The Devil’s Only Friend

Wells returns to his supernatural-tinged exploration of serial-killer psychology via 17-year-old sociopath John Wayne Cleaver in this thrilling sequel to 2011’s I Don’t Want to Kill You. John works with a group of demon-hunting FBI agents and their advisors, all of whom have relocated to the Midwestern town of Fort Bruce in pursuit of evil metahumans called Withered. John’s Withered-possessed friend and possible love interest, Brooke Watson, has been deposited in an assisted living center in Fort Bruce for safekeeping; when she reports another Withered in town, events escalate, with the hunters soon becoming the hunted. Top-notch writing and well-structured suspense elements keep the story moving briskly as John tries to manage his baser instincts, his emotions (or lack thereof) for Brooke, and the comic relief of unexpectedly becoming a dog owner. (June)