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nmcannon's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
My review is going to be a little odd. Firstly, it’s been awhile since I interacted with the story (hi from 2024!). I enjoyed Where Death Meets the Devil so much that I wanted to write a review, but it appears that didn’t happen. Or maybe the Internet ate it? Oh well. I’m doing it now. Secondly, I didn’t read this story in its usual novel form. Instead, I played through the gorgeous visual novel adaptation from Cinanmon Games’s Maybe: Interactive Stories. LJ Hayward worked on the adaptation herself, so it should be a true retelling, but my experience is necessarily different from people’s experience with the novel.
Jack Reardon is a top agent for the Meta-State, a seriously frightening global intelligence monitoring organization based in Australia. He’s in top shape, at the top of his career, and definitely on top of this situation where mafia thugs have him strapped to a chair. The only gobsmacking turn of events is an assassin sauntering into the room and saving him. Notorious in his field and sporting a notorious bubble butt, Ethan Blade proposes an alliance. Together, they can take down this crime boss and afterwards they’ll part ways and resume the usual hostilities. A perfectly fine plan until the clues start leading to conclusions that the Meta-State is way more involved than appropriate.
I used to think I didn’t like thrillers. The spy vs spy crime genre was too military for me. Where Death Meets the Devil cracked a chasm in that premise, because I enjoyed the visual novel immensely. Like lying on my stomach, kicking my feet, and twirling my hair level of enjoyment. There are some rough patches. Hayward’s world-building includes some ableist nonsense about if a pregnant person takes this drug, it makes their child’s eyes a super light blue color, sensitive to sunlight, have anti-social personality disorder, and be supernaturally good at murder. Which is like. Horseshit. Thankfully, this aspect isn’t dwelled on, and we’re back to laughing at Ethan’s pet camel or positing the assassins are actually murderous sugar babies, if you think about it. At its core, Ethan and Jack’s story is a heartwarming romance full of humor. These two jagged, guarded individuals are finding someone they can relax around for the first time in their lives. Through empathy, vulnerability, and the hard work of communication, they fit together.
If you can download Maybe: Interactive Stories, I heartily recommend Where Death Meets the Devil.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism