me for a long time, and I can see myself reading it again.
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