The Devil's Playground

Product Information

Maybe that was the truth of the desert. The desert as death, as desolate judgment and arid purgatory. An engrossing thriller likely to satisfy even the most demanding hardboiled fans as well as movie buffs… a gallery of sharply-drawn characters … twists lurking around every Californian corner and a pace that never tires… wonderfully drawn and unique protagonists … a memorable piece of work that I just lapped up with relish." The young officer looks at her face. It is impassive, cool; its architecture is high- cheeked and strong-jawed beneath a glitter of blue-green eyes. In any other town in America, in the world, it would be considered a beautiful face. But this is Hollywood, and beautiful faces abound. Faces that are a decade or two younger; eyes whose glitter is more dew and less flint.

Gloriously diabolical. A terrifying thrill ride through the hidden chasms of the human soul’ Chris Brookmyre Craig Russell walks a razor’s edge between gothic suspense and horror. The Devil’s Playground conjures rich and riveting elements – 1920’s Hollywood, a terrifying silent film, an elusive and inscrutable killer, and an eerie sequence set in the Louisiana bayou – all of which come together to create a masterful thriller.” Forty years later, a journalist arrives at an old hotel in the desert that has long since been abandoned. Except for one person. And he believes that person may be in possession of the lone surviving copy of The Devil’s Playground. It’s said to be the most terrifying movie of all time. He’s getting paid a lot of money to deliver it to a well-heeled movie buff.The story also turns to Louisiana’s Bayou Leseuil in 1893 — and turns foreboding. Witch Hippolyta Cormier and her daughter Anastasie live in the swamp, and the locals believe Hippolyta has a “devil’s fingerprint”birthmark on her left cheek.Writes Russell:

Addictive. . . the most sheerly entertaining novel I’ve raced through in at least a year. . . fresh, forceful, elegant but wild’ A.J. Finn Did you telephone anyone else about this? Or just the police?” Rourke asks. The maid looks confused. The tall, handsome man speaks. His accent is clipped, British. His voice a little high and reedy. “I didn’t think she would go through with it. . . I can’t think what to do. . .” A Gothic masterpiece which will lead you so far into the darkness that you won't know who to trust. Another splendid offering from a writer who is top of his game. ' - Theresa Talbot

Member Reviews

I absolutely adored it. Intense, harrowing and hugely entertaining. . . Spectacular' Chris Whitaker Russell delivers a brooding, stunningly atmospheric tale set in Stevenson's Edinburgh - multi-layered and intricately plotted, this is a Gothic thriller from the hands of a master.' - Margaret Kirk, author of Shadow Man Horrifying, mesmerising, beautifully imagined. The Devil's Playground is Craig Russell at his unrivalled best' Chris Whittaker This book is written in a noir fashion and has aspects of both a thriller and a horror novel. I loved the writing, with its snappy dialog and acid descriptions. The Hollywood fixer, Mary Rourke, was a spunky gal right out of a 1930s or 40s movie. Think Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday. The book also had a very twisty plot, it will make a terrific movie. I am also attracted to the gritty underbelly of old Hollywood, so I really enjoyed this.

An engrossing thriller likely to satisfy even the most demanding hardboiled fans as well as movie buffs… a gallery of sharply-drawn characters … twists lurking around every Californian corner and a pace that never tires… wonderfully drawn and unique protagonists … a memorable piece of work that I just lapped up with relish.” A masterwork. . .This is a terrific blend of historical fiction, with its depiction of classic Hollywood, and chilling supernatural elements. We go along for the ride."I’ve read Craig Russell before. Only one book but it’s made an impression. And with this novel, I am now officially a fan. Christ, he thinks, it’s like a movie set. He gives a small laugh at the weird appropriateness of the thought, but at the same time it sits uneasily with him, as if he struggles to decide to which of his universes the scene should belong. Other than that, all there is, is the vast, pale, hot-­as-­hell desert stretching gray and white, yellow and rust, all the way to where the mountains rumble dark on the horizon. Who doesn’t love a bit of Hollywood legend? Those superstitions and theories about movies, particularly horror movies, that were purportedly cursed, resulting in major catastrophe, if not loss of life, for those connected to the production. Such is the legend of The Devil’s Playground, a movie which sounded the death knoll for the studio that produced it and of which there are no known copies in circulation. When a film historian is hired to follow the lead to what may be the sole surviving copy of the film, it leads him, and readers, through the dark and deadly final days of production on the movie, during which one of the stars is found murdered and calamitous events are set to secure the movies status as one of the most cursed productions of all time.

As puppies. But I don’t want the detective branch getting involved. We’ve got half on the payroll, but the rags have got the other half. And I can hear a headline screaming.” I know it’s an old chestnut,” says Wilson, “but it’s the path of least resistance. I’ll revise her records at the clinic to match the story, do an autopsy tonight, sign the cert, and we can have her casketed tomorrow. Otherwise, you may need to sweeten the county medical examiner’s disposition. And that takes a lot of sugar, from what I’ve heard.” I absolutely adored it. Intense, harrowing and hugely entertaining. Craig Russell conjures the kind of spine-tingling tale that kept me reading through the night. Spectacular. - Chris Whittaker One of the most creative twist endings I have experienced in ages... The Devil's Playground might just be the best mystery of the year." The three narratives are expertly intertwined in this richly textured and erudite Hollywood gothic… Russell brings the decadent L.A. scene alive.”She is dressed in a full-length gown, the silk of which has an iridescent pearl sheen to it. Her arms and shoulders are bare; slender hands rest on her stomach. The woman’s face is tranquil, the closed eyelids dark with mascara, the lips deep red. Her hair is a dark-auburn halo around her head. A blend of murder, noir, and horror set against a fascinating time-trip through Hollywood. The Devil’s Playground is totally engaging.” The Devil's Playground is Craig Russell’s tour de force, a richly researched and constructed thriller that weaves through the Golden Age of Hollywood and reveals a blossoming industry built on secrets, invented identities, and a desperate pursuit of image. As Mary Rourke charges headlong through the egos, distractions, and traps that threaten to take her down with the doomed production, she discovers a truth far more sinister than she—or we—would imagine. This is Craig Russell’s strongest novel to date, and one that will resonate with American readers.” Yes, ma’am.” The patrolman, no more than twenty-one, stands to one side. “Pops said you’d be here.” A terrifying tale of the true power in Hollywood... (Russell's) precise, gorgeous prose shines' New York Times