What would you do if the Devil pulled you down to hell—only to ask you to help run the place?
This is the simple, but very alluring plot of Brad Abdul’s debut novel, The Devil’s Advisor. I’ve been excited to read this ever since I heard about it and was very happy to be able to pick up an ARC via NetGalley. Thanks to Flame Tree Press for that.
The story kicks off with a bang. It doesn’t take many pages before we learn who our protagonist Brian is, where he works and why he’s so good at it, and why the devil needs his help. Turns out that Hell is a business, a business that deals in corrupting souls—and lately, they haven’t been doing a very good job of it.
Abdul’s brilliance is in his world building. If you liked the TV show Supernatural you’re going to love this, and I really enjoyed exploring the way Hell worked, how the Devil operated, and all the interesting concepts around the “business”. Of course, various Biblical characters make an appearance, and Abdul has really managed to make his own spin on it.
The formatting of the book occasionally pulled me out of the story—but I think that issue can be blamed mainly on the advanced reader copy—and sometimes certain parts felt a bit overdrawn and the pace stalled. Quickly becoming a fan of Abdul’s world building I often wished he’d step outside the plot to give me more backstory and more details, but that’s probably a ‘me’ issue.
I think this is branded as a supernatural comedy, but it should be noted that it’s also a mystery, a thriller and a romance, all baked into one. There’s layers of story here, with a little bit for everyone, and again—if you’re into the show Supernatural, you’re going to enjoy this!
You can check out Brad Abdul’s debut novel, The Devil’s Advisor here.
Trey Stone, Author 
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