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142nd out of 144 books
—
112 voters
Desolate Angel (Dead Detective Series #1)
by
Chaz McGee
First in a series that takes readers into a new dimension in detective stories.
He was once a second-rate cop, a mediocre husband, and an absent father. But ever since he was killed in a drug bust gone bad, Kevin Fahey's been a lost soul in limbo. Until he encounters a dead victim whose murder he thought he solved, a girl who points him to a fresh body. And Fahey realizes h...more
He was once a second-rate cop, a mediocre husband, and an absent father. But ever since he was killed in a drug bust gone bad, Kevin Fahey's been a lost soul in limbo. Until he encounters a dead victim whose murder he thought he solved, a girl who points him to a fresh body. And Fahey realizes h...more
Paperback, 298 pages
Published
July 7th 2009
by Berkley Prime Crime
(first published May 20th 2009)
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This was a mystery with an interesting twist...the main character, a former police officer, is dead, and is wandering his home town as a ghost when the victim of a murder he "solved" appears to him and leads him to another dead body. It is obvious to the detective that the man they put behind bars for the crime is actually innocent, and the true killer is still roaming free, so he sets out to try and correct his mistake.
It seemed to me that the only purpose in having the main character be a gho...more
It seemed to me that the only purpose in having the main character be a gho...more
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There were many things I liked about this book, but, somehow, in the end, it just didn't overwhelm me or even inspire me to really want to read any more installments in what I guess is supposed to be a series. Maybe I will, but with so many good reads out there, more of these might not make it onto my list. The main characters are fairly well developed over the course of the book and I liked Kevin Fahey and Maggie Gunn. Fahey's 'awakening' after death was well done and his desire to redeem himse...more
I picked up this book at the Dollar Store to add to my bedside table for light summer reading. The cover blurp led me to think that this is a typical cozy mystery. Wrong.
This is an absorbing paranormal/police procedural/ mystery that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go to the very end. It is a deeply layered story with intricate plotting that never feels overdone. There are several neat twists that readers won’t expect, and characters turn out differently than originally expected.This is no...more
This is an absorbing paranormal/police procedural/ mystery that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go to the very end. It is a deeply layered story with intricate plotting that never feels overdone. There are several neat twists that readers won’t expect, and characters turn out differently than originally expected.This is no...more
I like some "woo woo" with my mysteries and this book did not disappoint. It's an interesting twist...a broken-down, drunken detective is killed and finds himself in a kind of limbo here on earth. He comes upon the victim of a murder he thought he solved, only to learn the wrong man is in prison and the real killer has taken another life.
Kevin Fahey's not that likeable at first (not much of a parent, cop or even human being in life), but his quest for some kind of redemption finally touched me...more
Kevin Fahey's not that likeable at first (not much of a parent, cop or even human being in life), but his quest for some kind of redemption finally touched me...more
The cover says, "First in The Dead Detective series." It's an interesting premise - the protagonist, a police detective who recently died in the line of duty - discovers that he made a mistake in a case, which put the wrong man in jail. He tries to solve the crime and save the wrongly accused. He is very new to being dead and doesn't know how anything works - can he communicate with the living? Can he make a physical impact in the world? There is little gore or tragedy around the fact that he's...more
Feb 06, 2010
Heather
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
mystery lovers
Recommended to Heather by:
library
One Line Summary: A dead detective helps his replacement solve crimes.
Detective Fahey wakes up to find himself dead one day and walking among the living as a ghost. He was an alcoholic in life and therefore was a bad detective, father, and husband. But when the ghost of one of his "solved" cases comes to him for help he knows he must find the real killer to make amends and sets out to help his new replacement Maggie.
This was a really fun read. I always enjoy a good crime fiction/mystery and this...more
Detective Fahey wakes up to find himself dead one day and walking among the living as a ghost. He was an alcoholic in life and therefore was a bad detective, father, and husband. But when the ghost of one of his "solved" cases comes to him for help he knows he must find the real killer to make amends and sets out to help his new replacement Maggie.
This was a really fun read. I always enjoy a good crime fiction/mystery and this...more
I wish I could give this book 6 stars!I was amazed at the way the author sketched the psychological profile of the main characters and how she unveiled their deepest secrets. The concept of the dead detective/guardian angel attempting to redeem himself by helping his replacement, Maggie Gunn, to reopen and solve his sloppily closed cases is original and interesting. The fact that the murderer was known from very early on didn't stop me from enjoying the story and watching him becoming the hunted...more
I really enjoyed this book. Quite different. Kevin Fahey is a ghost. He was a lousy cop and an even lousier husband & father. Being dead has given him a different outlook. He has begun to see just what he missed out in his life by being a 3rd class person and is looking to try & redeem himself. If not in the eyes of the people who loved him once, to himself. He gets a second chance to try & make right a closed case in which the wrong man went to prison for a murder he didn't commit d...more
This book has got everything I love in writing. Its main character is dead, but that doesn't make him any less fascinating as he explores the advantages and limitations of solving crime without a body. The more interesting investigation is into his own essence, and humanity in general. He wasn't a particularly good person when he was alive. He's determined to make up for it as a dead investigator. His devotion to the living and his exploration of good and evil elevate this book above the level o...more
First Line: A man lies dying on the grime-encrusted floor of an abandoned house on the banks of the Delaware.
