{"product_id":"the-devils-playground","title":"The Devil's Playground","description":"\u003cp\u003eFROM THE WINNER OF THE 2021 McILVANNEY AWARD COMES ANOTHER GRIPPING, COMPLEX MASTERPIECE . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Russell writes a pacy, ever-twisting mystery that will keep you turning the pages.' \u003cstrong\u003e- Ian Rankin\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'When it comes to Gothic crime, Craig Russell is peerless. Absolutely stunning.' - M W Craven\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFROM CWA DAGGER AND DOUBLE McILVANNEY AWARD WINNER \u003c\/strong\u003eCRAIG RUSSELL \u003cstrong\u003eCOMES ANOTHER DARK, GRIPPING MASTERPIECE . . .\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA dark, riveting thriller set in 1920s Hollywood about \"the greatest horror movie ever made\", the curse said to surround it, and a deadly search, decades later, for the single copy rumoured still to exist.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1927\u003c\/strong\u003e: Hollywood studio fixer Mary Rourke is called to the palatial home of \"the most desirable woman in the world\", silent movie actress Norma Carlton, star of \u003cem\u003eThe Devil's Playground\u003c\/em\u003e. When Rourke finds Carlton dead, she wonders if the dark rumours she's heard are true: that \u003cem\u003eThe Devil's Playground\u003c\/em\u003e really is a cursed production. But nothing in Hollywood is ever what it seems, and cynical fixer Rourke, more used to covering up the truth for studio bosses, finds herself seeking it out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1967\u003c\/strong\u003e: Paul Conway, film historian and fervid silent movie aficionado, is on the trail of a tantalizing rumour: that a single copy of \u003cem\u003eThe Devil's Playground\u003c\/em\u003e-a Holy Grail for film buffs that was supposedly cursed and lost to time-may exist. His search takes him deep into the Mojave Desert, to an isolated hotel that hasn't changed in forty years but harbours only one occupant-and a shocking secret.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeparated by decades, both Rourke and Conway begin to suspect that the real Devil's Playground is in fact Hollywood itself.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePraise for \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eHyde: \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e'\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIntricate...evocative prose enhances a suspenseful and sophisticated plot. This is the rare riff on an influential novel that sticks the landing' Starred Review, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Stephen King meets Robert Louis Stevenson... an imaginative gothic tale guaranteed to send a shiver down your spine the next time you walk a dark Edinburgh night.' - David Hewson, author of \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Garden Of Angels \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Russell delivers a brooding, stunningly atmospheric tale set in Stevenson's Edinburgh - multi-layered and intricately plotted, this is a Gothic thriller from the hands of a master.' - Margaret Kirk, author of \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eShadow Man \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'A deliciously dark reimagining of a timeless character and a wonderful recreation of a gothic Edinburgh . . . Another winner for a consummate storyteller.' - Douglas Skelton \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Gloriously diabolical. A terrifying thrill ride through the hidden chasms of the human soul.' - Chris Brookmyre, author of \u003cem\u003eBlack Widow\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI absolutely adored it. Intense, harrowing and hugely entertaining. Craig Russell conjures the kind of spine-tingling tale that kept me reading through the night. Spectacular. - Chris Whittaker\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'The story is a thrilling ride through the murky depths of madness and horror, written with all Craig's trademark skill and style. Definitely five stars from me' James Oswald\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A Gothic masterpiece which will lead you so far into the darkness that you won't know who to trust. Another splendid offering from a writer who is top of his game. ' - Theresa Talbot\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'An engaging Gothic thriller full of atmosphere and surprises.' - \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eIrish Independent\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for Craig Russell \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA masterclass in suspenseful, character-driven prose fiction. Simply exceptional'\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrank Darabont, writer and director of \u003cem\u003eThe Shawshank Redemption\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Green Mile\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Goldsboro Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47264197443878,"sku":"the-devils-playground","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4900\/5606\/files\/9646b01a-462c-449a-ba27-1dd9098fe7da.jpg?v=1701093983","url":"https:\/\/goldsborobooks.pro\/products\/the-devils-playground","provider":"Goldsboro Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}