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    Speak of the Devil: A Novel
    Speak of the Devil: A Novel
    Speak of the Devil: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Speak of the Devil: A Novel

    Written by Allison Leotta

    Narrated by Tavia Gilbert

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    In this gripping legal thriller by “the female John Grisham” (The Providence Journal), sex-crimes prosecutor Anna Curtis must stop a vicious street gang before it destroys more lives—and her own family.

    On the very night she gets engaged to the man she loves, Assistant US Attorney Anna Curtis’s professional life takes a shocking turn that threatens everything she holds dear. A few miles away from where she’s enjoying her romantic dinner, two separate groups are gearing up to raid a brothel. A vicious killer known as Diablo—the Devil—leads one group. A few minutes later, Anna’s own investigative team heads in to search the brothel, as part of an ongoing fight against human trafficking in DC. Both groups are caught off guard, with deadly results.

    As Anna investigates the bloody face-off, the boundaries between her work and home life begin to blur when she discovers a web of long-buried secrets and official lies that lead straight to her doorstep. And everything Anna counted on—the happiness she seemed so close to securing—comes into question as Diablo moves in for yet another kill.

    Allison Leotta draws on her experience as a DC sex-crimes prosecutor to take you into the back rooms of the US Attorney’s Office, the hidden world of the Witness Protection Program, and the secret rituals of one of America’s most dangerous gangs. Universally praised by bestselling authors from Catherine Coulter and George Pelecanos to Lisa Scottoline and David Baldacci, Leotta weaves fact and fiction to create her best novel yet.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateAug 6, 2013
    ISBN9781442365629
    Author

    Allison Leotta

    Allison Leotta was a federal sex-crimes prosecutor in Washington, DC, for twelve years. In 2011, she left the Justice Department to pursue writing full time. She is the acclaimed author of Law of Attraction, Discretion, Speak of the Devil, A Good Killing, and The Last Good Girl and founder of the award-winning blog, The Prime-Time Crime Review. Leotta lives with her husband, Michael, and their two sons outside of Washington, DC. Visit her online at AllisonLeotta.com.

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    Reviews for Speak of the Devil

    4.5/5

    84 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      NGL, accidentally listened to this book after the third and then the fourth in the series. Scribd is terrible at putting “in this series all together”. But the author is really good at summarizing and making you understand what’s going on. Love this narrator. All of the books in this series are good. …not sure about the first though, off to go listen to that!
    • 2/5
      WTH was that?!!! Nothing like spending time on a story without an ending. Very disappointing.
    • 3/5
      Because reading taste evolves over time, I would have rated SPEAK OF THE DEVIL higher when I was in my 20s. But now, three decades later, the type of writing in this book is no longer for me. Now I see the characterization as too simple. Other reviews compare this to a John Grisham book; I would compare it to a Lisa Scottoline book, good writing and good story but a different type.However, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL is written with authenticity. It deserves points for that. I learned of the degree that viscous, organized gangs exist in our society.Allison Leotta's main character in SPEAK OF THE DEVIL is Anna, a beautiful female sex-crimes prosecutor. The devil referred to in the title is the head of the MS-13 gang, a man who truly does look like a devil, even to the point of implanting bumps in his forehead to look like horns and cutting off his nose. While Anna works to shut down MS-13, she is also dealing with a fiance who still loves his wife who died at the hands of an MS-13 gang member. The description of Anna's personal life, in particular, is a little too goody-goody for me.My point is that SPEAK OF THE DEVIL is a good book, just not for me anymore.
    • 3/5
      Listened for Review (Simon & Schuster Audio)Tracking Books Read Review (Short)Overall Rating: 3.00Story Rating: 3.50Character Rating: 2.50Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)First Thought when Finished: Speak of the Devil had a super strong case but it was weighed down by overly dramatic relationship things.Overall Thoughts: I am going to admit that I am not a fan of super messy relationship drama in my thrillers unless it is the reason that certain things are happening. In this case, the drama was distracting for me. The twist should have either happened earlier or better yet the beginning shouldn't have happened. The case was very good, the extra layer of angst was not needed. I did enjoy the tracking down of clues, information, and the court drama. I thought all of that was done really well. I will read more in this series because overall I did enjoy Allison's writing voice.Audio Thoughts: Narrated By Tavia Gilbert / Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins Tavia nailed it! I loved the narration for Speak of the Devil. I think it helped me stick with the story (glad I did). She was great as Anna!Final Thoughts: Despite the relationship issues, I really enjoyed this book. I will be getting the next one in the series.
    • 4/5
      I won this book from Goodreads. A story of a DC sex crime prosecutor that recently gets engaged then a horrible crime is committed by a local gang. She must work to bring them to justice.
    • 4/5
      Speak Of The DevilbyAllison LeottaMy "in a nutshell" summary...Anna...a prosecutor...is very involved in her case. A case that involves horrible gangs, horrible people and horrible crimes.My thoughts after reading this book...This book was part love story and part crime story and oddly enough they meshed quite well. When I wasn't being horrified by the crimes and awful actions of this awful gang and their leader...the infamous devil Diablo...I was charmed by Anna and her wedding prep and her relationship with Jack...her fiancé...and his daughter Olivia. I was also charmed by Anna's cat, Raffles. And then comes all of the bad stuff. And there was lots and lots of bad stuff!Because of this horrific crime that Anna is prosecuting she is in danger and all kinds of secrets are being exposed. People are in witness protection because of a crime linked to this one and the more Anna discovers about this the more the gang wants her dead. Witnesses have to come forward and this is a game changer for Anna.Know that parts of this book were really difficult for me to read. There is not a lot of respect for women among the gang members and the violence is really terrible...think machetes, knives, gang rapes, gang initiations...none of them pretty. Final thoughts...There is a startling ending to this book but not on the crime side...it's on the romantic wedding side. Anna is a believable character but the ending was perhaps a bit off for me. Readers who enjoy a somewhat fierce and graphic book should enjoy this book. I had a really difficult time reading about all of the really awful things the gang members did. It was uncomfortable and I did not like how graphic it was but that is my own personal taste.
    • 4/5
      Anna Curtis who works as a sex crimes prosecutor and when her team is sent in to investigate a brother; they get more than they bargained for – a viscous beheading of one of the employees. Diablo (the Devil), the head of the MS13 gang know for murder and rape is wanted but Anna’s witnesses are beheaded and one raped, so she has no case. Meanwhile, Anna becomes engaged to her boyfriend Jack Bailey (Chief of Homicide of the US Attorney).This story grabbed me and held on. I found the characters to be believable and the story tight. There was enough to keep me fascinated as the plot developed and the secrets were revealed. This is an outstanding read.
    • 5/5
      A thriller based on a true story, "Speak of the Devil," is a novel with much of the story taken from a gang, MS-13 and their cases. There are villains in abundance and this gang reigns havoc in the Washington, D.C. area.The story deals with a young woman, Anna Curtis, who works as a sex crime prosecutor. The key to good stories is a well constructed plot and this story begins with a horrific murder where a number of men invade a brothel and decapitate the head of one of the employees. It would seem that it would be an easy case for a prosecutor but witnesses are reluctant to come forward.There is also a side story of Anna and her boyfriend, Jack Bailey. He is the chief of the Homicide at the U.S. Attorney's office. He and Anna have a strong romantic relationship.There is a biting social commentary on a legal system that fails to protect witnesses. I don't want to get into the plot other than to say it was well plotted and the book was hard to put down.Strongly recommended.