DEVIL'S BEST TRICK: A History of Evil

Part true crime story, part religious and literary history, an investigation to the nature of evil and the figure of the Devil by an acclaimed journalist. How we explain the evils of the world, and the darkest parts of ourselves, has preoccupied humans throughout history. Sullivan investigates historical, religious and cultural conceptions of evil, from Biblical times to European witch hunts to the devil-worshipping 'Black Mass' ceremony. He travels to Mexico to participate in the 'Hour of the Witches', an annual ceremony in which hundreds of people congregate in the jungle south of Vera Cruz to negotiate terms with El Diablo. He takes us through the most famous exorcism in American history and delivers original reporting on the shocking story of a small town in Texas that, in 1988, unravelled into paranoia and panic after a 17 year-old boy was found hanging from a tree and rumours about Satanic worship and cults flourished. Nimble and expertly researched, the book brilliantly melds cultural and historical commentary with a suspenseful true-crime narrative. "The prose has wonderful momentum even when he's writing about arcane debates in the early Christian church. Each chapter is a turn, a surprise." A book to intrigue both sceptics and true believers about whether the devil does exist. It looks at exorcisms and atrocities in recent times including the capture and rape of Catholic nuns in Bosnia and apparitions of the Virgin Mary. 333 pages.