Why the Devil Stalks Death by L.J. Hayward

Narrated by Rowan Scott

Note: The books in this series need to be listened to in order; there are spoilers for the previous books in this review.

Why the Devil Stalks Death, the second full-length book in L.J. Hayward’s Death and the Devil series picks up the story of Metastate “asset” (spy) Jack Reardon and assassin Ethan Blade some months since the events of Death Takes a Holiday (found in the novella Devil in the Details). Before they were attacked by a group of mercenaries and all hell broke loose, Jack and Ethan finally managed to have “the talk” and agreed that what they’ve been doing for the past few months – hooking up whenever they’re both in the same vicinity – was no longer enough for either of them. Before they parted, Jack asked Ethan to move in with him; Ethan agreed, telling Jack he’d see him soon, after sorting out the clean-up.

But clearly, Ethan’s definition of “soon” is different to Jack’s. Four months go by with no contact from him, and Jack is beginning to think that maybe Ethan has changed his mind. The strain of keeping their relationship under wraps and of all the doubts creeping in the longer Ethan’s silence goes on isn’t going unnoticed by his friends and colleagues; Jack is on a short fuse and will be more than pleased to get back to Sydney when his current undercover operation – to deliver a terrorist known as The Messiah into government custody – is over.

Jack’s frustration at returning home to find no sign of Ethan is amplified when his boss immediately assigns him to another job; he’ll be going undercover as himself – sort of – as Specialist Security Advisor Jack Reardon of the ISO (his his regular ‘on paper’ job), as part of a small task force working to capture The Judge, a serial killer whose two most recent murders have been in Sydney. He’s not happy about it – the idea of going undercover without that barrier of a different identity is disconcerting – but is cheered up immensely when he returns home and finds Victoria – Ethan’s beloved Aston Martin coupé – parked in the garage. After his initial relief however, he’s a mess of conflicted feelings, joy, anger and hurt all warring for the upper hand. He’s eager to see Ethan again, but pissed off about the four month separation and communication blackout. Entering his apartment and trying to behave as if this is any ordinary day, Jack is torn between yelling and throwing himself at Ethan – and is caught off guard when Ethan announces that he’s quit being an assassin and has severed ties with the organisation he used to be a part of. It took longer than expected, but it’s done now, and he’s back. For good. Jack is overjoyed at the news; a very *cough* happy reunion *cough*ensues, and the pair settle down to the business of fitting together and making room for one another in their lives.

But it’s not long before the cracks begin to appear. Jack has a terrible track record with relationships and expects to fuck this one up at any moment, and Ethan has no idea what he’s doing because he’s never had – or wanted – a relationship before, so there’s plenty of scope for them both to make mistakes, and it’s painful to watch. The case Jack is working on is a tough one; not only because he’s learning more about serial killers than he ever wanted to know, but also because that knowledge is pointing up some uncomfortable similarities between the way serial killers and assassins operate. And then there’s the fact that one of his colleagues is Dr. Adam Quinn, a profiler from the BAU in Melbourne – who happens to be the man Jack slept with a couple of times several months back, before he and Ethan got serious. Adam is handsome, charming… and, it turns out, annoyingly persistent, but he’s also very good at what he does and Jack can’t help admiring the breadth of his knowledge and skill. And on top of all that, Ethan has become increasingly quiet and withdrawn, and when Jack notices some new bruising on his body, he worries if maybe Ethan has gone back to his old gig. Ethan explains the bruises away as something that happened when he was working on Victoria – and although Jack isn’t convinced he doesn’t want to push too hard and risk Ethan’s disappearing for good.

This story has a LOT of moving parts, and it’s one of those audiobooks where you really have to concentrate; no listening while you’re focusing on something else, or you’ll miss something important! The author once again makes use of a dual timeline structure, and once again, we open with Jack handcuffed to a chair – although not in a shack in the middle of the Australian desert this time. No, he’s been arrested on suspicion of the murder of one of his colleagues on the Task Force – but nobody will tell him which one. This kicks off the “After” part of the story, in which we follow Jack as he continues to hunt for The Judge while contending with the possibility that he’s completely fucked things up with Ethan, who might not only have left him, but could also be out for his blood. And in the “Before” sections, we witness everything that happens between Ethan and Jack’s reunion up to Jack’s arrest.

L.J. Hayward executes her dual time-line story with great skill and precision. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea – and I admit that it can be frustrating at times – but the way she dovetails together the events of “Before” with those of “After” is breathtakingly clever, one timeline frequently providing answers to questions posed in the other. Let me also assure you that this isn’t a “serial killer book”. That plotline is an important part of the story, yes, but not for the reason you might think; I’m not going to give any spoilers, but I remember when I read Why the Devil Stalks Death a couple of years back, I had no clue who it was until fairly late in the day, and when the true extent of their machinations is revealed… I was gobsmacked.

As in all the previous stories, though, Jack, Ethan and their relationship are at the very heart of this one. They’re complex, damaged and intensely loveable; they see and want each other for who and what they truly are and despite the secrets they’re still keeping, despite the trust issues that arise here, they’re prepared to stand up and fight for each other. That they love one another deeply (despite their not having said it yet) is not in question, but their faith in each other is sorely tested in this book** – and although I admit there were times I wanted to yell at Jack to get his head out of his arse and see how much Ethan is struggling, Ethan isn’t totally innocent either, his determination to keep Jack safe leading him to keep some secrets for longer than he should. Their chemistry is off the charts, and the author writes every aspect of their relationship – affection, passion, humour and vulnerability – superbly well. There are some amazing moments of character growth and incredible poignancy, such as when Ethan opens up more about his past (which will make you want to cry and then throw things), and when Jack tells Ethan about some of his own deepest hurts. I could go on and on about the intricacies of their personalities and relationship because there are so many facets to explore, but this review is already long, so I’ll let you find out more for yourself!

I really look forward to listening to Rowan Scott in these books; the stories are amazing and I already loved them, but he’s bringing a new dimension to them. He’s so clearly engaged with the material and absolutely nails the characterisations of Jack and Ethan, bringing out all the different facets of their personalities and their relationship – the humour, the tenderness, the heartbreak – conveying all the emotional nuances in the story and bringing it vibrantly to life. The pacing is spot on – the action scenes are infused with urgency, and the love scenes have that degree of confidence that makes them extra sexy – and the secondary characters are appropriately voiced and differentiated using a variety of accent and timbre. Nine’s clipped South African accent is particularly well done (my late mother-in-law was South African, so it’s an accent I’m very familiar with!) and the smoother timbre he gives to Adam’s voice makes it easy to tell him and Jack apart in conversation, conveying confidence and, on occasion, a hint of smarm. The one criticism I have is that sometimes, Two and Ethan can sound similar because they both have English accents – but for the most part, the subtle differences between them are enough to differentiate their dialogue.

Why the Devil Stalks Death is action-packed, clever, sexy and completely gripping, and the narration is excellent. I really can’t recommend this series highly enough.

Caz