Heaven's Rage

by Tiffany Craig Brown

When four women suffer at the hands of one man, the results are deadly!Heaven’s Rage has the usual components of a mystery novel – the crime of murder, a gruff but loveable protagonist and an assortment of suspects - yet it presents a unique theme as it takes readers back in time to tell the stories of four women who loved one man and who are now suspects in his murder.Homicide Detective Ian Buchanan is assigned to the murder investigation of Richard Tate, a retired military helicopter pilot. He quickly determines the victim’s three former wives and college girlfriend all had motive and opportunity to commit the crime. As each of these women takes us through her volatile relationship with Tate, the detective finds himself sympathizing with his suspects rather than the victim. GINA RODRIGUEZ is a career naval officer determined to break through the invisible barriers of a male-dominated military. It’s 1989, and along comes Dick Tate to charm her through a whirlwind romance which leads to an explosive relationship with a drunken and abusive husband.MEG MCALLISTAR is devoted to her son, but manages to get away one night a week to party at a nearby naval base. During one of those evenings in 1982, she meets the recently-divorced Dick Tate. Two years later they marry. As Dick’s bitter resentment of his first wife grows, Meg is subjected to his frequent fits of rage. JORDAN CAMPBELL is just completing her Army training when she meets Dick Tate, a young pilot-trainee. Their brief romance is threatened when they each receive orders to opposite sides of the country, prompting them to wed quickly. Shortly thereafter, Jordan discovers she’s pregnant and is discharged from the Army. COLLEEN MORGAN and Dick Tate are both members of their college swim team. After dating for a couple of months, Dick is becoming serious but his chameleon-like moods trouble her and she decides to end the relationship.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2010

About the author

As the daughter of a career Air Force officer, Tiffany Craig Brown has traveled the world, living in such exotic places as Ethiopia and Japan. Some of her first memories include bathing beneath waterfalls in the African bush. She also saw first-hand the effects of extreme poverty and disease which taught her to appreciate how lucky she was to have been born an American.

After a tour in the Army and a brief marriage, Tiffany moved to San Diego, California with her two young children and enrolled in college. Three years later, she transferred to California State University, Sacramento, where she received a B.S. in Business Administration.

Following her two years as a financial consultant, Tiffany used her financial knowledge and writing skills to gain the position of Corporate Communications Manager for an investment firm where she met her husband. She spent the next 20 years working in various capacities within the communications field.

In 1992, she was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes.

Tiffany's interest in Sacramento city and county politics came during her years as Managing Editor of the Natomas Journal and as a board member of the Natomas Business Association. Although she loved the work, the twelve-hour days began to affect her health so she made the decision to resign and follow her dream of writing a book.

Tiffany is currently a member of the Natomas Schools Foundation Board of Directors and continues to volunteer her time to other community organizations.

Tiffany resides in Sacramento with her husband Tim. Her grown children live nearby and visit often.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heaven's Rage. Tiffany Craig Brown. 2010. Outskirts Press. 343 pages. ISBN 9781432756956.

Heaven's Rage is the first novel by Tiffany Craig Brown, a former corporate communications expert and also former managing editor of the Natomas Journal established in the Sacramento area.

Heaven's Rage is the story of a retired helicopter pilot named Richard Tate who is found murdered in his apartment; the most likely suspects being four women from Tate's past -- three ex-wives and his college lover. Homicide Detective Ian Buchanan must interview all four women to determine who killed Tate, however the more he learns, the more he sympathizes for the women and not the victim!

Tiffany Craig Brown initially pulls readers in by making us privy to the gruesome details of Tate's crime scene, as well as presenting us with a clue left behind at the crime scene in the form of mysterious vomit that is presumed to come from someone other than the victim. I must admit I was truly intrigued by the vomit and where it originated from! As we read the first few chapters, it is evident that Brown definitely performed thorough research concerning the police procedural methods, which are artfully executed.

Upon finishing up with the initial crime scene portion, Heaven's Rage is then split up into four main sections detailing each horrendous relationship Richard Tate had with the women in his life. We learn that Tate (appropriately nicknamed Dick by the way) is a disturbed man with severe issues stemming from his childhood and just like Detective Buchanan, we are appalled by Tate and of the way he treats each woman. I found myself feeling genuinely happy that someone murdered him for the novel's sake, and became emotional in sympathizing with each suspect!

The flow of the novel is superb because it's got the "I-can't-put-it-down!" quality, with perfect transitions and breaks in all the right spots. As a reader, the pleasure and value of Heaven's Rage is being able to identify with each of Tate's "victims", and we find that we love to hate Richard "Dick" Tate along with trying to identify the murderer.

