Release: 26 September 2023
THE DEVIL'S PROMISE, a one-day read because I could not stop and sure didn't want to, left me speechless. Not at all surprising, considering my acclaim for Author Celso Hurtado's incredible debut novel, GHOST TRACKS [November 2021], which introduced a remarkable and wonderfully diverse Series Protagonist, seventeen-year-old Erasmo Cruz. This young man is without a doubt one of the most endearing fictional characters I've ever encountered [this in a character-pantheon that includes my all-time favorite Louis, Gay Black assassin and fashion plate of a certain extensive John Connolly Series!] Erasmo is so easy to identify with, so relatable, so eliciting of empathy. So I'm not him and I didn't live his exact life, but so what? We resonate. That's one of the perfect aspects of this Series.
Another is how giftedly Mr. Hurtado writes bullet-train paced Suspense! It's difficult to catch my breath reading his novels! Then the depths--the issues--the lives--the characters: to die for...
The Paranormal/Supernatural: no need for suspension of disbelief here, nor for any skepticism concerning the depths of the abyss of Human Evil. Mr. Hurtado lays it on the line. On.the.Line. Erasmo's Encounters are...simply incredible.
I found the Denouement a little (a lot) shocking....but realistic. And the ending: just glorious. I ended the book turned inside out--shocked--dismayed--frightened--yet ultimately happy. [How often does that happen?]
In my review of the author's debut novel, GHOST TRACKS, back in 2021, I presciently wrote:
"May debut author Celso Hurtado have a long and creatively productive career, because this author is an exceptional wordsmith!"
I'm extraordinarily thankful this hope is coming to pass!
