Devil Knows: A Tale of Murder and Madness in America's First Century

Devil Knows: A Tale of Murder and Madness in America's First Century

NOMINATED FOR A PULITZER PRIZE AND A FINALIST IN THE USA BEST BOOK AWARDS IN THE HISTORICAL FICTION CATEGORY, DEVIL KNOWS: A TALE OF MURDER AND MADNESS IN AMERICA’S FIRST CENTURY IS A MYSTERY-IN-THE-ARCHIVES THRILLER WRITTEN WITH GREAT CHARM AND CINEMATIC FLAIR.

In the dead of night at the height of the 1692 Salem mania, a dying smallpox victim collapses in prison while visiting a witch condemned to hang – Mary Bradbury, the great ancestor of famed writer Ray Bradbury.

A delirious old man, Hopestill Foster, is brought before the Rev. Cotton Mather, the infamous witch-hunter and the most powerful man in ancient Boston, for a very private interrogation. Mather is desperate for answers about Foster’s past because he knows it ties into his own. Better had he not asked. Over the course of the prisoner telling his story to the cleric, 60 years of a terrible history unfolds, at the heart of which is a monstrous secret about Mather’s family that must not be allowed to escape the room where Foster is being held.

Hopestill Foster, the novel's protagonist, a man inured to a lifetime of suffering and one to whom a great wrong was done by him and to him in his youth, ultimately has to decide. Pass on, leaving the wreckage of his life behind, or accept a final deadly mission to make things right. For Hopestill Foster, there is only one choice.

David Joseph Kolb’s Devil Knows: A Tale of Murder and Madness in America’s First Century, a thrilling historical adventure in the grand storytelling tradition of Northwest Passage and Drums Along the Mohawk, breaks new literary ground about the very first American century - a nearly forgotten post-Pilgrim past when intolerance, misogyny and ignorance culminated in horrifying outrages against ordinary people. Yet it rediscovers, too, that hope was never lost, and that heroes were always among us.

Paperback and Hardcover

Endorsements and Reviews

“With relentless research, fascinating characters and a great storyteller’s imagination, David Kolb unravels a lingering mystery from the historical horror known as the Salem witch trials.” – Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

“Award-winning journalist David Kolb has created an interwoven tale of the earliest days of American history. In this well-researched story he shows how the earliest inhabitants of New England fought, conspired, loved and lived in the New World.” – John McGarry, CEO, Lakeshore (MI) Museum Center

“Devil Knows delivers the punch a modern crime thriller in the cadence and vocabulary of 17th century New England.” - Amazon

“This is the first time I can remember enjoying a story so much while at the same time coming away from a book feeling like I'd genuinely learned something. Part mystery, part history, totally enthralling!” - Amazon

“David Kolb has written a captivating book about this historical time period. He very skillfully introduces us to an engaging character whose life we travel through as the threads of this intricately woven story unravels. The layers of history that we learn about along the way on this suspenseful journey are both surprising and appalling. I could not put this book down until the last page was turne.” - Amazon

“A good book is like a good painting and David Kolb paints a masterful scene with his words and sentences. It's a book that begs you to race through it and not put it down.” - Amazon

“I just finished Devil Knows and it was great! The novel eloquently portrays the conflict of religion and governance, religion and commerce, the Native American Tribes and the tragic arrogance of British and French colonization. Wow ! It has everything a good story needs.” - Amazon

“Devil Knows is an intriguing story creatively woven into actual historical events using actual historical figures. The author presents us with incite into the minds of the early New England colonists as well as the Native Americans inhabitants.” Amazon

“I thoroughly enjoyed reading Devil Knows and gained a more nuanced appreciation for the infamous events of that period. In fact, I felt knee-deep in it. The central mystery pulled me through the mess of early New England along with characters who are surprisingly understandable when viewed through their historical context.” - Amazon

“Devil Knows is full of intrigue, suspense and emotion. David Kolb’s writing is intelligent, informative and exciting. He has added a depth of knowledge with great story telling to that period of time in our country’s history not commonly known. I couldn’t put the book down!” - Amazon

“What an attention keeper, amazingly written the author writes with suspense, graphics and detail...everyone should read this book.” - Amazon

David Joseph Kolb, Lit Riot Press NewsLit Riot PressOctober 21, 2020