Demolition Angel (Mass Market Paperback)

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Key Phrases: surge monitor, bomb investigator, enhanced tape, Carol Starkey, Silver Lake, Buck Daggett (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Penzler Pick, May 2000: Like many authors with ongoing characters, Robert Crais has taken a break from his famous private eye. After eight novels featuring Elvis Cole and his loyal sidekick Joe Pike, Crais has created Carol Starkey, a bomb squad veteran now doing time as a Detective-2 with LAPD's Criminal Conspiracy Section. Three years have passed since the detonation that killed Carol's partner and lover, but she is still severely scarred both mentally and physically. She can't bear to look in the mirror, and she hasn't been with another man since David Boudreaux left her bed that last morning he went to work. She gets through the day with the help of Tagamet and alcohol.

When a bomb call takes the life of another colleague, Carol begins to investigate a series of explosions that seem to be designed to exterminate bomb technicians. She soon realizes that she's "the one that got away." With the help of an FBI agent whom she loathes professionally for interfering with her job but finds attractive anyway, Carol must track down one of the most frighteningly brilliant killers of the modern age.

This edgy thriller's protagonist is one that the reader at first may have difficulty liking, but she's got a background and history that make her truly three-dimensional. One hopes that Crais, one of the handful of young crime writers capable of writing consistently luminous prose, will continue to give us characters like Carol Starkey to star in his always powerful portraits of modern-day Los Angeles. --Otto Penzler --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Acclaimed for his Elvis Cole mystery series (L.A. Requiem, etc.), Crais deserves further garlands for this stand-alone crime novel. The book features one of the most complex heroines to grace a thriller since Clarice Starling locked eyes with Hannibal Lecter, a deliciously spooky villain in the person of a mad bomber known as Mr. Red, and an aggressively involving plot. Carol Starkey was a rising light in the LAPD Bomb Squad until, two years back, a bomb blew up in her face, maiming her and killing her lover/partner. Now Carol's a bitter, chain-smoking alcoholic with the LAPD's Criminal Conspiracy Section, who gets drawn into a literally explosive conspiracy when a bomb kills Charlie Riggio, one of her former bomb squad colleagues. Forensic evidence points toward the bomb being the work of John Michael Fowles, aka Mr. Red, a coldhearted young bomber-assassin-for-hire and master of disguise. Much of the narrative concerns Carol's pursuit of him, most excitingly on the Net through a secret mad-bombers' site, aided by a saturnine federal (ATF) agent, Jack Pell. Intercut are scenes of Mr. Red's various mad plottings, which take a hairpin turn when he learns that the cops think he killed Riggio: for in fact he didn't. That murder pans out as a copycat crime for personal gain, and now Carol must pursue both Riggio's killer and Mr. Red, who in turn has taken an intimate interest in this bomb-savvy female cop. The subsequent pas de deux between Carol and Mr. Red is too reminiscent of the dance between Starling and Lecter, but otherwise this novel gets high marks for originality, and even higher ones for suspense and, above all, for multidimensional, wounded characters who give all the excitement a rare depth. BOMC and Literary Guild featured selection; Mystery Guild main selection; author tour; film rights sold to Columbia/Tri-Star. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 395 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st THUS edition (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034543448X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345434487
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,193 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Demolition Angel Rocks!, May 16, 2000

By	Gary Jonas (Aurora, CO United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Demolition Angel (Hardcover)

Unplug the phone. Call in sick for work or school. Once you start this awesome new novel, you won't be able to put it down!

Robert Crais is a master at creating believable characters and delivering a white-knuckle ride of suspense. Readers of his Elvis Cole novels already know this. Demolition Angel is his first stand alone book and it's an amazing novel.

Carol Starkey was horribly scarred and her lover was killed in a bombing. A few years later, Carol is tough as nails and determined to overcome her troubles. Pulled into an investigation of another bomb tech who was blown away, she has to face down all her old fears to stop a serial bomber who takes pride in killing bomb-techs. With fully realized characters and blistering conflict, Demolition Angel takes you inside the world of the bomb squad. Wait until you meet Mr. Red, the bomber who wants to be on the FBI's Most Wanted list.

This is a brilliant novel. Even while Crais gets your heart racing, he manages to explore a great many emotional truths along the way. The depth of emotion heightens the suspense. I read this book in one sitting. Robert Crais has outdone himself with this one.

Don't miss it!

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars White hot and explosive!, May 19, 2000

By	Aaron Steel (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Demolition Angel (Hardcover)

At first, I was somewhat disheartened to learn that this would not be an Elvis Cole novel. One the one hand I was looking forward to something different from Crais because he is a fantastic author, but on the other hand I need my Elvis fix! But I can now say that after reading Demolition Angel I have forgotten about Elvis (temporarily, of course).

Demolition Angel is much darker and edgier than the Elvis Cole novels. The main character, Carol Starkey, is on a path to self destruction. Bitter, alienated, and self-abusive since the bomb blast death of her partner, she must regain control of her life or be destroyed herself. While struggling with her personal demons, she must catch the killer who is targeting bomb squad technicians in a series of explosions. Is Mr. Red the mad bomber or is it someone else?

Non-stop action, intense suspense, and plenty of twists along the way lead to an explosive climax. An intelligent, multi-dimensional thriller, Demolition Angel will keep your heart racing and keep you on the edge as you race through the pages. Crais at his best matches up with anyone else. Period.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert Crais has Written a Winner, June 19, 2000

By	Roz Levine (Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Demolition Angel (Hardcover)

Demolition Angel begins with the harrowing scene of a bomb squad member being blown to bits and never lets you go. Crais introduces a new character, Detective Carol Starkey, a former bomb squad technician who was almost killed three years ago in a similar bombing that killed her partner and lover. Left scarred both physically and emotionally and drinking to excess, Carol gets to work to find this serial bomber before he strikes again. What she begins to realize, as she investigates, is this terrorist is after bomb squad techs, and she is the one that got away. This is a fast paced, compelling story with strong, realistic characters. The writing is gritty and true to life. The scenes vivid and frightening. Mr. Crais has obviously done his homework on the bomb squad and bomb building techniques and this adds real credibility to the story. Demolition Angel will put you on the edge of your seat and keep you there to its very satisfying ending. A terrific, suspense-filled read that will pull you in and keep you turning pages all night long.