The Demonologist - by Andrew Pyper (Paperback)

About the Book

"Simon & Schuster fiction original hardcover."

Book Synopsis

Fans of The Historian won't be able to put down this spellbinding literary horror story in which a Columbia professor must use his knowledge of demonic mythology to rescue his daughter from the Underworld.

Professor David Ullman is among the world's leading authorities on demonic literature, with special expertise in Milton's Paradise Lost. Not that David is a believer--he sees what he teaches as a branch of the imagination and nothing more. So when the mysterious Thin Woman arrives at his office and invites him to travel to Venice and witness a "phenomenon," he turns her down. She leaves plane tickets and an address on his desk, advising David that her employer is not often disappointed.

That evening, David's wife announces she is leaving him. With his life suddenly in shambles, he impulsively accepts the Thin Woman's invitation to Venice, bringing along his beloved twelve-year-old daughter, Tess. His daughter has recently been stricken by the same melancholy moods David knows too well, and he hopes to cheer her up and distract them both from the troubles at home. But what happens in Venice will change everything.

At the address provided by the Thin Woman, David finds a man restrained in a chair, muttering, clearly insane. But when the man speaks clearly in the voice of David's dead father, repeating the last words he ever spoke to his son--words that have left scars, and a mystery, behind--he's forced to confront his skepticism. Is this man truly possessed?

When David rushes back to the hotel, he discovers Tess perched on the roof's edge, high above the waters of the Grand Canal. Before she falls, she manages to utter a final plea: Find me.

What follows is an unimaginable journey for David, from skeptic to true believer. In a terrifying quest guided by symbols and riddles from the pages of Paradise Lost, David must track the demon that has captured his daughter and discover its name. If he fails, he will lose Tess forever.

Review Quotes

"A chilling exploration of how we all have to do battle with our own demons."-- "Mail on Sunday (UK), Thriller of the Week"

"A chilling novel for readers who like their horror presented with literary flair."-- "Fort Worth Star-Telegram"

"A fast-paced Exorcist-meets-Da Vinci Code."-- "Maclean's (Canada)"

"A mesmerizing and melancholy narrative voice lends chilling credibility to this exceptional supernatural thriller."-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

"A road tour of American-Gothic grotesquery. Effective, literate, nightmarish."-- "The Sunday Telegraph (UK)"

"In the sly, creepy and often-horrific The Demonologist, Andrew Pyper knows how to get under the skin of even the most rational reader."-- "Columbus Dispatch"

"It's impossible to ignore the devils and demons who have a tangible presence in this story, but the novel's deeper pleasure comes from the analysis Ullman applies to these horrors . . . Bring on the devils."-- "The New York Times Book Review"

"Mesmerizing . . . The plot zigs and zags. Coincidences turn into horrors. Appearances deceive. This novel will haunt you relentlessly."-- "Providence Journal"

"Part horror, part thriller, all page-turner . . . The Demonologist has all the twisting excitement of a Dan Brown novel, and all the lurid, gory violence of a Stieg Larsson."-- "The Globe and Mail (Canada)"

"Plenty of books claim to be scary, but this is genuinely terrifying, don't-read-late-at-night stuff. Thrilling, compelling and beautifully written, The Demonologist makes Rosemary's Baby feel like a walk in the park."--S.J. Watson "New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go To Sleep"

"Pyper is an intelligent writer, steeped in Miltonian symbolism, gifted with language . . . This artful literary exploration of evil's manifestation makes for a sophisticated horror tale."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Smart, thrilling, and utterly unnerving. Pyper's gift is that he deeply respects his readers, yet still insists on reducing them to quivering children. I like that in a writer."--Gillian Flynn "#1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl"

"The evil of Milton's pandemonium comes to life . . . Pyper's novel takes on "things that go bump in the brain" and delivers a stirring entry in the supernatural thriller genre."-- "Booklist"

"The intellectual's Stephen King, Pyper lifts a tale of the impossible to the realm of waking nightmare."-- "CurledUp.com"

"This book is going to be big, and it's going to be popular, and it absolutely deserves to be both of these things. You should buy it, and read it, and let it scare you stupid."-- "The National Post (Canada)"

About the Author

Andrew Pyper (1968-2025) was the internationally bestselling author of fourteen novels, including The Homecoming, The Only Child, The Damned, and The Demonologist, which won the International Thriller Writers award for Best Hardcover Novel, as well as The Killing Circle, which was selected a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year. He lived in Toronto with his family.