The Devil You Know

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Synopsis
When Max Geist plans a rugged canoe trip on the rivers of Northern Minnesota, fifteen-year-old David fears that dealing with his father--an opinionated, stubborn, novice outdoorsman--will be the roughest part of their journey. Little does he know that once he enters the unforgiving wilderness his life, and that of his family, will be irrevocably changed. At the start of their trip, David's father and younger sister, Janie, briefly cross paths with a group of men who, unbeknownst to the Geist family, are on the lam. Fearing the family may have learned too much about them, the outlaws decide to track down the unknown man and his daughter and, if need be, silence them. When they find the family's campsite, David is away; he returns to find his father in a life-or-death struggle with one man and his sister being savagely attacked by another. David, extraordinarily strong for his age, saves Max and Janie's lives and, in the process, kills a man. But the second man escapes, and David knows he has a partner . . . and that it is only a matter of time before they come back to finish the job they started. The outlaws become the only predators to fear in the wild as the Geist family is hunted down like animals--and uninjured David is the family's only hope for survival. As they tread through the snow-covered rocky terrain in search of safety, what began as a family bonding trip becomes a test of David's mental and physical limits, a journey into manhood and the responsibilities that come with it. The Devil You Knowcombines the breathtaking intensity of a first-rate literary thriller with the complexity and poignancy of a classic coming-of-age novel. This is a spellbinding suspense novel with heart and soul, a story that will keep you riveted until the very last page.
Copyright:
2004

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9780307421944
Related ISBNs:
9780609609644, 9781400082278
Publisher:
Three Rivers Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Wayne Johnson
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Literature and Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

5 out of 5

By on

I'm a bit of a Bookshare hoarder. I see a book that looks good, and I grab it right away, so I don't forget, and tuck it away for a rainy day, or if the Internet ever crashes or something You know you do it, too. So one day, I was skimming through my stash, and The Devil You Know caught my attention. I figured I'd just read a couple pages to get an idea what it was about ... and promptly read for three hours. Couldn't put it down. Wayne Johnson writes in a quiet voice not unlike Gary Paulsen, gentle but unflinching, as he tells the harrowing story of the Geist family. At fifteen, David has assumed responsibility for his family. His mother, Rachel, who isn't the most mentally stable mom on the block, let's say, and his younger sister, Janie, was adopted out of a presumably traumatic foster-care situation. His father, Max, is the looming shadow over David's life, the man who abused David physically and emotionally, but now wants back into their lives. Max and Rachel have been seeing each other again, and as a good-faith gesture, Max takes David and Janie on a canoe trip in northern Minnesota. David loves the Boundary Waters, knows all about canoeing and camping from his favorite uncle. Max knows almost nothing, but thinks he knows everything. But as they head off on the trip, we can see Max is really trying to show he's learned from the mistakes of the past. Still, David feels he has to tiptoe around him, and every decision has to be weighed carefully, to avoid upsetting the precarious balance. That would be bad enough, but early on, the Geists cross paths with a group of men, ne'er-do-well meatpackers on the run from a possible murder rap. Max, being Max, manages to rub them the wrong way, and the sociopathic Dennis Penry (who appears deceptively simple-minded) snares the other men in his plan for exacting vengeance. What follows his brutal attack on the Geists at their campsite is a grueling biathlon of canoeing and hiking, David now fully responsible for the seriously-injured Max and the traumatized Janie, with Penry and his bunch (who are diminishing in numbers, if you get my meaning) not far behind. Johnson keeps the tension cranked way up throughout the entire book; you can never take a full breath or relax one bit. Next to the lyrical descriptions of nature, the violence is graphic and shocking, but not sensationalistic, and each character, even Penry, is fully realized. This book will suck you in, guaranteed. Read it. I wouldn't steer you wrong.