Chrissy vs. The Devils Pocketbook, by Ross Jeffery

Canadian Correspondent Chrissy discovered the CLASHbooks reprint of Ross Jeffery’s THE DEVIL’S POCKETBOOK on NetGalley and wants to say nice things about it.

THE DEVIL’S POCKETBOOK

Originally Published in 2023

Published with CLASHbooks in August 2026

During the sleepy off-season in the picturesque seaside village of Polperro, Cornwall, Erik and Lara find themselves at the mercy of their grief.  What was to be a time of healing from the loss of their daughter soon turns into a living nightmare when they find a pod floating in the water containing a precious gift from the sea and foolishly decide to take it home.

The Devil’s Pocket Book does a brilliant and unsettling job of combining grief and folk horror in a take of two desperate and grieving parents who will follow a dark path to appease the pain that they feel.

Gut wrenching and visceral Ross Jeffrey does a expert job of telling the story of Erik and Lara, two people grieving both together and separately after their baby daughter is born incompatible with life. They act in ways that are unlikeable and disturbing but also elicit sympathy from the reader.  

Once you start you won’t want to stop turning the pages. The action starts on page one and doesn’t relent until the very end.

Originally published with Dark Lit Press in 2023, The Devil’s Pocketbook gets a well-deserved new release date in August 2026 with CLASHbooks 

If you want to read a deep study in grief, and an unflinching honest tale about how far seemingly normal people will be pushed to appease it, The Devil’s Pocketbook is for you. This isn’t just a book about grief it is also terrifying and gross and disturbing AF.  A highly impressive, picturesque Folk Horror Tale.

I received this book from CLASH books through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Chrissy Winters is a writer who lives surrounded by golden wheat fields and swaying soybeans in rural Ontario, Canada.  A graduate of Simon Fraser University’s The Writers Studio, Chrissy is a wife and mother of three and dog mom of two.  She loves creating characters, reviewing books, film and television and is fueled by exercise and coffee. Connect with her on Instagram @chrissyreadsandwrites.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.