I Shot the Devil by Ruth McIver

Publisher's Synopsis

Erin Sloane was sixteen when high school senior Andre Villiers was murdered by his friends. They were her friends, too, led by the intense, charismatic Ricky Hell. Five people went into West Cypress Woods the night Andre was murdered. Only three came out.

Ativan, alcohol and distance had dimmed Erin's memories of that time. But nearly twenty years later, an ageing father will bring her home. Now a journalist, she is asked to write a story about the Southport Three and the thrill-kill murder that electrified the country. Erin's investigation propels her closer and closer to a terrifying truth. And closer and closer to danger.

My Review of I Shot the Devil by Ruth McIver

I Shot the Devil is the debut novel by Ruth McIver and it deals with some of the more confronting issues in today’s society including domestic violence, drug use and self harm. The story is told in part as a 3rd person narrative from the perspective of Erin Sloane, a journalist who is reporting on events in which she was a part. The other parts of the story are told as extracts from a couple of books. 

“Erin Sloane was sixteen when high school senior Andre Villiers was murdered by his friends. They were her friends, too, led by the intense, charismatic Ricky Hell. Five people went into West Cypress Road Woods the night Andre was murdered. Only three came out.”

Erin has been asked to write a story in a local magazine about a 20 year old murder case. It involves 5 youths, all reportedly into drugs and satan worship, who went into the woods one night where two of them died. Her problem with writing the story is that it is way too close to home. In fact, she was involved with one of the guys who died that night.

In dredging up events now referred to as the Southport Three we get a picture of the difficulties she faced at the time. Drug and alcohol abuse as well as family deaths all played a major part in her younger years.

As she begins her interviews her own memories of that night, and the days leading up to it, start to come back. The official story is that one of the five was murdered by another in the group and then a policeman, called to the scene, shot and killed the murderer. From what Erin begins to uncover there may be doubts about what was believed to have happened. It seems that everyone involved is being evasive or is hiding important secrets. By digging further she not only starts to unravel what may have really happened but she also starts to dislodge her own disturbing memories of those days.

But it’s a story that is laboriously revealed and, at times, difficult to follow. It may have had to do with the multiple viewpoints from which it’s told or perhaps through some sense of morbid fear in Erin’s recollection but it certainly didn’t make it easy to read. In fact, I found it a struggle to continue through a good portion of it.

It’s rare that a novel has absolutely no likable characters, particularly one with as many characters as this one, but that’s the case with I Shot the Devil. Not one person for whom I thought, yes, I hope you come out on top. Everyone is either a criminal, psychologically damaged beyond repair or incapable  of showing any true human empathy and this ultimately wore me down.

I had a big problem with this story, apart from its disjointedness. It concerns the inexplicably silly decisions Erin makes while writing her story. She’s clearly being stalked by someone she knows is violent…and tells no one. She arranges a meeting in a quiet, remote location with someone she’s confident is hiding a murder and shows up alone and unarmed. Too, too manufactured by far. And to top things off, she did it a second time? What!?!

Unfortunately, by the time we reached the book’s denouement I had pretty much given up caring and ended up feeling rather underwhelmed.