Books › Devil to pay
Devil to pay
First published 1991 · 192 pages
A feverish journey into the New Zealand wilderness turns into a tense battle of wills behind locked doors.
What it feels like
Reading this novel feels like waking up from a fever dream into a high-stakes standoff. The narrative moves at a brisk, urgent pace, mirroring the protagonist's initial desperate push from Auckland to the rugged Coromandel peninsula. Once the setting shifts to an isolated country estate, the mood pivots from delirious determination to claustrophobic tension. The story thrives on the friction of forced proximity, trapping a fiercely independent, spirited wildlife photographer in a web of secrecy and control. It is a dramatic, character-driven clash of wills that leans heavily into the suspense of unexpected captivity. Readers who appreciate vintage fiction where rugged New Zealand landscapes collide with intense, locked-door interpersonal dynamics will find themselves entirely swept up in this tense, atmospheric standoff.
- Mood
- feverish
- suspenseful
- isolated
- Tone
- dramatic
- spirited
- tense
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- forced proximity · clash of wills · unexpected captivity · professional dedication
- The writing
- Dramatic and urgent, focusing heavily on the immediate friction of clashing personalities and sudden confinement.
- The arc
- Moves from feverish, desperate determination to a tense, claustrophobic battle of wills.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love vintage suspense and forced-proximity narratives set against rugged, isolated backdrops.
Content notes
- illness/fever
- confinement/captivity
About the book
Cressida Cross was anything but disciplined
Except when it came to her work as a wildlife photographer. Behind a camera she was utterly dedicated, meeting all her deadlines regardless of the job's difficulties.
So it wasn't surprising that despite the onset of a high fever, she left Auckland determined to reach Coromandel. But it was a disastrous idea--and when Cressy came out of her delirium she found herself at Devlin Connell's country estate.
Unfortunately, she'd interrupted a top-secret meeting and Dev wasn't about to let her loose to spill the beans....
Description from Open Library.
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