SOLVED. Call out for H E L P especially for Brit readers of literary fiction; The Devil You Know [s]

[Odessa]

HELP! Once I stumbled into this novel, which somehow caught my attention but I had to let go of the copy before I could do anything with it. The novel was set in contemporary England suburb, or even country side, published originally in the UK by the British author although it was hardly recognized in the U.S. It was categorized as literary fiction.

The clue of this novel:

1) It opens with the proverb 'the devil you know is better than devil you don't know.'

2) the author was a Brit male white, bespectacled, who might be in his 50's--but I am clueless here, really--, seemingly well recognized by some more titles he had already published in his career.

3) the novel was released in the latter 2000's as 2007-2008 in the US but it could go back to even earlier in the UK release.

4) the plot of the novel according to the back cover was a middle aged solitary man in the suburb of England tried to help a daughter of the man who once tortured him back when they were both in school. Now after the horrible death of the torturer-- murdered with his house burnt down, something as gruesome as that--, the man felt genuinely compelled to put the daughter under his wing out of empathy plus some hope to overcome his own trauma. And the two--the daughter of the deceased and his once captive--face an abysmal consequence of this unlikely bond.

5) the book was paperback edition in design of a gray and yellow color combination.

Unfortunately I had to sell the copy before I took enough information down, let alone reading it enough, to seek this mystery book out.

I joined this community simply because I wanted to reunite with this title and hopefully would read it cover to cover this time. If anyone could fill me in on the long lost book title--and/or the author--, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Kris]

Odessa, can you describe the daughter?
What about her mother?

What initially happens between the daughter and the middle-aged man? How do they get along?

What's the man's occupation?

[[deleted user]]

The Ocean at the End of the Lane?

[Odessa]

Thank you two.

To Kris

Unfortunately I can't answer because I am clueless regarding such details.

To Six

I checked the title and it turned out not the one. The book was by the author apparently way less popular than Gaiman.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

Was it in the Felix Castor series maybe? The first book was Devil you know but that wasn't the plot. It was British based writing though The Devil You Know

[Odessa]

Even from my vague memory, the title did not contain any word from the saying--devil or anything--. It was quoted just in the beginning of the novel.

The book seemed to be treated as any literary fiction would be: obscurely, if critically acclaimed. It was not in sequence, either.

[Odessa]

Call out again, especially Brit readers! Since ten days' no luck, I would scream out loud. H E L P with this thread!

[Kaion]

30 days is the minimum bump period. Please don't shout at us.

[Tab]

The details are a little bit different, but otherwise The Devil's Footprints: A Novel fits well.

The "devil know you better" quote also appears at the beginning of the book.

[Odessa]

Tab

Yay, you totally helped me out and voila! This was exactly the book. Funny how my memories fabricated the details of the book. I will rush to the local library and order the title.

Kaion

I absolutely did not know that I was shouting at you. But the answer came right after your raising the thread up, so I might as well thank you for your comment, too. It was totally worth it now that it is resolved.

[Tab]

Glad you found your book :)