Desolate Angel (A Dead Detective Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Chaz McGee (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Dead Detective Mystery | Publication Date: July 7, 2009

First in a series that takes readers into a new dimension in detective stories.

He was once a second-rate cop, a mediocre husband, and an absent father. But ever since he was killed in a drug bust gone bad, Kevin Fahey's been a lost soul in limbo. Until he encounters a dead victim whose murder he thought he solved, a girl who points him to a fresh body. And Fahey realizes he imprisoned the wrong man-and the true killer is still on the loose.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; 10th edition (July 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425228738
• ISBN-13: 978-0425228739
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #543,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written tale of redemption, July 21, 2009

By 

Sandra Parshall "Sandra Parshall" (Washington, DC area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desolate Angel (A Dead Detective Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading only a few pages of DESOLATE ANGEL, which I thought was a debut novel, I was sufficiently impressed to go looking for information about the author. I discovered that Chaz McGee is a pseudonym for Katy Munger, author of the Casey Jones series and (as Gallagher Gray) the Hubbert and Lil series. Katy has been absent from the publishing world for a while, but she has returned in style with the debut of this great new series and, coming in September, another Casey Jones mystery titled BAD MOON ON THE RISE.

Kevin Fahey, narrator of DESOLATE ANGEL, is indeed a dead police detective, who now haunts the streets of his town, unable to connect with either the living or the dead - until the spirit of a murdered girl, Alissa, appears to lead him to the scene of a fresh killing. Alissa was the victim in an old case Kevin worked on. The girl's boyfriend was arrested and convicted, and Kevin thought he'd done his job. But as he looks at the new victim, whose corpse bears the same unmistakable marks found on Alissa's body, Kevin realizes that his heavy drinking and laziness on the job led to the imprisonment of an innocent man. The real killer is still free, and he has taken another young woman's life.

Kevin can go anywhere, he can see and hear everything, he can sense things about people that the living overlook, but he can't communicate with Maggie Gunn, the detective on the new murder case. As he tries in his oblique way to guide Maggie in the right direction and protect her from threats to her own life as she solves both old and new murders, Kevin finds after death the purpose that was missing in his life. He becomes Maggie's shadow partner as well as her protector, determined to redeem himself by setting right all the cases he mishandled in the wasted years of his career.

This is a wonderful book with a unique and appealing hero. I loved it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, August 4, 2009

By 

suzatm (PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Desolate Angel (A Dead Detective Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

When I found out that Chaz McGee was really Katy Munger (thank you to the reviewer who mentioned this fact in their review!) I ordered Desolate Angel right away. I had read Katy's Casey Jones series and loved it. These past years I have kept an eye out for new books by Katy Munger so I was very happy to see that she had written something even if it was a different series. When the Amazon box came I opened it up and flipped thru the book wanting to just see what it was like before putting in on my "to read" shelf since I was halfway thru another book. Two hours later after starting the first page I was still between the covers of Desolate Angel and I did not put it down until I was finished. This was excellent. Her writing style just swept me away. This book was different and compelling and very hard to put down or forget. I would very much recommend it to everyone. Along with the other reviewers, I add my wish and hopes that Katy Munger continues this series for a very long time.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking!!, August 5, 2009

By 

Melodie Stickrath "Meledstick" (Aurora, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desolate Angel (A Dead Detective Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a book that will stick with you. Kevin Fahey was a lousy cop and an even lousier husband & father. As a ghost he has begun to see what he missed in life. He meets the ghost of a victim whose killer he thought he sent to prison, only to realize that because of his & his partner's shoddy work an innocent man was sent to prison. By trying to find the real killer he sees a chance to redeem himself somewhat in his own eyes. This story will make you think about your own life and what it might be like to see it from Kevin's side and know you don't get a "do-over". Good to have you back, Katy!! We've missed you!