The Angel
- Katerina Diamond
- Nov 2, 2017
- 2 min read
This is an absolutely stunning book, a great story perfectly executed. It was one of the few books that I had to have a day to get over, I just couldn't start another book because it played around my head for hours.
We start with a prologue from back in 1986 and I tried to keep this all in mind whilst reading the rest of the book knowing that there would be some relevance later. When I finished the book, I totally got it but had to come back and re-read the prologue, just to reassure myself.
Chapter 1 starts right up to date in 2017 with the opening line “Gabriel Webb was a killer. He didn't know it yet, but before the day was out he would know what it felt like to take someone's life.” I was intrigued from the start and just had to know who had died, how and why Gabriel would take someone's life.
Gabriel is a complex character, in fact all the characters are flawed and complex but this makes for excellent reading. He and his girlfriend, Emma, are both Goths, they dress for themselves and are misfits in society, but underneath all the black trousers, chains and face paint are two loving and caring people. As the first line indicated, by the end of the day Gabriel was sitting in a police cell being questioned about a body.
The two detectives, Imogen Grey and Adrian Miles, could solve this case quickly but Imogen has a nagging feeling and a soft spot for Gabriel, and too many coincidences play on Adrian's mind, that they have to dig deeper. They have their work cut out to solve the murder and obvious mystery surrounding it, the case is not at all straightforward and it really takes its toll on both of them, particularly memories coming to the surface for Imogen. The murder is not simply about one person killing another, it's so multi-faceted, wheels within wheels that in reality, it's doubtful the case would really be solved.
The chapters mostly run in turn with Gabriel's life and then the two detectives. I couldn't wait to get back to Gabriel's chapters to find out how he was surviving in the young offenders' detention centre. He had such a hard and violent time and was totally unprepared for it – a real eye opener.
I loved all the characters, Imogen and Gabriel particularly, and they were so well constructed that they felt like real people, someone I might know.
This is the first book I've read by Katerina Diamond and although this one is book 3 in the detective series it is a complete story and can be read as a stand alone novel. I would totally recommend starting with book 1, The Teacher, and move on to book 2, The Secret – I've already loaded them onto my Kindle ready to start over again.
Find Katerina Diamond on Facebook here
Find Katerina Diamond on Amazon here
