The Angel [Mass Market Paperback]

Carla Neggers (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This fanciful thriller from bestseller Neggers (The Widow) starts slowly, but picks up steam once the action moves to Ireland. When Keira Sullivan, a young Boston illustrator and folklorist, decides to travel to Ireland to research a Celtic legend about three brothers battling for a stone angel, she pays no heed to warnings not to go from eccentric antiques collector Victor Sarakis, even after Victor drowns under suspicious circumstances in the Public Garden pond. At a Beacon Hill benefit, Keira fortuitously meets FBI agent and search-and-rescue expert Simon Cahill, who later volunteers to locate Keira after she goes missing in southwest Ireland. When Simon rescues the trapped Keira from an ancient ruin, the stone angel she claims to have found disappears and mysteriously reappears in the United States. Is it magic or the work of a madman? Either way, fans of romantic suspense will be charmed. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Folklorist Keira Sullivan’s love of Irish tales leads her to her family’s homeland in search of one particular legend, that of a stone angel which appears on summer solstice as a harbinger of fate. Exploring an old ruin, she catches a glimpse of the angel before being trapped in a mysterious cave-in. Help arrives in the form of rescue expert Simon Cahill, who is far more concerned about the very real earthly dangers that seem to have followed her. Little things keep this romantic suspense from fully coming together. Secondary plots are interesting but may crowd out Keira and Simon’s romance, leaving their relationship feeling rushed. The questions left about the villain’s motivations and connections to past events don’t provide satisfying closure. The lore entwined in the story, however, is intriguing, giving just enough otherworldly flavor without turning away those who aren’t big paranormal fans; and readers will find themselves anxiously going forward to find out how the mystery unfolds. --Nina C. Davis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Mira; Reprint edition (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 077832608X
• ISBN-13: 978-0778326083
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 60 novels, including SAINT'S GATE, the first in her new Sharpe & Donovan series, and SECRETS OF THE LOST SUMMER. Her work has been translated into two dozen languages. Carla is a founding member of the New England Chapter of Romance Writers of America and has served as president of Novelists, Inc. and vice president of International Thriller Writers.

Born and raised in western Massachusetts, Carla started writing at age eleven, when she'd climb a tree with pad and pen and perch on her favorite branch to spin stores. When she isn't writing, she enjoys kayaking, hiking, cross-country skiing and traveling. Carla and her husband, Joe Jewell, live on a hilltop in Vermont, not far from picturesque Quechee Gorge.

For more information and to contact Carla, visit her Web site: www.CarlaNeggers.com. You can also find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/carlaneggers or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/carlaneggers.

Photo credit: Julie Ireland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb storytelling, May 6, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Angel (Hardcover)

In Boston elderly Patsy McCarthy entertains folklorist Keira Sullivan with his lyrical tales of a stone angel in Eire. Unable to resist the magical lure and ignoring the warning of antiques collector Victor Sarakis not to meddle, Keira travels to the Emerald Isle to learn more about the Celtic legend. Before crossing the pond, Keira meets FBI agent Simon Cahill who is working a serial murder case.

In Ireland, Keira follows clues to an ancient ruin where she thinks she glimpsed the stone angel only to have the place cave in on her. Simon who followed her after the murder of Patsy and Victor finds her. Whereas she thinks someone tried to kill her, he has doubts. Neither is cynical about their feelings for one another, but when the angel reappears allegedly in the United States, Simon and Keira wonder if a psychopath is at work or something more supernaturally capricious.

This strong romantic suspense grips readers from the moment Patsy tells about the legend to an engrossed Keira and never slows down on the Irish coast as the audience and the lead couple wonder if the culprit is human or paranormal. The romance feels right as the mystery is the center behind this fabulous thriller in which Carla Neggers keeps her fans guessing what the killer is.

Harriet Klausner
Superb storytelling

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At her best!, April 23, 2008

By 

Ned Wynne - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Angel (Hardcover)

This may be Carla Neggers best to date. The characters are real and riveting, the plot exciting and intriguing. The story moves along quickly and engages the reader from the beginning. You find yourself caught up in the suspense and moving along with the characters, especially Keira and Simon, as they try to unravel the mystery of the stone angel and its connections to an evil killer. But they are not the only ones who matter to you as you find yourself wanting to know more about the other characters as well: Abigail Browning and Owen Garrison, Bob O'Reilly and his family, just to name some of them. And you find yourself caught in the intrigue and mystery that surrounds the angel as well and the Irish folktales and countryside in which it appears. Neggers never tips her hand and shows her strengths in this magical suspense-laden story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars the story line sounds intriquing, but..., June 9, 2009

By 

Anna Belvue "book nut" (Winder, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Angel (Mass Market Paperback)

the following reasons are why I gave this book only three stars. I became somewhat frustrated with the excrutiating detail of some of the character histories and not enough detail with other characters, for example, "Scoop". There was no clear explanation of how he came to be involved with the main characters in the story. It seemed he just appeared. Motivation for the murders was vague and the murder from 30 years ago and the ones to date in the story did not seem to tie together as the author intended. A few characters the author left hanging. For instance, the mysterious man at the pub and Keira's father. I kept reading this book hoping I would at least enjoy learning about Ireland and some of the folklore. It was boring, to say the least. I think, as usual, in Carla Neggers' novels, too many details are crammed into one story and the main plot becomes fuzzy. I tend to begin reading her books because the plot sounds interesting, but then I grow bored. I have read many of her books and this will be the last. Intriquing ideas for a book, but you cannot go off on rabbit trails with the plot and characters and keep me interested. I counted at least twelve characters, each with their own issues with much more detail than the reader wants or needs.