Two-Step Devil – Jamie Quatro

Two-Step Devil follows the unlikely bond between the Prophet, a reclusive seventy-year-old visionary living off the grid in Lookout Mountain, Alabama, and Michael, a teenage girl he rescues from a dire situation. The Prophet, who paints apocalyptic visions, believes Michael is a divine messenger destined to deliver warnings to the highest powers. As their fragile friendship unfolds, the novel explores themes of faith, redemption, and the clash between spiritual calling and human vulnerability.
Quatro’s prose weaves through the perspectives of the Prophet, Michael, and a shadowy devil figure, creating a haunting tapestry of Southern Gothic atmosphere. The story balances raw emotional stakes with philosophical questions about fate, evil, and the possibility of grace in a broken world. Set against a backdrop of kudzu-covered landscapes and rusted Americana, the novel’s tension simmers between tenderness and terror.
The narrative experiments with form, including play-like dialogues and nonlinear storytelling, amplifying its exploration of madness, art, and the weight of belief. Critics praise its lyrical intensity and fearless examination of taboo subjects, comparing Quatro’s style to Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy. At its core, Two-Step Devil is a meditation on how love and faith persist—even when they seem most irrational.
Quatro’s characters are flawed, magnetic, and achingly real. The Prophet’s visions and Michael’s resilience collide in a story that refuses easy answers, instead inviting readers to sit with discomfort and mystery. The novel’s climax lingers, leaving echoes of its questions long after the final page.