Book Review: I Saw The Devil’s Face by Teresa Giglio

“Joe Kalady was a profoundly corrupt, truly amoral individual all his life. I’ve done some research about his crimes that

didn’t involve me, but I know I’ve only made a small dent.”

Teresa Giglio, I Saw The Devil’s Face

Review:

I don’t think I’ve ever read a more personal account of trauma before, at least not this on this level. Teresa Giglio’s writing style is personal, making it feel like a rapport between author and reader has already been established.

The name Kalady rings familiar to me, but I didn’t know anything beyond that until reading this book. Along with the author’s personal (and horrific) experience, we get a look at this monster parading as human and the crimes he committed and got away with for far too long. The memoir portion gives a general idea of the abuse and endangerment that was going on during the author’s childhood but states specifically in the beginning that she will refrain from going into the gory details. While there are still moments that paint a gruesome picture, I appreciated the plea for privacy. Many of the names have been changed as well.

I Saw The Devil’s Face: My Life With Joseph Michael Kalady is the first in a proposed series and is a great start as well as a standalone. If you are a fan of true crime, this book is an exceptional read. 

A huge thanks to the author for sending me a free digital ARC to read and review!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• The natural narration. The writing wasn’t polished to be an official-sounding memoir. It has a very human voice.
• Keeping the victims and other’s involved’s identities private.
• Keeping the details to a minimum. One thing I worry about reading memoirs like this is reading depictions of abuse in step-by-step detail. The gist is presented here, and there’s no lack of horror in the thoughts.

What I didn’t like:

• Not a huge quip, but the ‘may or may not be written’ mention of future books. However, I do understand not wanting to make promises that might not be kept (especially when writing such heavy topics), so this is ultimately the better route than waiting indefinitely.

Afterthoughts:

Though I’m sure it can be assumed by now, I want to include a content warning. This book contains mentions and depictions of child abuse in several forms. I have a more detailed list in my StoryGraph review if you want to investigate further. While I personally found most of it moderate, others may feel differently.

Where to buy the book: