Devil’s Kitchen starts with an unnecessary cold open in which Andy (Andrea) is being accused of being a police informant and Ben is being accused of helping her. Fox then drops back to the beginning of the story in which Ben is part of a crew of firefighters who use the fires that they start to cover preparations for audacious heists. But Ben’s girlfriend and son have disappeared and he suspects his fellow cremates so he has dropped a letter to the police. Enter Andy, a freelance investigator whose skill set involves going deep undercover to help the FBI solve crimes. Andy is keen to help Ben solve the mystery of his missing girlfriend but her handler Tony is much more interested in putting the crew away for the robberies. Tony also holds a torch for Andy which complicates their relationship.
The story revolves around Ben and Andy. Fox skilfully ramps up the tension while focussing on the tenuous relationship that starts to form between the two outside of the one they are pretending to have. Part of that tension is knowing that at some point that first scene will play out and Andy and Ben will be discovered. At the same time, Fox digs into Andy’s past to reveal how she became who she was and the dangerous relationship she has developed with Tony. All of which builds to a satisfyingly explosive ending (these are firefighters after all).
Devil’s Kitchen is Candice Fox staying at the top of her game. Once again Fox delivers a thriller anchored around two fascinating, damaged characters in which tension builds and releases in a way that almost demands that the pages keep turning.
Robert Goodman
For more of Robert’s reviews, visit his blog Pile By the Bed
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- High Wire (Candice Fox) – book review
- The Devil’s Advocate (Steve Cavanagh) – book review
- I Shot the Devil (Ruth McIver) – book review
Robert Goodman is a book reviewer, former Ned Kelly Awards judge and institutionalised public servant based in Sydney. This and over 450 more book reviews can be found on his website Pile By the Bed.