REFLECTION

The Devil on My Shoulder is the third and final story in The Whisperers of Temptation: A Short Story Collection.

It follows May Renner, the eldest daughter of her family, whose envy of her younger sister Julie drives her to claim what was never hers. May manipulates her father into arranging her marriage to the man Julie loves, but the union brings only misery. Neglected and unloved, May seeks comfort in George Stankline, her coworker at the newly opened McDonald’s in 1980s Edinburgh.

George gives May the affection she craves, but his devotion turns into obsession. When she refuses to leave her husband for him, George takes a darker path. Desperate, he summons Asmodeus, the demon of desire, who watches with amusement as George yields to the whispers on his shoulder—whispers that lead him to murder in the name of love.