Devil Books In Order

Publication Order of The Devil Books

Devil is a series of horror novels written by a bestselling American author of historical fiction, horror, mystery and thrillers books, William W. Johnstone. Johnstone started his Devil series in 1981 when The Devil’s Kiss, the first book in the series was published. The series ran five novels concluding in 1992 when The Devil’s Laughter, was released.

William W. Johnstone was born and raised in Southern Missouri. He was the youngest of four children, and rose with strong family and moral values by his minister father and well tutored by his schoolteacher mother. Johnstone was kicked out of the French Foreign Legion simply because he was underage and instead joined the carnival. Worked as a sheriff, also in the military and also as a radio broadcaster- where he worked daily thanks to his storytelling skills for the next two and half decades on the air. Most of Johnstone’s knowledge about the early frontier began from listening to family experiences narrated by his grandparents. The authors love for animals is displayed in many of his novels as well as finding Malamutes and Huskies roaming freely in his home. Johnstone has written over 200 books in different genres including, suspense, action, western, horror and science fiction.

The Devil’s Kiss

William W. Johnstone devoted most of his time to writing and had to wait for ten years before his first book was published. However, reading The Devil’s Kiss, the first novel in Devil series, one would think that it was more like ten minutes. However, how could this be possible, probably, because Johnstone debut novel triggered a stream of dozens of books published over the next two decades until his death in 2004 with the author still being published posthumously?

The publication of The Devil’s Kiss also marked the beginning of unnumbered, untitled series with similar plots over and over again- The Nursery which was not a part of the Devil series. However, it would appear that most of Johnstone’s horror stories feature similar plots. However, if the formula worked excellently for him, was there a need to alter the plotlines?

Narrated in just 448 pages, The Devil’s Kiss is mainly comprised of brief but vivid detailing of the sleazy mischiefs of a group of Satanists, laden dialog exchanges, sadism and out of nowhere flashes of sex.

Unlike The Nursery, (a horror novel by Johnstone that features the same plotline), The Devil’s Kiss has all the features of a good horror story. The book took place in 1958, and there are occasional mentions of the Korean War and feature the main character named Reverend Sam Balon. He was a part of an experimental UNPIK base in Korea, which eventually was transformed into Special Forces.

In a backstory, it is revealed that Sam relocated to Whitfield, a small town in Nebraska at the request of his super sexy wife, Michelle who demanded that he take this particular church house from the list that was offered to him. However, over the next few months, Sam notices darkness seeping into the small hamlet of Whitefield- to be exact a rapid decline in church attendance in the small town.

Yes, the drastic decline in the church attendance is a significant concern. Then there is Black Wilder, the chief professor supervising the digging of an ancient sculpture near Tyson’s Lake. However, the truth is that Wilder is indeed an agent of the devil, and he is thousands of years old. What he has brought with him is servants and basically turned the whole town over to the devil.

One of Wilder’s accomplices is Michelle Balot, wife to Sam who is also revealed to be ancient. However, Sam has growing feelings for a local blonde named Jane Burke. Jane is intensely hooked to the preacher and so does Sam feel for her, but keeps resisting the sense for he is married and that he is also a preacher.

Then there is Father Dubois and Reverend Lucas- men who actually fought the devil many years back and they also impart their wisdom to Sam and help him fight the devil.

The Devil’s Kiss is a tightly written, fast-paced horror novel with lots of graphic sexual situations, violence, and gore. The main character is Reverend Sam, a man who is not afraid to use his fists that also fast with his brain department also. The villain is the devil himself, and thus the battle that exists in this story is one between good versus evil and the stage being a Whitfield, Nebraska.

The Devil’s Cat

The Devil’s Cat is book four in The Devil series by William W. Johnstone. The small town was alive with them, all kinds of cats, from the white, black, scrawny and fat- they lived in the backyards, streets and in the swamps of Becancour. Nydia, Sam, and Little Sam had never seen so many cats in their life, and the cat’s eyes were glowing slits as the carefully watched the newcomers, and their furry tails were steadily switching back and forth.

The small town was ripe with pure evil, and it seemed to waft in from the swamps. Soon Nydia and Sam would battle the forces of evil or be engulfed by it forever.

Sam Balon, his beloved wife Nydia and their young son, Little Sam move into the small town of Becancour, Louisiana, but before they arrive in the small isolated village, Nydia stops Sam and tells him to allow a significant, mixed breed dog in their car with them.

As for the small town, things have never changed in the last half a decade, and no one seems surprised. Strange enough, there are no signs of dog’s just cats and lots of cats. Additionally, the local folks for several months appeared to be changing- slowly changing.

Moreover, the cops are finding butchered sheep and dogs… could this be devil worshipping? Plus some mysterious people have moved into the former Dorgenois mansion, where locals claim it is haunted and tragedy had happened to past residents. This is precisely what the Balons discover- they rent a house out of the small town and settle in- waiting for the battle between good and evil, between the Heavens and Hell.