Author: Chris Hauty

Publisher: Emily Bestler Books

ISBN: 9781982175887

When a Supreme Court justice is murdered and a second one threatened, a covert operative is sent to protect the justice who is still alive. As the operative deals with her own challenges, however, she’ll be pushed to her limits both physically and emotionally, all while trying to prove to herself that she still has what it takes to serve her country. Author Chris Hauty brings back fearless agent Hayley Chill in the fourth book in the series with a plot that is streamlined and delivers on every single front in The Devil You Know.

Hayley Chill always thought, with good reason, that she was unstoppable. After all, she was the first operative handpicked by Publius, the deeper state organization that holds the true power and is always working to set America’s course back to fairness and justice. She’s former military and a highly trained, highly skilled kickboxer. She’s done everything her country has asked of her, including stopping plots with deep roots in white supremacy and saving presidents.

But even the best hit a limit. After three personal tragedies in quick succession, Hayley is done with Publius and everyone in it. She just wants to spend the rest of her days in an alcohol-induced buzz where she coasts as the world goes by. She’s already lost too much to the deeper state organization. Now she figures she should spend a little time losing herself and see how that feels.

In Washington D.C., a Supreme Court justice welcomes one of his bodyguards into his home on Christmas Eve only to be murdered by him. The bodyguard then kills himself, shocking the world and the intelligence community. Why would the bodyguard, a loyal man by all counts, kill the justice? Was the bodyguard coerced? Disgruntled?

Even as the top minds in law enforcement scramble to get answers, chatter comes through that another justice is in danger. Justice Anita Fisher has a home in Maui and is planning to marry her long-time journalist boyfriend at the house. Publius knows there’s only one person who can protect Justice Fisher; they’ll just have to crawl into a bottle to fish her out first.

With the greatest of reluctance, Hayley goes to Hawaii and lands on the day that 18 schoolchildren are kidnapped right off their bus. One of the U.S. marshals on the case gets a text from a cryptic number. It says that if the families want to see their children again, then Justice Fisher needs to be killed, too. 

Hayley fields two cases at once: get the kids home and keep Justice Fisher safe. The pull of alcohol is strong, though, even here, thousands of miles away from her life. As the need to drink battles her faint-but-returning sense of duty, Hayley realizes she’ll have to dig deeper than she ever has before. That’s the only place she’ll find the answers to her own problems, the rescue and protection missions, and herself again.

Author Chris Hauty’s screenwriting skills are on full display in this latest Hayley Chill book. For the first time since the start of the series, readers will see Hayley succumbing to her weaknesses. The change in character, albeit somewhat temporary, is still a surprise and a welcome one. Showing a protagonist who is unstoppable time and time again can give a character a one-dimensional feeling after a point. Hauty’s careful detailing in previous books leads the way to Hayley’s unraveling here, making her more relatable and human.

Even as she starts to fall apart, however, she’s still Hayley Chill. She’s still able to run faster and harder than most others, and even though she’s knocked off balance, her sense of right and wrong isn’t. This latest book gives readers the opportunity to get to know Hayley better with the comfort that eventually she’ll come back around and save the day, not because she’s fond of showing off heroics, but because it’s the right thing to do.

The novel feels much more streamlined than previous books, keeping the action contained (mostly) to the Hawaiian island. In his trademark style, Hauty gives readers brief glimpses into the lives of all the most important secondary characters along the way. For other writers, this might cause boring back story or information dumps. Hauty has made it his signature move with the Hayley Chill books, and it works every time.

Those eagerly awaiting Hayley’s next adventures will find the wait worth it. Those new to the series should get all of the novels, including this one, and start reading right away. I recommend readers Binge The Devil You Know by Chris Hauty.