
Better the Devil
get ready for queer mayhem in the dark psychological thriller from the bestselling author of All That's Left in the World
Erik J. Brown(Author)
Hodder Children's Books (Publisher)
Published on 22. January 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-4449-7355-6 (ISBN)
Description
The Reappearance of Rachel Price meets They Both Die at the End in this gripping queer thriller filled with stolen identity, true crime and first love, from the bestselling author of All That's Left in the World.
Desperate to escape conversion therapy, a queer sixteen-year-old runaway steals the identity of a missing boy. But when Nathaniel Beaumont's family come to take him home, 'Nate' is trapped in a web of lies.
Then he meets Miles - the cute, clever and true-crime-obsessed boy next-door - and his cover is blown. Rather than turn him in, Miles agrees to help 'Nate' in exchange for exposing the truth about what happened to his childhood friend.
But as their investigation turns dangerous and their feelings turn real, time is running out to discover why Nathaniel Beaumont disappeared. . . and who might want to keep it that way.
Desperate to escape conversion therapy, a queer sixteen-year-old runaway steals the identity of a missing boy. But when Nathaniel Beaumont's family come to take him home, 'Nate' is trapped in a web of lies.
Then he meets Miles - the cute, clever and true-crime-obsessed boy next-door - and his cover is blown. Rather than turn him in, Miles agrees to help 'Nate' in exchange for exposing the truth about what happened to his childhood friend.
But as their investigation turns dangerous and their feelings turn real, time is running out to discover why Nathaniel Beaumont disappeared. . . and who might want to keep it that way.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hachette Children's Group
Target group
Young adult
Interest Age: From 14 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
280 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4449-7355-6 (9781444973556)
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.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Erik J. Brown
Better the Devil
get ready for queer mayhem in the gritty psychological thriller from the bestselling author of All That's Left in the World
E-Book
01/2026
Hodder Children's Books
€5.99
Available for download
Person
Erik J. Brown wrote this book. Despite his inability to write a compelling author bio, Erik was selected as a 2021 Lambda Literary Emerging Writers Fellow. When not writing genre-blending books for young adults, he enjoys traveling and embarking on the relentless quest of appeasing his Shiba Inu. He lives in Philadelphia with his husband. Find him online: erikjbrown.com, TikTok @erikjbrown and Instagram @erikjb.