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| Death Angel: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Linda Howard
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
Buy Used: $4.59
You Save: $21.41 (82%)
New (55) Used (49) from $4.59
Avg. Customer Rating:  113 reviews
Sales Rank: 8666
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6 x 1.5
ISBN: 0345486544
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345486547
ASIN: 0345486544
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Very Good! May have ink mark on book edge and/or very light shelf wear
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| Customer Reviews:
 Two Books In One July 19, 2008
14 out of 18 found this review helpful
Drea Rousseau has been the mistress of a drug lord, Rafael, for almost 2 years. She sits and paints her nails, shops and in general, acts like the stupidest woman in the world. Simon Goodnight is a hit man that is occasionally hired to kill people by Rafael. All 3 main characters are pretty dark with little redeeming qualities. At the beginning of the book Simon is asked to make a high profile hit by Rafael. Simon tells Rafael it's a little risky, so as a bonus he wants to sleep with Drea. Rafael casually agrees and leaves the apartment for 5 hours, so that Simon can collect his bonus. What follows is one of the few sex scenes in the entire book, but it is an essential one, because the entire book's plot rests on it. And what a scene it is! You should be required to read the book with pot holders. Anyway, after Simon leaves, Drea is completely and totally furious and decides it's time to show Rafael the woman he has REALLY been living with for two years. Drea proceeds to rob Rafael of 2,100,000 dollars plus jewelry and almost gets away until Rafael hires Simon to find her and kill her. The whole thing is just great.
The first half of this book is a romantic, sexy suspense, and what a book it is. I was absolutely and totally in love with both Simon and Drea. They were crooked, callous and unapologetically bad. It was great. The problem with the book was the second half. We went from realistic suspense to a romantic fantasy on page 162. From that point on the author brought in supernatural details, visions, psychic powers and in general, redeemed both characters and totally whitewashed them to bring about the ending. I absolutely hated it (and I am normally a huge fan of paranormal romances). These two were so absolutely different from any other characters and their motivations were so priceless, that changing them was like destroying a work of art. If Linda Howard was my neighbor, I would have been banging on her door at 3:00 a.m. last night to tell her how great the first half of her new book was and how bad she took a truly excellent, excellent book and screwed it up in the 2nd half. (Only half joking.)
 Linda Howards Darkest Book YET~ I LOVED IT~ July 2, 2008
11 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is a story about redemption~
Drea Rousseau is the mistress/ arm candy of totally amoral crime lord Rafael Salinas~
he "gives" Drea to a HIT MAN in payment for a hit~She is mortified and angry but cannot escape the passion and hours of HOT sex~ she has with the Hit Man. Now Drea makes a life altering decision~ to get "even" with Salinas~
** this review contains spoilers** so keep this in mind~
Drea is NOT the dumb blond Salinas assumes and quickly using a very clever ruse, using "electronic money transfers" moves MILLIONS OUT HIS ACCOUNT TO HER OWN~ lol... she makes a smooth escape from Salinas and his goons.
when Salinas finds he has been duped~ he hires the SAME HIT MAN DREA HAD SEX WITH TO "KILL HER"~ what a clever and entertaining plot twist~and he is soon hot on her trail. (We learn the Hit Man has the name of SIMON.)
Simon finally finds her and in a car chase where he is deciding on the hit, DREA had a car crash and DIES, the result of her own careless driving~ and Simon watches her die~ oddly this event ~ "changes both their lives"
Drea is clincally dead and ends up in a purgatory place and they send her back to earth and to live again~ BUT SHE IS CHANGED~ for the better she now has a "conscience" and is a new and better person, and is NO longer "AnDREA" but Andie.
Meanwhile Simon seeing the death of Drea took a "cell phone photo" as proof of her death for Salinas, who will no longer look for a DEAD woman. Howard ADDS a very clever idea~ watching Drea die changes Simon too, for the first time the ONLY person who has ever "touched" him is DEAD~ and here is the BEST part of all this~ two "empty" people the Mistress and the Hit Man find "REDEMPTION" IN EACH OTHER.
Simon finds out she is not dead~ and becomes "attached to her physically and emotionally" and we see this bond impoves each of them. They find love. Drea wants to work with the FBI to nail Salinas for his crimes but Simon comes up with one last "scheme" to stop Salinas and keep Andie safe.
2 fun parts after all this IS a Howard book~ I had to laugh outloud at greedy DREA deciding "how much money" she was going to "steal" from Salina's account based on GREED or common sense and I smiled at the "Simon Tatoo"
This is the darkest Linda Howard book in a long time and I would compare it to KISS ME WHILE I SLEEP for that reason in over all book feel. I had NO expectations for this since the two main characters are not likeable~ but the clever step by step road to redemption WITH two people finding "human emotion" and values keeps you glued to every page~ I did not get much sleep in my pursuit to finish it~
I GIVE IT A SOLID 10 out of 10 better than I expected~LINDA HOWARD NEVER DISAPPOINTS~
Unusual and fantastic July 2, 2008
11 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is one of the most unusual and yet one of the best books I've ever read by Linda Howard. I won't say anything about the plot. Don't cheat - don't read the end first. It's a great ride and worth the journey. Kudo's to Ms. Howard. This is one of her best. Truly a keeper. (Though so "gut-wrenching" I'm not sure when I'll be able to read it again). I didn't want it to end. Highly highly recommended. Folks are going to remember this one.
Trembled July 5, 2008
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I had to read Death Angel all in one night as I was coerced by curiosity to keep turning pages. Starting out with the unexpected "selling" of a main character my immersion into the storyline was immediate. No lengthy engagement process necessary as I was hooked and cringing. I sat up straighter in my chair and waited with Drea for Rafael to come back in and say it was all a joke. We sat together in disbelief, Drea and I, when he did not return and I was furious on her behalf that she would be put in this situation where I could not see how she would find a way out.
Though an unusual hero and heroine I found myself wanting them to find their way to each other and to a better life. I really would have liked to have more of a back-story on Simon as he is definitely more than just a cold-blooded killer and showed it in many ways throughout the book. I wanted to know more about what made him into a professional hit man and where did all his training come from, etc... I was disappointed that Drea didn't seem to have any information to give to the FBI, as she is a very observant woman who chose to play down her smarts. Lastly was how readily the villain of the story was "laid to rest". It seemed to happen without much provocation and Drea being back in NY was really a non-event as she never came face to face with the Ex or was secretly seen by one of his many spies.
I gave "Death Angel" four stars even though I wanted more details on the characters it stilled has me so engaged I never put the book down until I was done.
Grabs you and keeps you reading July 11, 2008
11 out of 16 found this review helpful
I've read a lot of Linda Howard's books, and this is one of my favorites. I got the audio download and I was hooked from the first chapter. Now I'll have to get the book because I'd like to read it this time. Well done and very unusual story line. I highly recommend it.
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