A father/daughter tale, a ghost story, an American road trip novel and an inventive supernatural thriller. David Ullman believes his daughter is suspended between heaven and hell after “jumping” off a roof in Venice and somehow, through his expertise of the subject, we are plunged into the world of Milton’s Paradise Lost. All very strange.
Professor David Ullman is among the world's leading authorities on demonic literature. Not that he's a believer.
He sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when offered a luxury trip to Venice to consult on a 'phenomenon', he accepts, taking his 11-year-old daughter Tess with him. Amidst the decadent splendour of the city, David makes his way to the address he's been asked to visit.
What he witnesses in the tiny attic room shakes him to the core: a man restrained in a chair, clearly insane. But what David hears the man say is worse. The voice of his father, dead for 30 years, repeating the last words he ever spoke to his son. Words that have left scars - and a mystery - behind.
Terrified, David is determined to leave with Tess as quickly as possible. But he can't shake the feeling that something is following him. And then, before his eyes on the roof of their hotel, Tess disappears. But before she falls into the Grand Canal's waters, she utters a plea: Find me.
'A smart, thrilling, utterly unnerving novel. Pyper's gift is that he deeply respects his readers, yet still insists on reducing them to quivering children. I like that in a writer' -- Gillian Flynn
'The Demonologist is that rare thing - a novel that is both genuinely terrifying and erudite. The research is excellent and lightly worn, the pace and cleverness of the plot thrilling, one of the most exciting works of fiction I've read for some time' Kate Mosse
'Genuinely terrifying, don't-read-late-at-night stuff. Thrilling, compelling and beautifully written -- SJ Watson
'The Demonologist is a smart psychological thriller. Carefully crafted, claustrophobic and deeply, deeply creepy' Simon Toyne
'Richly crafted, deliriously scary and compulsively page-turning from beginning to end. Imagine The Exorcist and The Da Vinci Code as penned by Daphne du Maurier. Don't miss this one!' -- Jeffery Deaver
'As compelling and smoothly chilling a tale as you'll find this year. The Demonologist shows an enormously gifted writer at the top of his game, producing a novel of eerie menace and unique depth. Those of us who write supernatural stories do not throw the names Ira Levin, William Peter Blatty, and Peter Straub around lightly. You'll be hearing all three associated with Mr Pyper soon, and all such comparisons are warranted, the highest praise I can offer' -- Michael Koryta, New York Times Bestselling Author Of The Prophet
'Pyper is an intelligent writer, steeped in Miltonian symbolism, gifted with language ... This artful literary exploration of evil's manifestation makes for a sophisticated horror tale' KIRKUS
'A mesmerizing and melancholy narrative voice lends chilling credibility to this exceptional supernatural thriller' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
'Andrew Pyper is a rare breed. Reading The Demonologist is like running through a house on fire- you've got to get through; nothing will stop you. And when you're out, brokenhearted and bewildered, you're left wondering if what happened was real. That's Pyper's brilliance: he does it so well you never see the fiction' -- Sarah Langan, Author Of The Missing
'Smart and astonishing ... The Demonologist holds a mirror to the reader and reveals the places where our deepest darkness lurks' -- Brunonia Barry, New York Times And International Best Selling Author Of The Lace Reader And The Map Of True Places
Author
About Andrew Pyper
Andrew Pyper was born in Stratford, Ontario, in 1968. He received a BA and an MA in English Literature from McGill University in Montreal, as well as a law degree from the University of Toronto. He is the author of four bestselling novels, including THE GUARDIANS and LOST GIRLS. He is also the winner of the ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD.
