Angelmaker

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See, the first part of Angelmaker is enjoyable, but in a slow and very reflective way. We meet Joe, learn about his connections to the London underworld, hear a good yarn about what it’s like to be initiated as an undertaker, and then we meet Edie. As rumblings of a doomsday scenario gather on the horizon, Joe sort of stumbles from scene to scene without too much of a plan in mind. Aside from his unwitting involvement in activating the doomsday device, he is more of a spectator in the consequences than a participant—that is, until the government decides to turn him into a wanted man. Chris couldn’t quite shake the sensation that there were cogs turning below the surface of the world. That events had been set in motion and were now continuing along inevitable paths that had been there all along and that however much he tried to reassure them both, he had no real control at all over what would happen next. So many tropes in the thriller/horror category are done again and again and again. But Alex North always seems to deliver something original, which this reader appreciates. While “The Whisper Man” remains my clear favorite of the three, this is still worth reading!! I ended up really enjoying The Shadows as well. Thus, when I heard about this book, North's most recent release, The Angel Maker, I was over the moon with anticipation. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Jo Nesbø, Rachel Lynch, and JD Kirk, Angel Maker is sure to cement Greene as one of your new favourite authors.

I devoured the prequel trilogy in this series, loving how Morgan Greene presented his protagonist. Now, with a better understanding of Jamie Johansson, I am able to hash out the nuances of this more established cop in a series that is sure to offer some twists the foe dedicated reader. Greene continues to write effectively and has me begging for more at every turn. Alex North pens a most mysterious mystery that had me riveted from the start but, as I mentioned, it took some time for me to wrap my brain around everything. This was an ambitious novel that must have taken North ages to think up and write. The intricate weaving of the threads was done with the hands of a master in the genre and it is with pleasure that I tell you that North wrapped this up brilliantly which couldn't have been easy. My 2nd Alex North book and another success! 4 stars! Belgian author Stefan Brijs brings to life a modern-day mad scientist and his greater-than-God ambitions in this utterly compelling, slightly terrifying novel of the lengths one man will go to to achieve his goal.The Angel Maker had some intriguing, mysterious elements which fell flat primarily because of poor storytelling and a faulty format. I will note, especially in contrast to a number of other recently read books that pour on the cultural-referencing humor, that Harkaway manages to stay true to the emotion of the book and the family drama at its heart. He also does some interesting things with sexuality, which rather bothered me at first, until I realized he seemed to be turning Edie into a caricature of James Bond. With a recent promotion under her belt, DI Jamie Johansson should be flying high. However, the elevation within London’s Metropolitan Police came at a cost, when she shot a suspect to protect herself. Muddled with the guilt, Johansson takes a leave to clear her head and reset things once and for all.

In the end, for all its old-new, serio-comic hyphenation, Angelmaker turns out to be a solid work of modern fantasy fiction, coupling credit-crunch anxiety with an understandable nostalgia for the mythical days of "good, wholesome, old-fashioned British crime". He has a head shaped almost exactly like a pear. His brain must be squeezed into the narrow place at the top. His cheeks are wide and fatty, so that, if Mr. Cummerbund were a deer or a halibut, they would excite pleasurable anticipation in those fond of rich foods and delicacies."I can't say this book was /bad/, but... it was pretty underwhelming. I really did have some high hopes for it, and it turned out to be kind of meh. I liked the idea of this story, but it wasn't worked out very well. I had hoped for a lot more depth. Alan Hobbes, a professor who teaches fate and free will has been murdered in his home hours after telling his staff that he no longer needs them. It was as if he knew he was going to die. A teenage girl is found dead in the woods. The kill bears a chilling resemblance to those of the Angel Maker, a serial killer caught two decades ago. How often does a debut novel wow you? Not, “wow, this writer has potential” – but “wow! this writer just came from nowhere and went straight into my all-time favourites list!”

This is overall a very good thriller, but it does take a lot of concentration to be able to follow who all of the characters are through the various timelines and how they are all interconnected. In the end, I was satisfied and all of my questions were answered. Regardless of how many books are already queued patiently on my reading list, unexpected gifts and guilt-trips will always see unplanned additions muscling their way in at the front. Angel Maker is the stunning first outing for DI Jamie Johansson and will have readers on the edge of their seats. With a ruthless killer, a host of likely suspects, tight plotting, gritty characters, and a twist that will feel like a punch to the gut, this is the crime thriller you've been waiting for. A fabulous story with in-depth characters you take to right away, amazing scenes that still your heart...And a plot that holds you tight...From the beginning until the end...

She follows the rules enough, but not too much, and she's strong and badass. Sort of like her father, but cooler. Jamie meets Wiik and Hallburg and consults on the case. Wiik is an old school "proper" detective, grumpy, sullen, rude. Hallburg is a young, very eager detective who is treated badly by Wiik. More than anything, this book makes me sad because it could have been great, perhaps even exceptional. However, this work is clumsy and disjointed, a rough draft, not a final version. They have long ago settled between them that he is to be disturbed between three and nine only in the direst of emergencies or if there is steak. The steak should be meltingly soft and warmed over in the pan. The emergencies are more exigent: fire, earthquake, rains of frogs, the arrival of a cat in the building." I enjoyed watching Joe coming into his own and understanding his family's complicated patrimony: he starts out so quiet, always hesitant of everything and unwilling to take any risks and finds the confidence he needs to be assertive and transcend his idea that he is stiffed by his father's inheritance. His realization that crimes are sometimes committed for good reasons, and that following the rules doesn't work when the game is rigged was an amazing and satisfying ride. Parents may leave us a complicated heritage, but there is always something to be learned from it.

The characters weren't that good either; they were incredibly simple. Hoppe's character never really evolved, and none of the other characters had any character development either. The people of Wolfheim were actually quite laughable: they were like caricatures. They were defined by one trait only, and they never questioned anything, only so the story could go the way the author wanted it to go. While revising old crime scenes and interviewing witnesses seems tedious, it does provide some intriguing insight into a possible copycat killer. DI Johansson does not let this deter her, as some of the evidence points to a strong case of mistaken identity, or at least railroading someone into confessing to a crime they may not have committed. The plot begins as fiction and mystery, then morphs into sci-fi in a way that you almost don't perceive at first, and wind up totally buying into, and then tosses on gangster culture just for good measure. Fun! I was excited to read The Angel Maker. Even better was getting the audiobook narrated by Rosalie Craig! Bone cancer in children? What's that about?' How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It's not right. It's utterly, utterly evil."

Beyond the Book

He uses crazy words like “Whojimmy” and “Doodah’s”. One of the best side characters happens to be an old Pug named Bastion who is blind, has 2 pink glass eyeballs, one tooth, and a very mean temperament, and he tops it all off by having a freaking hilarious internal monologue. There are countless unique and colorful characters that also add awesome dialogue to this book: