Connie’s review of The Angel by Carla Neggers
Romantic Suspense released by Mira Books (Hardcover edition) 29 Apr 08
While in Ireland, searching for a mythic stone angel, Keira becomes trapped in a ruin. Keira’s uncle is a Boston homicide detective and is worried, so he asks Simon Cahill, who does search and rescue work, to find her. Since he’s recently been working on the take down of a major criminal network, Simon figures now would be a good time to get away for a while, and agrees to help.
Keira’s mother is a religious fanatic living in the middle of nowhere. Her daughter barely knows her, and is unaware that one of her childhood friends was murdered. Keira is an illustrator and folklorist so the stone angel idea inspires her to hunt for it while in Ireland.
Violence follows Keira and Simon to Boston and they realize evil can come in many forms.
There are quite a few characters in this story, mostly family and friends that aren’t drawn well and the reader barely gets to know. Having enjoyed Carla Neggers’ books in the past, I found myself disappointed in The Angel. I found the pace of the story slow, and when it finally does begin to pick up steam, the reader is very near the end of the story.
Grade: D
Blurb:
Her passion for myth and magic leads a woman into the heart of a murderous evil
On a remote stretch of the rugged coast of Ireland, folklorist and illustrator Keira Sullivan pursues the mysterious Irish legend of an ancient Celtic stone angel. As she searches an isolated ruin, she’s certain she’s discovered the mythic angel, but before she can examine her find, she senses a malevolent presence…Is someone in there with her? Then the ruin collapses, trapping her.
Keira’s uncle, a Boston homicide detective, enlists the help of Simon Cahill to find his missing niece. Simon, an expert with Fast Rescue, a rapid response search-and-rescue organization, is trying to keep a low profile after secretly assisting the take-down of a major criminal network, but he rushes to Ireland, pulling Keira out of the rubble just as she’s about to free herself.
Simon isn’t interested in myths or magic, nor is he surprised when Keira can’t find a trace of her stone angel. He doesn’t believe it exists. But the gruesome evidence of a startling act of violence convinces him that whatever she found in the ruin, the danger she faces is real.
When the violence follows them to Boston [and escalates], Simon and Keira realize that the long-forgotten story that has captivated her has also aroused a killer…a calculating predator who will certainly kill again.
Read an excerpt.
