Arch Angels (Joe Keough Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Robert J. Randisi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Joe Keough Mysteries | Publication Date: March 1, 2004

Young boys are being kidnapped and then strangled to death in Chicago, while the same is happening to girls in St. Louis. Is there one killer driving up and down I-55, or two separate killers? Detective Joe Keough and his partner, Harriet Connors, recently assigned to the federal Serial Killer Task Force, are dispatched from Washington, D.C., to find out. For Keough, it has been a long time since he was last in his hometown, St. Louis.

Keough has been part of the task force for just over a year and is not happy. He is considering yet another career change. The task force may be opening a Midwest office where he would love to be transferred---or it might be disbanded. A lot will depend on what Keough and Harriet can do about these two cases of serial murders. But Keough is distracted by his ongoing battles with diabetes and recurring memories from his past.

Filled with modern images of St. Louis, Robert J. Randisi spins another fascinating, multilayered murder mystery.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Randisi's fifth Joe Keough thriller/mystery (after 2002's East of the Arch) features a distinctive double plot and plenty of humanizing detail, though the disparate elements never quite form a coherent whole. Keough, now a member of the Federal Serial Killer Task Force, and partner Harriet Connors are dispatched from Washington to St. Louis and Chicago, respectively. In St. Louis, three young girls have been kidnapped and strangled; in Chicago, three young boys have been kidnapped and strangled. There are odd parallels among the murders, and the pair must determine if there is one killer or two. The author lets the reader in on the answer early (both killers appear separately), but neither detective picks up on the clues to their quirky relationship as quickly as one might expect. Still, Randisi manages to wring plenty of tension from the petty turf battles between feds and locals and the fear that another victim will die before Keough and Connors can catch the culprits.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Young girls are kidnapped and killed in Chicago. A case in St. Louis looks similar, except the victims are boys. Joe Keough and his partner, Harriet Connors, are assigned by the Federal Serial Killer Task Force to consult on the cases. Both investigators encounter resistance from the local cops, who prove reluctant to accept federal intervention and to cooperate with other jurisdictions. Joe and Harriet form the bridge between the two groups, and as they examine the evidence, they come to believe the killer may be the same in both locales. Yet how can the killer seemingly be in two places at once? Randisi's Keough mysteries are understated gems, and this one is no exception. The plot moves quickly and logically; readers share red herrings with the investigating officers and work in tandem with them as a solution approaches. The dialogue is credible, and the characters are fleshed out to be more than plot devices. An unsettling resolution adds just the right touch of uncertainty to this fine crime novel. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312308787
• ISBN-13: 978-0312308780
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!, February 12, 2010

By 

Book Lady (Racine, WI USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Arch Angels (Joe Keough Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is a great book I wrote a review on it but I wrote it on another page. Why you may ask? Well because I purchased this book and many other Joe Keough mysteries and I absolutly love them but I did not realize that when I purchased this book that it was the same as another book I had already purchased. This book in it's softback form is called Blood of Angels. I read that one and I loved it! Just like all the other Randisi's that I have read but nothing I had researched on the series had prepared me to expect that the hardback and the softback would have two different names. This is just a heads up for anyone who may be preparing to purchase the whole Joe Keough mystery series. I would strongly recommend all of them. I love the character and all the things happen to him while he trying to find a serial killer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Detective Book in Last 10 Yrs, October 14, 2004

By 

Alydar "alydar" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arch Angels (Joe Keough Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Don't walk but run out and get this detective book. Rich character development and a new interesting twist to the serial murderer genre, I highly recommend Randisi's new book. Each member of my family, who I am certain have the "detective story gene sequence" in their DNA, loved Bob's book! A read you will not regret!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun serial killer investigation, February 29, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Arch Angels (Joe Keough Mysteries) (Hardcover)

So far the victims are all between the ages of eight and ten. The three strangled in St. Louis were female: in Chicago three boys were murdered in the same manner. Every couple of days a killing occurs. The police in both cities remain baffled over whether there is one culprit, two in tandem, or an originator and a copy cat as the I-55 serial killings of these little angels leave law enforcement officials feeling helpless and distraught.

Federal Service Killer Task Force Detective Joe Keough flies to St. Louis while his partner Harriet Connors travels to Chicago to help with the inquiries. The local cops are irate that these superstar outsider hired guns are perching in their territory, but that does not stop Joe and Harriet from taking over much of the investigations. Soon the DC based duo finds twin suspects, but are they the "divine" driven killers or is there something even more diabolical behind the serial murders of the angelic children?

Though Joe and Harriet are an interesting duo whose teamwork makes this serial killer investigation work as the latest of what seems like the zillionth serial killer novel offers quite a stretch of a solution to the murders. The story line moves at a leisurely pace more suited to a cozy belying that a killing machine or two is preying on the preadolescent populace. The territoriality of the local police seems genuine though one would hope that they would welcome outside expertise. ARCH ANGELS is a solid tale, but the climax and the feel that they have all the time in the world to stop the culprit(s) takes away from the latest Keogh tale.

Harriet Klausner