Books : A Quiet Belief in Angels

Rating: - A Quiet Belief In Angels
GREAT BOOK. Don't take any notice of the negative reviews. Its a very unusual "crime" novel and beatifully written. Needs time to read properly but it does grip from the beginning and the macabre content is sufficiently offbeat to make it a real page turner. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who simply likes a good story.
Christine Smythe

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Rating: - Powerful and sombre
This was a beautifully and methodically written crime story that didn't have to resort to plentiful gory references to set the tone. There was a real quiet intensity about it and the author really took his time in telling the story, building the tension and then finally unfolding the mystery. It was wonderfully but frustratingly wide open in terms of identifying the culprit, with so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I did find it creepy and oppressive at times but again that is simply a testament to the author's skill in defining the nature of this book. Definitely one to add to your reading list this year.

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Rating: - A voyage into hell.
This is the narrative of a journey, or rather journeys, into America, into despicable crime, into loss and gain and loss again, into dreams, ambition, love, hatred and fear. The narrator, Joseph Vaughan, takes us from his childhood in a superbly evoked Georgia to the bustling streets of Brooklyn via the hellhole of the American penal system. The story, spanning from a pre-WWII America emerging from the Depression to the shattered ideals of that nation at the end of the sixties, relates Vaughan's obessive hunt for the serial-killer of tens of children, a killer who has brought violence and pain into the Joseph's own home and family. We watch him grow, become a man haunted by his own ghosts (a major Ellory theme), and marvel at his desperate quest to both unmask the killer and retain his own sanity.
Lovers of long narratives that take their time weaving their webs, of intricate crime-stories, of rigourous yet entertaining writing, this one's for you. RJ Ellory breathes life into his descriptions of time, place and people that are quite staggering (considering he's English and his theatre of operations is America). It's a sometime's frightening story, filled with so much drama but one which leaves you with faith, inspired by the unhappy Vaughan, in human nature.

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Rating: - As good as it gets !
Once in a while a book comes along that carries you to a place where you do not want be disturbed, interupted, fed or watered, you just want to be left alone to read. This is such a book, It is a book that immerses you and literally makes you forget to breathe. The last book to make me feel like this was A Secret History by Donna Tartt. It is beautifully written and expertly paced. Each character is wonderfully drawn out and the story line never falters. This is a book that will resonate with you for a long time.

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Rating: - A Quiet Belief in Angels
Not a traditional thriller, this book is in a category of its own. The sense of place and social commentary create a background of small town living that makes the horror to come even worse.
Did I want to know who the murderer was? It certainly did not seem the most important part of this novel. Although I was glad that there was a resolution for the main character. His journey is a very bumpy one and he and the killer seem to almost be as one.
I particularly liked the whole innocent idea that as a small boy he could keep his community safe with the help of his friends. His own personal need to safeguard his next door neighbour makes the inevitable events even more shocking.
The delicacy of the writing and the way that you can see into the thoughts and feelings of the characters as they are slowly revealed makes this a very compulsive read. I highly recommend this.