Blood of Angels: A Novel - Hardcover

Arvin, Reed

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060596341 ISBN 13: 9780060596347

Publisher: Harper, 2005

Synopsis

iReed Arvin'si previous novel, The Last Goodbye, was "the best thing a thriller can be: suspenseful, intelligent, and well written" (Harlan Coben), and had the critics raving: People magazine stated, "You'll be hooked," and the New York Times declared it "sultry, devious, adrenaline-boosting suspense." Now comes a vivid and haunting tale of one man's search for the truth -- no matter what the consequences.

Thomas Dennehy, senior prosecutor in Davidson County, Tennessee, doesn't recognize Nashville anymore: a decade of relentless immigration means cops are learning Spanish, and the DA' s office is looking for Vietnamese translators. Thomas's latest case is prosecuting Moses Bol, a Sudanese refugee who faces the death penalty for killing a white woman in the Nations, a notorious, racially charged part of town. Bol's conviction seems certain, until a university professor claims Thomas sent the wrong man to the death chamber in a previous case. The DA' s office is rocked to its core, but within days another blow falls: a beautiful and brilliant anti-death penalty activist mysteriously surfaces as Bol's alibi, claiming she was with him at the time of the crime. Bol's case becomes a lightning rod as protesters on all sides converge on Nashville and tensions threaten to explode.

Meanwhile, Bol's alibi has her own secrets -- and is terrified of someone working behind the scenes to get what he wants -- even if it means murder.

Will Dennehy be able to piece things together before everything he believes about the law, and about justice, is torn apart?

Vivid with the emotional complexity that has become the hallmark of Reed Arvin's work, Blood of Angels is filled with nonstop action, impeccable detail, and unforgettable characters, making this a novel that is impossible to resist.

About this title

About the Author

Reed Arvin grew up on a cattle ranch in rural Kansas. After a successful career as a music producer in Nashville, Arvin began writing full-time. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reviews

Starred Review. Thomas Dennehy, assistant DA of Davidson County, Tenn., is about to become famous. Unless he can figure a way out of it, he'll be certified as the first lawyer in the country to have sent the wrong man to the death chamber. As if that isn't enough, he must also prosecute a charismatic member of the local Sudanese community, Moses Bol, accused of killing a prostitute, in a trial that threatens to engulf Nashville in a full-scale race riot. Dennehy is tough, in court and out, and has plenty of interesting personal problems—primarily an ex-wife for whom he has conflicting feelings and an 11-year-old daughter he adores. He's a highly sympathetic figure, as are Arvin's other characters—except the bad guy who's harboring a deadly grudge and a diabolical plan that confounds both Dennehy and the police. While trying to sort through his problems, Dennehy falls for an unlikely lady, Fiona Towns, a local minister and Moses Bol's alibi. Perhaps this material isn't quite as original as Arvin's debut, The Last Goodbye, but the author is among the top handful of legal thriller writers working today, and this is another winner that thriller, mystery and general fiction readers alike will relish.
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Nashville prosecutor Tom Dennehy is legendary for convicting two unrelated men of the same crime. Wilson Owens just received a lethal injection for a convenience-store murder. David Bridges was an EMT called to the scene of the crime, who--under the influence of drugs--botched a procedure that may have saved Owens' victim. Bridges got seven years for negligent homicide. Now, as Dennehy builds a murder case against a Sudanese refugee, the Owens case resurfaces when a lifer in the pen claims to have committed the shooting for which Owens was executed. Meanwhile, Dennehy's best friend and coworker is murdered in a manner similar to the recent killing of a parole officer, one of whose clients was none other than the recently released EMT, David Bridges, who has subsequently vanished. Coincidence, or is someone after Dennehy? Complicating matters further, Dennehy has become romantically involved with a female minister who is a personal advocate for the young Sudanese man charged with murder. Dennehy has always stood arrogantly on the higher moral ground, but now he is being force-fed a huge piece of bloody humble pie. This nail-biter is Arvin's third thriller--following The Will (2000) and The Last Goodbye (2004)--and each has been better than the last. He matches sinister plots with flawed protagonists to create melancholy, suspenseful, epiphany-filled, and pain-drenched noir novels. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060596341
• ISBN 13: 9780060596347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368