Customer Reviews

The Angel Tapes: A Blade Macken Mystery

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
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In a crowded Dublin street, a bomb goes off, killing several innocent people. The police investigation is headed up by detective superintendent Blade Macken, whose personal life is as tattered as the bomb area. Blade quickly learns that the deadly blast was detonated beneath the street, making its trail ice cold because the bomb had to have been planted when the street was dug up several months ago.

However, Blade is soon contacted by the deranged Angel, who tells him more bombs have been planted beneath the city's streets. They will all go off to coincide with the American president's visit if he does not receive $25 million very soon. Blade begins to investigate the case from the one clue the killer did leave in his phone call -- he knew Blade. Looking into his past to try an uncover the identify of a crazed murderer, Blade does not particularly like what he sees about himself and his dysfunctional family. Still, he has a bomber to catch with little time remaining so he must stop his nightly drinking and his introspective outlook to seek out the killer.

ANGEL TAPE is a well written, extremely exciting novel, starring a new anti-hero, performing a heroic task. The story line is action packed and, for the most part, moves forward rapidly. However, Blade's personal life, though needed for a motive, tends to drag the tale a bit. Readers, who enjoy thrillers, should skim through those passages, because overall David Keily has written a remarkably exhilarating police procedural.

Harriet Klausner

Save your money and buy some comic books, you'll get more realistic plot development and characters. The writer has evidently never been inside a real police department or embassy or has any knowledge of how the real world works outside of Dublin pubs.

If you like accuracy and reasonable plots -- forget this. If you wander into mystery to totally escape from the real world, then you might enjoy it.

I will also admit that I did not finish it. After the third or fourth female character was introduced, every one of which was a contender for Miss World, I decided to just trash it.

Cheers,