Better the Devil

Regular price €16.99
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A01=Erik J. Brown
all that's left in the world
Author_Erik J. Brown
award winning best selling boy next door nextdoor
boy next door romance
Category=YFCB
Category=YXB
Category=YXHL
dark YA thriller
eq_bestseller
eq_childrens
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_personal-social-topics
eq_teenage-young-adult
found family romance
friends to lovers
Gay romance
gay teen romance
Heartstopper
hidden identities
identity theft mystery
LGBT childhood friends-to-lovers friends to lovers
LGBTQ stolen identity found family brothers kidnap
LGBTQ+ teen suspense
missing person mystery YA
mm romance
murder mystery YA
own voices gritty gripping slow-burn plot twist FBI
ownvoices gritty gripping slow-burn plot twist FBI
psychological suspense YA
queer first love
queer friends to lovers
queer genre mashup
queer joy
queer mayhem
queer suspense romance
queer teen adventure
queer YA
runaway teen thriller
slow-burn thriller
small town secrets
stolen identity thriller
suspenseful LGBTQ+ teen
teen mystery
the only light left burning
true crime obsession
US award-winning bestselling own voices #ownvoices
YA dark romance
YA romance
YA teenage LGBTQ+ gay true crime podcast mystery
YA thriller
YA true crime
Young adult teen queer murder thriller mm romance
young adult thriller

Product details

  • ISBN 9781444973556
  • Weight: 283g
  • Dimensions: 128 x 196mm
  • Publication Date: 22 Jan 2026
  • Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
  • Publication City/Country: GB
  • Product Form: Paperback
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Get ready for queer mayhem in this gritty psychological thriller filled with stolen identity, true crime and first love, from the bestselling author of All That's Left in the World. For fans of One of Us Is Lying, The Reappearance of Rachel Price and They Both Die at the End.

Desperate to escape a family who will never accept him, a queer runaway in police custody borrows the identity of a boy who vanished years ago: Nate Beaumont. But when Nate's family come to take him home, he's trapped in a web of lies.

Then he meets Miles - the cute, clever and true-crime obsessed boy next door - who knows more than it seems. Unexpectedly, Miles agrees to help, in exchange for uncovering the truth about what happened years ago to his childhood best friend. As their investigation turns dangerous, their feelings turn real.

Time is running out.
They don't know who to trust.
And someone is watching who wants to keep this case cold.

Will they find the missing boy . . . or will they find each other?

---

"Brimming with darkness and suspense, each page of Better the Devil ramps up on a slow, creeping dread until the explosive, incredibly tense climax. A smart, sinister book that also explores themes of self-acceptance and identity - I flew through it"
- Ravena Guron, author of This Book Kills

"Twisty, thrilling, unputdownable - Better the Devil will grip you, break your heart, and make you constantly look over your shoulder."
- David Fenne, author of Overemotional

Erik J. Brown wrote this book. Despite his inability to write a compelling author bio, Erik was selected as a 2021 Lambda Literary Emerging Writers Fellow. When not writing genre-blending books for young adults, he enjoys traveling and embarking on the relentless quest of appeasing his Shiba Inu. He lives in Philadelphia with his husband. Find him online: erikjbrown.com, TikTok @erikjbrown and Instagram @erikjb.

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