Smart as the Devil

Felice Picano's first three novels were thrillers reflecting their time, echoing the best of Stephen King and Peter Blatty. Smart as the Devil was nominated for the first P.E.N. Ernest Hemingway Award for a new novel and became a book club choice. The notion of "the bad seed" was explored in various novels and films.

The confounding, implacable rages of Nicholas De Luca, a young, handsome, articulate teenager, had become a problem; Darien, CT schoolboard psychologist Peter Mazur is brought in. Nicholas resides in a sedate country home, with a nearby lake, a mother who coddled him, and a housekeeper who tolerates him. Sucked into their hidden emotional vortex, Peter soon becomes part of the drama: who controls whom? With the sudden, suspicious death of Nicholas's male friend, the mysteries deepen. Nicholas takes on the personality of Christopher Darling, a 16th century figure from the witch trials; the boy grows stronger, more dominant daily. When Peter brings in a recruit, his retired mentor from college, the game is almost up: only one personality can survive. Right up to the final climax, Peter is still asking himself: dual-personality? a case of possession? Or pure evil ...

This new edition is accompanied by an afterword by the author.