Book guide
Before the Devil Knows You're Here
A poet follows a crimson bird into a cursed wilderness to rescue her brother from the terrifying Man of Sap.
Genre and trope pairingsFantasyRetellingFantasyQuestDark FantasyRetellingDark FantasyCursed magicDark FantasyDemon pactGothic FantasyRetellingGothic FantasyFamily curseGothic FantasyDark magicYoung AdultSelf-discoveryYoung AdultRetellingYoung AdultComing of ageHistoricalRetellingHorrorGhostsHorrorFolk horrorHorrorFamily curse
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About Before the Devil Knows You're Here
Wisconsin, 1836. After illness kills her father, Catalina watches a bark-skinned stranger abduct her brother and vanish into the forest. Armed with her father’s knife and guided by a crimson-winged bird, she joins a young lumberjack hunting the same creature. Their journey through strange beasts and tormented spirits reveals that Catalina’s family is bound to the Man of Sap by a curse planted long ago.
Reading signals
- Spice
- None
- Darkness
- Dark
- Pacing
- Fast
Content warnings
- death
- death of a parent
- body horror
- animal death
- gore
- violence
- cursing
- suicide
- blood
- injury
- racism
- poisoning
- child kidnapping
