Don't Let the Devil Ride
Published on 7. August 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-4721-5923-6 (ISBN)
Description
'An instant Southern noir classic' S.A. Cosby
'Full of wily humour and epic bad behavior, this is an ebullient, rollicking ride you don't dare miss' Megan Abbott
Hell is empty... and Addison McKellar's husband is missing.
Addison McKellar isn't clueless - she knows she and her husband Dean don't have the perfect marriage - but she's still shocked when he completely vanishes from her life. At first Addison is annoyed, but as days stretch into a week and she's repeatedly stonewalled by Dean's friends and associates, her frustration turns into genuine alarm. When even the police seem dismissive of her concerns, Addison turns to her father's old friend, legendary Memphis PI Porter Hayes.
Porter and Addison begin to dig deeper into Dean's affairs and quickly discover that he was never the hardworking business owner and family man he pretended to be. As they piece together the connections between a hook-handed mercenary, one of Elvis's former leading ladies, and a man posing as an FBI agent, it becomes clear that Dean was deeply enmeshed in a high-stakes web of international intrigue, and Porter and Addison aren't the only ones looking for him.
Dean angered some very dangerous people before he disappeared - people who have already killed to get what they want - and they won't hesitate to come after his family to even the score.
Don't Let the Devil Ride is a thrilling adventure about what can happen when you pull back the curtain on your life. Ace Atkins, long known for gritty Southern noir with a witty edge, has crafted an ambitious, globe-hopping story that comes home to Memphis in explosive fashion.
'Full of wily humour and epic bad behavior, this is an ebullient, rollicking ride you don't dare miss' Megan Abbott
Hell is empty... and Addison McKellar's husband is missing.
Addison McKellar isn't clueless - she knows she and her husband Dean don't have the perfect marriage - but she's still shocked when he completely vanishes from her life. At first Addison is annoyed, but as days stretch into a week and she's repeatedly stonewalled by Dean's friends and associates, her frustration turns into genuine alarm. When even the police seem dismissive of her concerns, Addison turns to her father's old friend, legendary Memphis PI Porter Hayes.
Porter and Addison begin to dig deeper into Dean's affairs and quickly discover that he was never the hardworking business owner and family man he pretended to be. As they piece together the connections between a hook-handed mercenary, one of Elvis's former leading ladies, and a man posing as an FBI agent, it becomes clear that Dean was deeply enmeshed in a high-stakes web of international intrigue, and Porter and Addison aren't the only ones looking for him.
Dean angered some very dangerous people before he disappeared - people who have already killed to get what they want - and they won't hesitate to come after his family to even the score.
Don't Let the Devil Ride is a thrilling adventure about what can happen when you pull back the curtain on your life. Ace Atkins, long known for gritty Southern noir with a witty edge, has crafted an ambitious, globe-hopping story that comes home to Memphis in explosive fashion.
Reviews / Votes
With his boisterous and beguiling new novel Don't Let the Devil Ride, Ace Atkins confirms his status as the poet laureate of Southern hustlers and ne'er do wells. Full of wily humor and epic bad behavior, this is an ebullient, rollicking ride you don't dare miss. * Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of Beware the Woman * A masterfully crafted plot and seductive Southern setting to create a novel that sings. * Don Winslow, #1 bestselling author * Clever, intricate and moves with unstoppable momentum and twists to the very last page. * Michael Connelly, #1 bestselling author * This is a stay-up-reading-till-midnight thriller, bold, spirited, and impossible to put down. * Meg Gardiner, #1 bestselling author * An instant Southern noir classic . . . Larger than life characters, wry humour, deep pathos and storytelling that embrace both the sacred and the profane. * S.A. Cosby, bestselling author of ALL THE SINNERS BLEED * Ace Atkins is the Southern noir king . . . the work of a master storyteller at the top of his game. A must-read! * Lisa Unger, bestselling author of The New Couple in 5B * A powerful and slick slice of Southern noir stand-alone [with] an overall plot that navigates through many conflicting directions but always remains under Atkins' tight control and a lush prose at times reminiscent of James Lee Burke . . . addictive stuff. * Crime Time * A Memphis noir with soul. * The Times * This Southern Noir thriller kicks like a triple Jack Daniel's. * Peterborough Telegraph *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Dimensions
Height: 192 mm
Width: 123 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
306 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4721-5923-6 (9781472159236)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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Other editions
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Person
Ace Atkins is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author who started his writing career as a crime beat reporter in Florida. Don't Let the Devil Ride is his thirtieth novel. His previous novels include eleven books in the Quinn Colson series and multiple true-crime novels based on infamous crooks and killers. In 2010, he was chosen by Robert B. Parker's family to continue the iconic Spenser series, adding ten novels to the franchise. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his family.