My biggest jaw-dropping moment occurred while reading the following excerpt from ex-wife Jordan's story, in which she recounts an experience on a road trip and camping outing Dick forces her to take with their children:

"I'm really sore and uncomfortable, Dick," she lamented. "Did you forget your promise to the doctor? You were supposed to let me get out and walk around every couple of hours..."
"Oh, quit your bitchin'," he interrupted. "You've done nothing but complain through the whole damn trip. Stop being such a baby!"
Tears stung her eyes. Her lips trembled and her voice wavered as she responded, "I gave birth six days ago! I shouldn't even be on this trip!"
She swiped at her eyes furiously but the more she tried to stop crying, the harder the tears fell.

The above sample is just one of many injustices and harsh treatments Dick imposes on his wives, and this is exactly why we end up sympathizing with the suspects. Can you imagine the idea of spending the rest of your life with such a character? Tiffany Craig Brown will stir much emotion and instill such rage in you while reading Heaven's Rage.

Being an avid murder mystery reader, I believe Heaven's Rage may have been more impacting had there been more concrete clues scattered throughout the novel in regards to determining the murderer's identity. The largest draw and allure of crime and mystery novels is being able to apply the author's clues to solving the murderer's identity before it is revealed to us. Although the murderer's identity is indeed surprising, Heaven's Rage does not provide readers with enough clues to solve the mystery on their own.

I personally enjoyed Heaven's Rage because of my familiarity with the military lifestyle (being a military brat myself) and having lived in the locations featured in the novel including Colorado Springs, San Diego, and Coronado. On the other hand, you won't need to be familiar with the above attributes to enjoy Heaven's Rage and better yet, it will appeal to all genres of readers! Heaven's Rage is evidence that Tiffany Craig Brown has amazing talent hands-down, and as a reader you won't be disappointed! No matter what your taste, you'll gain something from Heaven's Rage whether it be satisfaction from revenge or even being able to relate to nasty divorce and custody battles, among many other real-life experiences this novel brings to light.

Heaven's Rage was released in May 2010, and I hope to see Tiffany Craig Brown follow it up with another. Be sure to stop by and visit her website at http://tiffanycraigbrown.com/!

Read more book reviews at http://dreamworldbooks.com.

[Melissa Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast read. Good suspense story. Thought the transition between what was going on in the story and the characters descriptions was a little destracting. Over all good read. Glad I won it.

[Rietje · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is written extremely well. It hits close to home. I would recommend this book to all my friends. To read what some women go through in a domestic abusive marriage is an eye opener!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Hard to put down,would be easy to finish in one sitting. A good book for a rainy day or a sleepless night.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very tame, after-school-special murder mystery. I was led to believe it would be a more riveting, gritty story. Instead it ended up being the 'same song, second verse' tale the whole way through. The victims were all quaint women and children that had little to no experience with anything other than the perfect role model families. When they were faced with a lying, self-centered, short-tempered bully they felt irreparably violated though they all justified his behavior and let it continue for years. ((I am in no way saying that verbal and physical abuse to a child or a loving partner is in any way acceptable!)) In my mind I had twisted this man into something unrecognizable, expecting to hear horrible atrocities that made him that way. The truth was he was just a good looking pig who should have been fully prosecuted for this first (and worst) crime so that years of anguish could have been spared so many other people. The detectives investigating the case were one dimensional and predictable. The only "real" character in the whole novel was Heather, who was hidden as the ace in the hole the entire story and relegated one short chapter at the end that conveniently fit all of the pieces together. Worth what I paid for it...as a free Friday special.

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took until about half way through this book to decide I liked it reasonably well. Basically, the premise is that a former Navy pilot has been found shot at close range in his own apartment late on a Sunday evening. There is no evidence of forced entryand two apparently untouched glasses of wine were sitting on a counter. Also, there was vomit in the bathroom. All those clues led to the strong suspicion that the victim, Dick Tate, knew his assailant and had willingly led that person in. As the detectives delve into Dick's life, they find out just what a despicable person he had been. There were 3 ex-wives, all of whom told relatively similar stories of Dick's abusiveness. Along the way, we find there had been a fourth significant other whom Dick had not married. There is a pretty good surprise ending but in many ways this book was far too repetitive and somewhat depressing. Overall, I would give it a lukewarm recommendation.

[Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An evil man who had abused all the women and children in his life is murdered, and his three ex-wife are the primary suspects. Each woman is questioned by the police, and the next few chapters are written in the point of that woman and describe her history and relationship with the victim. The murderer turned out to be a big surprise, but the biggest mystery to me was how this totally despicable man managed to entice three intelligent women to marry him.

[Lana Superchi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was definitely full of suspense and kept you on the edge of your seat. I found some of what was written difficult to believe which is why I only rated it two stars. I don't doubt that one man could fool so many women yet the way it was presented to me did not seem likely. This author has excellent potential and I would definitely consider reading another book by her.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story and really got into...I read in one cozy, rainy Saturday because once I started it I couldn't put it down.

[Carole Stamps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a freebie...predictable twist. I think I counted only 2 grammatical errors...which is a GOOD thing.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story but found the telling not to my liking as it felt quite repetitive in places. If the format had been tweeted I feel this would have been a great read