He's the Devil
Will be published approx. on 12. February 2026
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-00-873286-8 (ISBN)
Description
'MAGNETIC, CLAUSTROPHOBIC, WICKEDLY ALIVE' LUCY ROSE, AUTHOR OF THE LAMB
'IF STEPHEN KING, OTTESSA MOSHFEGH AND JOHN WATERS HAD A BABY - ITS THIS BRILLIANT BOOK' JODIE HARSH
'HORNY. GORY. RELATABLE.' KIRSTY LOGAN
FLATMATES ARE HELL...
'Massimo lived here now. And things had begun to happen. Sounds, smells, dreams. A private horror show. A usurper in my ordered world...'
Simon has always been a good boy. He's invariably employee of the month at the seasonal small plates restaurant where he works, he neurotically tidies his home, he keeps on top of repairs on behalf of his twenty-something, permanently-abroad landlord and tries to do right by everyone. But when his best and only friend, Josh, moves out of their shared flat, Simon is lonelier than ever - until in moves a new flatmate, the strange (and strangely sexy) Massimo.
But Massimo's brought something with him. Odd sounds emerge from Massimo's room, smells of earth and meat drift through the corridor and Simon's nights fill with disturbing and tantalising dreams. Massimo is awakening something in Simon, something wild and exciting and horrifying that could be the end of him - or maybe a new beginning. But whatever's in Massimo, whatever's in the flat, isn't finished. It wants more ...
He's the Devil is a wickedly funny, chillingly suspenseful modern day horror story, painfully relatable to anyone who has ever had to share their living space with someone they'd honestly just rather not share it with.
'IF STEPHEN KING, OTTESSA MOSHFEGH AND JOHN WATERS HAD A BABY - ITS THIS BRILLIANT BOOK' JODIE HARSH
'HORNY. GORY. RELATABLE.' KIRSTY LOGAN
FLATMATES ARE HELL...
'Massimo lived here now. And things had begun to happen. Sounds, smells, dreams. A private horror show. A usurper in my ordered world...'
Simon has always been a good boy. He's invariably employee of the month at the seasonal small plates restaurant where he works, he neurotically tidies his home, he keeps on top of repairs on behalf of his twenty-something, permanently-abroad landlord and tries to do right by everyone. But when his best and only friend, Josh, moves out of their shared flat, Simon is lonelier than ever - until in moves a new flatmate, the strange (and strangely sexy) Massimo.
But Massimo's brought something with him. Odd sounds emerge from Massimo's room, smells of earth and meat drift through the corridor and Simon's nights fill with disturbing and tantalising dreams. Massimo is awakening something in Simon, something wild and exciting and horrifying that could be the end of him - or maybe a new beginning. But whatever's in Massimo, whatever's in the flat, isn't finished. It wants more ...
He's the Devil is a wickedly funny, chillingly suspenseful modern day horror story, painfully relatable to anyone who has ever had to share their living space with someone they'd honestly just rather not share it with.
Reviews / Votes
'He's the Devil hums with menace. It's magnetic, claustrophobic, and wickedly alive. Charged with unease and darkly disarming humour, it's a story that creeps beneath the skin' Lucy Rose, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamb'A truly revolting masterpiece. Disgusting, depraved, poetic...and impossible to put down. If Stephen King, Ottessa Mosfegh and John Waters had a baby - it's this brilliant book.' Jodie Harsh, author of You Had to Be There
'Horny. Gory. Relatable.' Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark
'Written in prose so electric it crackles, this propulsive, sexy, and whip-smart. Don't read it before bed - it will scorch your dreams.' Hester Musson, bestselling author of The Beholders
'A poetic, razor-sharp, and weirdly tender gig-economy cri de coeur. He's the Devil is for anyone who's ever been lonely or anyone who's ever been bad-which is to say, all of us.' Krystelle Bamford, author of Idle Grounds
'Campy, deliciously gross and visceral. Tobi Coventry makes us question if there's something irresistibly depraved lurking within all of us.' Ahana Virdi, Sour Fruit
'Filthy, feral, and irresistibly queer. An ecstatic plunge into blood, sweat, and desire. This is gay longing at its most grotesque and delicious: a darkly sexy, blood-slick fever dream you won't want to wash off.' Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal
'A wonderfully discomfiting materialist fable about loneliness, disgust, and desire - hot, heady stuff!' Avery Curran, author of Spoiled Milk
'Deliciously dark and slyly funny. A tale that is, at its heart, about loneliness and seeking connection, but cleverly packaged in a wickedly weird, spine-tingling ride. A debut you won't soon forget.' Marisa Kashino, author of Best Offer Wins
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 42 mm
Weight
505 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-873286-8 (9780008732868)
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
Person
Tobi Coventry is a renowned book-to-film scout and the founder and Director of Dialogue Scouting. In 2022, he produced a short horror film, Blood Rites, an adaption of a short story by Daisy Johnson. He's the Devil is his first novel.