A harrowing, edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller about a queer homeless teen who, in a bid for safety, assumes the identity of a boy who went missing ten years ago... only to find that his new home is anything but a safe haven.
When a runaway teen is arrested for shoplifting, he's desperate not to be sent back to the hyper-religious parents he knows will never accept him. While at the police station, he notices a resemblance to the aged-up photos of Nate Beaumont, a child who went missing ten years ago - and, in a moment of desperation, he takes Nate’s identity in hopes that it will help him make a quick getaway.
Before he can run again, Nate’s family arrives and welcomes him home to a life he never had. As "Nate" watches and waits for his chance to run, he finds that the Beaumonts are nurturing and loving, very different from his own parents.
But soon unsettling things start to happen - vandalism, alarms going off in the middle of the night - and it becomes clear that someone knows "Nate" isn't who he says he is... and that the real Nate wasn't kidnapped, but murdered.
As he starts to unravel the mystery, he gets ever closer to the devil he may know - and learns he might be their next victim.
Better the Devil
Better the Devil | Paperback
Author: Erik J. Brown
ISBN: 9781444973556
Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
Publication Date: 22 Jan 2026
Genre: YA Mystery Thriller - Fiction
Pages: 400
Dimensions: 198 x 129 (mm)
Language: EnglishQueer Men
















