Customer Reviews

The Angel

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

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.

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.

3 1/4 - 3 1/2 stars

The Angel connects to The Widow through characters Abigail Browning and Bob O'Reilly. There is no need to have read the previous book, although it does explain the relationships between some of the characters.

Keira Sullivan, Bob O'Reilly's niece, is on her way to Ireland to research an old Irish tale told by an old neighbor of her uncle and mother. The night before she is to leave, a man mysteriously drowns in less than 2 feet of water. It appears accidental, but to Detective Abigail Browning, it is suspicious.

Keira makes her way to Ireland and finds herself in a bit of trouble. Her uncles makes some calls and Simon Cahill travels to save the damsel in distress.

A mystery begins to unfold of how all these seemingly unrelated incidents fit together. Is it Irish magic, the devil, or something else?

I found this book far more appealing than The Widow. I liked Keira and Simon along with Bob. The family dynamic was interesting. I still didn't find myself liking Abigail. She is just a bleak character with no depth. She played a large part in this book and those were my least favorite parts.

As for the romance part of the book, it was light. The main part of the story is the mystery and the romance barely mixes into it. I would have liked to have gotten deeper into the dynamic of the romantic relationship. I would not even call this book a romantic suspense.

I can't say this was an excellent book, but it was good. Neggers doesn't develop her characters enough, but this one had a bit more development than The Widow.

I have read 2 other books by Carla Neggers. I enjoyed them so much, I found out that it is actually a series of 4 books. The Angel is the 2nd book of the series. The book arrived in great condition & very promptly! Reading the book was like reading the other 2. Hard to put down & very well written! I would recommend this series to anyone! Widow, Angel, The Mist, & The Whisper are the books in this series!

I felt that this failed as a mystery because there just plain wasn't enough motivation for the murders in this. However, the novel is quite readable because of the Irish folklore and hints at the paranormal.I won't go deeply into the plot since others have given good synopses. However, this will be of interest mainly to the author's fans and to those who are, like me, fascinated by Celtic folklore.

I've read pretty much everything Neggers has written, and this is probably one of her best.

It's a very solid mystery/thriller tale, with characters the reader comes to care about. There's a slight touch of magic around the edges; Ireland seems to have that effect on literature. Neggers, however, keeps her characters' feet on the ground, and keeps them running. I particularly enjoy her female characters. They are well-turned out, 3-dimensional and add a great deal to the unfolding of the plot.

Thrillers are always mind-candy. This is particularly tasty mind candy.

Keira Sullivan makes a living doing what she loves; she illustrates classic poems and folklore. Just before she is off on a 6 week trip to Ireland, she has to attend a reception and silent auction in Boston where some of her artwork will be displayed to benefit the Boston-Clark folklore project. On her way to the benefit after visiting her reclusive mother she stumbles upon a seemingly random suicide of a man in a park not far from the reception. As she reaches the auction, she is a bit rattled and runs into Simon Cahill, a search and rescue veteran who is very mysterious and too good looking. Keira goes on to Ireland, while there she goes in search of a stone angel that an old friend of the family had told her a story about. While on the search she gets caught in the collapse of an old hut only to be rescued by none other than Simon. Simon and Keira soon become involved in a series of accidents and deaths that will keep them both wondering what is myth and what is real, leading them into each other's lives and arms along the way.

This is the second book of the BPD-FBI series, and has a few characters in common. Ms. Neggers couldn't write a bad book if she tried, her characters are always interesting and well rounded, a joy to read. This is no exception. Keira is no shrinking flower, even though she isn't a tough take names type of person. She can hold her own against the bad guys and doesn't scare easily. Simon is your usual take charge kind of guy, he has a mysterious air about him and you are sure there is more here than he is letting on. Both work well together and are fun to watch. There is some good snappy dialogue and one or two look behind your back kind of moments. The mystery is a good one, I have to admit I did not figure out the who done it until it was revealed. There are some good secondary characters that you get to know pretty well and as I said earlier, some returning characters from the first book.

All in all this was a good book with interesting characters, a good mystery, more than a little sexual tension and a few good laughs. If you have read any of Ms. Neggers other work, you will enjoy this one, you don't have to have read the first book in the series to enjoy this one, you just have to enjoy a good mystery/romance.

This book is the second of a series of four novels by Carla Neggers. All four of these books keep you on the edge of your seat and are very hard to put down. The stories happen in Boston and Ireland, which I found delightful, and involve mystery, suspense and romance. The characters of all four books are in each of the four after they've been introduced. The first book, The Widow, sets the stage for the theme throughout the series. The third book is The Mist and the last is The Whisper. Things seem to be happening in an ethereal way, but the mystery comes out in the end. If you read one, you have to read them all! I always find books through Amazon's used book system and these were found easily. I've never been disappointed in the price or the quick service of receiving the books. If you like mystery, these four Carla Neggers' books are a great buy!

This was my first Carla Neggers novel. I "didn't like her" because of her name. I can be such a dope. I've read two now (The Carriage House, which I also highly recommend), and she's like a "beefier" Nora Roberts (who I love). I REALLY enjoyed this book (AND The Carriage House). Try her, you'll like her!