Customer Reviews

The Devil's Footprints

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll confess up front. I'm a huge Amanda Stevens fan and love all her books. After reading THE DOLLMAKER, her previous MIRA, I was blown away and knew it could never be topped, but she's written something even more frightening with THE DEVIL'S FOOTPRINT. I can't decide if it's her characters, the plot or all the details she weaves into the story that make her books so satisfying. Whatever it is that she does, I hope she continues. These are the creepiest (and I mean that in a totally great way) books I've encountered in a long time and I have a feeling the story, especially this one, will stay with me for a while as well. If you want a read that will make you look for bad guys under the bed and in the closet, too, this one's for you.

THE DEVIL'S FOOTPRINTS by Amanda Stevens chills and thrills with a dark mesmerizing story of legends, a past murder and a hunt to unlock the past as a current day killer becomes ever more closer. THE DEVIL'S FOOTPRINTS is a fast-paced read with a haunting eeriness as memorable imagery combines with a tight plot structure.

A 1922 Arkansas legend tells of evil and cloven footprints in the snow disappearing over a river and appearing on the other side, haunting the memories of a town. Years later, the gruesome creepy murder of Rachel DeLaune hearkens back to that legend. Cloven footprints reappear and the sound of bells in the background, tolling out the gruesome death, create an almost supernatural aura. The case remains unsolved, haunting tattoo artist Sarah DeLaune to this day. When Sarah DeLaune's former boyfriend and New Orleans police officer, Sean Kelton, encounters a murder some 14 years later, he thinks Sarah's past might be the key to unlocking the killer. An eerie similarity to Rachel's murder puts Sean on edge. The sound of bells, tattoos and drawings in strange undecipherable symbols add a mysterious, creepy dimension that needs unlocking to understand the motive.

When additional murders occur, the bodies found near Sarah's home, Sean's instincts about Sarah may lead beyond to clues. A new urgency forces him to rely on Sarah to unlock the mysteries of the past and present. Can Sarah trust him or herself to peer into the past? The more she remembers, the more questions remain. As she becomes closer to the truth, the killer becomes closer to her. Around Sarah, all moves in a spiraling nexus of darkness that threatens to engulf everyone connected to her. Can Sarah unravel the mysteries of her past in time to save herself from the approaching threat?

As much as I adored this author's THE DOLLMAKER, her new thriller is even more memorable! Darker and creepier, the striking imagery chills to the very core as the search for a killer unveils the layers of darkness surrounding the events of the past. Amanda Stevens allows the reader to see the killer, indeed to know the killer through his own words and Sarah's past without revealing the identity. As an author with a long history of writing romantic suspense, her entry into the thriller genre brings with it a gift for peering into the very heart of her characters, the dark place of the killer's mind that chills beyond clues. Amanda Stevens makes the reader feel a certain kind of empathy for the killer, creating a thriller all the more creepy as the horrors and deeds are uncovered. A supernatural imagery mixes with psychology to create a terrifying look into a cold case, memory and the legacy of the present day consequences. Indeed, Amanda Stevens' brilliant use of imagery gives an unusual glimpse into the dynamics behind the murders. As the plot moves forward, clues lead the reader deeper and deeper into the heart of the darkness. Until the very last pages, everyone may be suspect. Fast-paced action mixes with a chilling revelation as Sean and Sarah realize the terrifying end to their hunt for a killer. THE DEVIL'S FOOTPRINTS is a haunting thriller!

The Devil's Footprints is a stylish thriller by Amanda Stevens. The heroine is Sarah DeLaune, who is still dealing with the fallout of her sister's murder fourteen years earlier. Sarah is a gritty tough woman struggling to find the truth of a horrible case that was never solved.

When a body turns up that has been tattooed after death, Sean, Sarah's ex-lover and a homicide detective, convinces her to come and look at the body. The problem is not just the tattoo, but the satanic symbols that cover the crime scene. They torment Sarah with what she is unable to remember of her sister Rachel's murder. From that moment her life is a maelstrom of fear, and she finds that she can't trust anybody, perhaps not even herself.

The story moves from present-day New Orleans to the small town of Adamant, Arkansas in past and present. Nothing is what it seems. Just when you think you have it figured out, the story takes another twist. As more people are drawn into the mystery, the possibilities get darker. There are a lot of secrets in Adamant, and someone is willing to kill to keep them secret.

The characters are well rounded and believable. Amanda Stevens puts them in an untenable situation, and then we get to see the layers peeled back. I like that everything is not neat and tidy. Stevens pulls the reader into the raw emotion of a woman who no longer trusts herself, but desperately needs to learn the truth of her past.

This is terrific read and with a satisfying ending.

Armchair Interviews agrees.

This was my first Amanda Stevens book. What can I say? Wow! I love my sleep, and it's rare I will stay up until 2:00 a.m. because I just can't put a book down, but that happened with THE DEVIL'S FOOTPRINTS. Ms. Stevens has written a very tightly plotted, and well-paced book with lots of surprises! She kept me guessing how this story would resolve, right up until the end. I'll be getting a copy of THE DOLLMAKER next.

After reading "The Dollmaker" by Amanda Stevens, I didn't think she could out do herself again.I was proven wrong the day "The Devil's Footprints" showed up at the post office.
This fast paced novel takes a hold of you with it's gripping storyline and brings you into a world with an eerie setting and vivid characters;
a haunted woman struggling to hang on to her sanity and get to not only the truth of her sister's murder (fourteen years ago) that she desperately tried to put behind her but also find a killer that has murdered two other victims. Sarah DeLaune is a character that comes to life and reaches deep inside of you, pulling on your every emotion.
Amanda Stevens is truely a gifted Author that will keep you tuning out the rest of the world until you get to the very last page.I not only highly recommend "The Devil's Footprints" but also "The Dollmaker"
Murder is not just murder with this Author's incredible originality.

I can say I enjoyed the devil's footprints very much. I finished it in about 4 hours: easy to read and keeps you interested enough so you want to keep on reading. I thought it was maybe a bit messy regarding the chapters in the present/past, but they were only a few flashbacks and in the whole you get the idea that you're in the past pretty quickly. I was really absorbed by the story, so sometimes it felt weird going back to her teens with no warning.
The mistery is well constructed and throughout the book I had about a thousand different theories that kept on changing with the new twists and events. Happily for me, I couldn't exactly guess the real end. I hate books when you know who did it in the first pages, they are just too boring.
The character development is well done, but I would have liked to know a bit more about what happened in the characters childhood which lead to the adults they became, or even before they were even born. I like my characters well constructed, and these were satisfying.
All in all, not the best book I ever read, but very entertaining and hard to put down.

Having read Ms Steven's first book, I fully expected her second novel to be fully entertaining. Upon finishing this book 5 minutes ago, I can say that I was completely blown away! While her first book had one or two minor flaws to it (mostly with pacing), this book is pretty much perfectly done. The characters are compelling, the plotline is tight & flows well from one scene to the next, & I found myself truly wondering 'whodunit'. While one or two of the elements can be guessed at ahead of time, the main surprises are the ones that take you by surprise.


The story surrounds Sarah DeLaune, a young tattoo artist who is struggling to come to terms with her past as a mysterious killer is murdering young women in a manner similar to that of her dead sister. Mingled into the story is the legend of cloven footprints in the snow, footprints that make their reappearance with the new murders, forcing Sarah to try to remember her haunted past.

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes! Yes! Yes! Not only would I get the satisfaction of recommending a blossoming author (who I guarantee will become as famous as Patterson, Higgins Clark, or Cornwell), but I'd also get the satisfaction of watching someone tear through a book at the fevered pace with which I went through Stevens's novels.

1/1 Story:
Haunting and darkly fascinating tale.

1/1 Characters:
Very compelling characters, but some of their motivations were quite unclear.

1/1 Readability:
Very fast paced and near impossible to put down.

1/1 Representation:
Great title and provacative jacket synopsis.

1/1 Opinion:
I would highly reccommend this book to anyone who likes to read a great suspense book.

I LOVED this book!!! Its crazy and i could not for the life of me decide if the main character was crazy or not, until the end of course! Did she have a split personality? Was she really the killer? I told my coworkers about this book and they are itching to read it! Amazing find just wish the ending was longer it somewhat just stopped but still worth the 5 stars. Definite good read!!!

All I will say is this book was freaking awesome! A definite must read. I am picky about my books, I haven't found an author I truly love in a long time, until now. I highly recommend this book as well as her Graveyard Queen series.