cover image Devils in Exile

Devils in Exile

Chuck Hogan, . . Scribner, $25 (312pp) ISBN 978-1-4165-5886-6

In this fast-paced crime thriller from bestseller Hogan (The Strain with Guillermo del Toro), Iraq war veteran Neal Maven faces a series of dead-end jobs and little in the way of hope for the future back in his hometown of Boston. Then he catches a glimpse of his old high school heartthrob, Danielle Vetti, and his life is changed forever. Shortly after this sighting, Neal fights off a robbery attempt, an attack witnessed by Danielle’s boyfriend, who decides to hire Neal to join his gang of Iraq war vets in their enterprise of ripping off drug dealers. Neal has morals, but he decides because they’re doing good, i.e., destroying drugs and hurting drug dealers, this is an honorable career move. Things go well for a while, but after Neal starts sleeping with Danielle, the whole deal starts to unravel, with explosive results. This is a compelling portrait of a good man who makes bad choices and in the end must battle his way out of a destructive and deadly life. (Feb.)