The man who lies dying on the dirty floor is Kevin Fahey, a second-rate cop, a mediocre husband and father, and the narrator of this book. As Fahey himself now says:
"I am a ghost haunted by my regrets, doomed to walk through a world that is neither here nor there, tasting my fate in my solitude, seeking a redemption I fear will never come."
When it is proved that a young man Fahey and his...more
The man who lies dying on the dirty floor is Kevin Fahey, a second-rate cop, a mediocre husband and father, and the narrator of this book. As Fahey himself now says:
"I am a ghost haunted by my regrets, doomed to walk through a world that is neither here nor there, tasting my fate in my solitude, seeking a redemption I fear will never come."
When it is proved that a young man Fahey and his...more
4 1/2 stars. Detective Kevin Fahey is dead and working harder than ever. After dying in the line of duty, Fahey is just stuck, hanging around and watching people. He is learning a lot about human nature because his perception has been enhanced. One day he is approached by another ghost, that of a victim of a crime he had closed and she leads him to the scene of a criime identical to her own murder. Now Fahey is determined to right the wrong he unknowingly committed. Unknown to them, Fahey joins...more
I really liked this book. I was expecting a simple "by the pool" read but it was so much more than that. His details and descriptions of people and the "light" they have within and the forces of evil that exist in our day was really thought provoking. I had to stop and re-read quite a few passages as I thought, "yes, that is exactly it". We are inherently born with a light/soul. I found this book to be so much better than what I was expecting.
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Because this was my purse book, it took me a little while to get into it and I wasn't sure I liked it in the very beginning. The main character, Kevin Fahey, was not a sympathetic character and the first few pages I managed to get through kind of moseyed along.
Then I found a chunk of time and the story grabbed ahold and hung on.
I liked watching Fahey become a better person as a ghost than he was a live being. He was able to move on do what he needed to help Maggie with her case. And Maggie, sh...more
Then I found a chunk of time and the story grabbed ahold and hung on.
I liked watching Fahey become a better person as a ghost than he was a live being. He was able to move on do what he needed to help Maggie with her case. And Maggie, sh...more
Well... finished this late last night and it was not what I expected at all.. much more somber actually... but I really liked it! they say don't judge a book by its cover and the cover of this book just doesn't fit... it was much more dark than the cozy mystery I expected... I like the characters quite a bit and am looking forward to more entries in the series... a pleasant surprise this book was!
This is the most unusual book I have ever read. I really liked it, but I don't even know where to start to explain it. Some very thought provoking stuff. Lots of things that really had me by the throat. All this in a murder mystery, which isn't the real mystery. The real mystery is how did the narrater die? I will definitely be reading the next one in the series.
I liked the idea of a ghost cop, and the "rules" were very consistent regarding of how the ghost could interact and get messages and ideas through to the living world. I haven't run out to the store for the others of the series, but I keep an eye out for this author so I can continue the series.
Light read, and good for those who enjoyed the movie Ghost.
Light read, and good for those who enjoyed the movie Ghost.
I had a difficult time with this book. On the one hand, I really liked the story; I always enjoy a good book about a serial killer. But on the other hand, I could not stand the author's writing style. He was so melodramatic. The characters were over-the-top and too stereotypical. But I had to plow through it to see how it would end. I won't be reading any further books in this series.
Kevin Fahey died a broken down, alcholic cop. For some reason he is still on earth and in searching he finds his purpose. I loved the main characters analization of self and his willingness to accept his faults in life and try to atone for them in death. I felt the mystery was intriguing and really made me think about judgements.
I really tried to finish this book but after reading over 150 pages I ended up just skim reading it in order to finish it. The sad part of it is that when I finished it I felt that I didn't miss anything important to the story. The author wrote very sappy to me, made me loose interest in the story. I immediately removed book 2 from my list of books to read, too many other book out there to waste my time on this series.
Another "Reader's Choice"... kinda strange since it's told from a dead detective's perspective. The author incorporates some really insightful passages about "living life in the HERE." I doubt I'll read any more of the series (I'm not really into the mystery genre), but I did like this one.
The story had an interesting premise but I could not warm to the main character/ghost who was pretty unappealing, maudlin, and constantly bemoaning his fate. While he admits he deserves all the bad things that happened to him he was slow to accept that he brought ALL of hit on himself.
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click here.
This was a new author to me an actually it wasn't bad, just started the next one so hopefully it's as good if not better than the first one, pretty good characters, will have to look into what other books this author has
This book was a pleasant surprise. The bad guy was reallllllly creeping me out-which is great for a fictional bad guy! Right? But the insights this ghost-cop gets after dying are deep and pretty neat. Me likey.
A police detective dies and then helps to solve crimes from beyond the grave. I don't usually read mysteries, but this one was different so I kept reading to see how the dead man's spirit would help solve the crime
Interesting take about a "dead" cop who know has to roam trying to avenge his life. Some people/animals see him while most don't. He helps an investigator solve a murder over the veil per say. Interesting take on the traditional mystery hunting after a killer.
This was really a pretty good Mystery. I normally don't read many mysteries but I would keep going with this series. Some language in this book but good other than that.
This was a refreshing take on a detective mystery book. The detective, one of them anyways is dead. Although both twists were very transparent, that didn't take away from my enjoyment.
Apr 29, 2010
Laurie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Lena,Kersten, Al, Nik
Recommended to Laurie by:
Reader's Choice
Such a well written book. I loved the perspective of the detective who had died and he was now solving crime on the other side. It touches profoundly on redemption and if you can fix and rectify things in your life you have done wrong. Loved it
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