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Kennedy's book has shades of Shirley Jackson and is set in a house that feels like Daphne du Maurier's Manderley, if it were scaled down to match middle-class budgets and midcentury American sensibilities.
The story follows Mrs. Loretta Davenport, wife of Mr. Peter Davenport, a Pentecostal minister and professor at a nearby Bible college. She is the doting mother to two charming children and, while she isn't a perfect June Cleaver housewife, she tries to be. She tries to WANT to be.
After a bout of illness, Loretta is struck by a dark vision that seems to be showing her glimpses of what happened to a local girl who recently went missing
She thinks her new abilities may be a gift from God. Peter thinks they're the work of the Devil
Loretta's growing commitment to exploring her gifts and learning what happened to the missing girl drives a wedge between her and Peter and brings her to the office of Dr. Curtis Hansen, parapsychologist, as she gets swept up in her search to find the truth about the dark secrets buried in her Missouri town
As is the case in a lot of historical horror, there are ghosts, but the ghosts aren't the thing that brings the terror
Instead, I was horrified by the state of 1950s mental healthcare, the patriarchal oppression in their religious community, and the prison that was midcentury American marriage
Loretta's legal personhood, and that of nearly every other female character in the book, is constrained by the whims of her husband, and a selfish or deceitful husband can be a truly cruel jailer
I loved every single thing about this book, but make no mistake: it was an emotional wrecking ball
It deals with some deeply sensitive subject matter, so proceed with caution if SA, DV, pregnancy/loss, misogyny, or institutionalization are sensitive subjects for you
I personally had to set the book aside a few times, when my own life stresses made the fictional abuses within the book feel too big. But it was so worth it to pick it back up. Loretta will stick with me for a long time, and this book has landed on my list of great works of modern American gothic.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Pregnancy
Minor: Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Blood
Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Abortion
Loretta Davenport is a mom, homemaker, and housewife—at first glance her life seems picturesque with a home and children and a successful husband who is a professor at the nearby university. She found comfort in the teachings of church and her husband, Pete, is also deeply religious.
After being very sick, Loretta is disconcerted by some strange visions she has about a recently missing girl in her community. When her visions turn out to be true and end up helping find the missing girl’s dead body, Loretta’s life starts to go up in flames. Her husband thinks her behavior and independence of thought is “of the devil” and is determined to bring her to heel. As the cracks in her life start to crumble the very foundation of her marriage and home, Loretta tenaciously and cleverly rebuilds one where she can fully embrace her abilities and redefines how she wants to be as a mother, wife, and career woman.
Empowered through therapy, facing her past and present trauma, and refusing to be abused anymore by her controlling, alcoholic spouse, Loretta will not continue to live a life she is barely surviving in. She must figure out how to break free from her hellish, violently escalating marriage while also trying to use her psychic powers to track down the devil who is killing young girls in the area before it is too late…both for herself and other victims.
This book pleasantly surprised me. Loretta grew a backbone and realized her worth fairly quickly, which can be credited to therapy as well as positive friendships in her life. I adored how Loretta did not give up on a better life for herself and her kids, no matter how hard her husband tried to break her and made it impossible for her to leave. The more she learned about herself, the more competent and formidable she became, and was eventually ready to face the devil himself by the end of the book. This book does have quite a few trigger warnings though, so please make sure to look those up before reading. Loved this book, through and through. I will be reading more of Paulette Kennedy’s books.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Stalking
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting
Moderate: Self harm, Car accident, Death of parent
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual violence
Minor: Vomit
The story follows Loretta, a young mom in the 1950's. Living an isolated and uneventful life, with her two children and husband, until a local girl gets murdered and Loretta starts to gets visions from beyond.
This book was a mix of historical fiction, mystery and horror. I was captivated from the beginning and I can't remember a time I was that invested in a story and its characters.
The book shows the social norms and especially misogyny in the 1950's very well and it's making Loretta's life living hell. I think she was such a well rounded character and I was rooting for her and her dreams from the first minute. My heart shattered later in the book and I don't want to think about people, outside this fictional world, going through the horrors Loretta had to face.
I loved the side characters and even though this book has some very dark moments there are also equally beautiful scenes between the characters.
The Devil and Mrs. Davenport is not an easy read but if you feel ok after reading content warnings I highly recommend picking this one up. I would love to write more about this amazing novel but I also don't want to spoil the story for you, so I'll stop here. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
Thank you to Paulette Kennedy, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting