The Devil's Hearth: A Fever Devilin Mystery [Large Print] [Paperback]

Philip DePoy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 2005

Fever Devilin is a folklorist and a very recent ex-academic who has decided to return to his family home in the Georgia Appalachians. But his homecoming isn't quite what he expected - he arrives at the home he once shared with his now-deceased parents to find a corpse on his front porch, evidence that someone has been living in the house without his knowledge, and someone in the woods taking shots at him with a rifle.

Available only in Wheeler Softcover 4.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shamus finalist DePoy (Easy) provides a delightful fireside feast in his sixth whodunit, set in the Georgia Appalachians. Upset with the closing of his folklore section in Burrison University's English department, Dr. "Fever" Devilin decides to spend his next few years writing and coming to grips with the ghosts of his past at the old family cabin up on Blue Mountain. But ghosts seem determined to start and end his journey. Childhood chum Skidmore Needle, now a local deputy, discovers a dead body at the cabin only minutes before Fever's arrival. The corpse turns out to be that of Fever's hitherto unknown half-brother and a messenger from their not-so-dearly departed mother. The cast of characters could've come out of Deliverance, from the dimwit Deveroe brothers to Fever's total city-slicker colleague and friend, Dr. Winton Andrews. A threesome of old men play music, drink 'shine and keep secrets, but Fever is determined to pry some answers from those who may have information about his half-brother's murder. The Devil's Hearth, an eerie outcropping, haunts the mountain and sets the book's tone, and Fever's old flame Lucinda adds some spark. DePoy combines a good mystery with a generous helping of history and legend.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Arresting . . . exquisite as a portrait of mountain folk."
-- Kirkus Reviews (Kirkus Review )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; 1 edition (January 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587248654
• ISBN-13: 978-1587248658
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,039,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Phillip DePoy is an Edgar Award winning playwright, and author of more than a dozen published books. His play Lamb on Fire was produced in New York. He has been called "a master Southern storyteller" by Kirkus Reviews and "adept at clever word play" by Publisher's Weekly. THE KING JAMES CONSPIRACY has been compared, in BookList, to Umberto Eco's THE NAME OF THE ROSE. In a recent review, Kirkus said of his new novel A CORPSE'S NIGHTMARE, "Nobody writes Southern better than DePoy." In addition to his other pursuits, the author is currently Director of Theatre at Clayton State University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Multi-layered brilliance, October 4, 2004

By 

Patrick A. Mead (Lake Orion, Michigan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Devil's Hearth (Mass Market Paperback)

DePoy has become my favorite author with his two books in this series. I know a bit about folklore and the people of the mountains and they are portrayed accurately and with great compassion here. The mystery is a real one, the characters alive and complete, and the insight into a hidden world -- the world of shape note music, Melungeons, hidden travelers, and front porch conversations -- make this book a warm, inviting place to be. I can't wait for the next one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Chirping crickets and a body on the porch, September 23, 2004

By 

Joseph P. Menta, Jr. (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Devil's Hearth (Mass Market Paperback)

Rich characters and setting are enriched by, well... rich writing and imagery, which only occasionally becomes a bit too flowery and overly descriptive. I enjoyed being dropped into an area of this country not done to death in other stories; the Georgia Appalachian region is a very interesting place. The mystery story itself is pretty good; like a lot of good mysteries, the story effectively ties the mystery story into the history and dark secrets of the story's setting. The diverse characters and the colorful banter between them are also very enjoyable.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb regional amateur sleuth, January 18, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Devil's Hearth: A Fever Devilin Mystery (Hardcover)

When Burrison University English Department shut down his folklore section, Dr. "Fever" Devilin knew it was time to go home to the Georgia Appalachian Mountains. Fever figures that the time is right to write about his home lore yet also put to rest the past that he fled when he first went off to college.

He moves back into his family's cabin on Blue Mountain where Fever plans to reacclimatize from the academia think tank world to the more mellow isolated environs. His best friend from childhood, now Deputy Sheriff Skidmore Needle, arrives at the cabin to greet his old buddy, but finds a corpse just outside the edifice prior to the professor's arrival. They quickly learn that the deceased is Fever's half-brother, a blood relative he never knew he had. Fever wonders if perhaps he was the intended victim and if so why. Unable to heed Skidmore's advice, Fever begins making inquiries into who would want either he or his sibling dead.

THE DEVIL'S HEARTH is a discerningly written regional amateur sleuth that employs some police procedural elements to enhance the feeling of realism. Fever is a delightful lead protagonist who keeps the story line focused. The secondary cast including his buddy, a university colleague, and locals embellishes a powerful plot that delivers a wonderful look at Appalachia folklore interwoven within well designed who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner