In the Shadow of Angels

by Donnie J. Burgess

Updated cover art for ASIN:B00UNZR79O

Devin Bryant is a young accident attorney whose star is on the rise. His success has afforded him a beautiful house, a fancy car, a gorgeous wife, and a fast track to partnership. After closing another high profile case, Devin goes out one Saturday night to celebrate with friends and his wife, Bethany. But, Devin has a secret.

Jez Anders is a local harlot who specializes in seducing those with wealth and power. Devin’s rapid success has caught her attention, and now her temptress’s gaze is set firmly on him. And Jez has secrets of her own.

The celebration leads Devin to The Place -a seedy motel just outside of town. The night takes a cruel turn when both Jez and Bethany also arrive. What they don't know is that they aren’t the only ones at The Place that night...

Everyone has a secret…

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

222 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2015

About the author

Donnie J Burgess was born in Roseburg, Oregon in 1974. His first novel, In the Shadow of Angels, was released in March 2015. This thriller has been well received, earning a 5 star ranking from Reader's Favorite and maintaining 4.8/5 ranking on both Amazon and on Goodreads. His second release, Good Intentions -part one of the 'Brian's Secret' story line- released in November, 2015.

Burgess is currently working on parts two and three of the Brian's Secret story line, as well as the supernatural thriller, 'Through the Eyes of Mister Bearsley'. When not working on those projects, or quick, raw short stories like The Telephone, Burgess occupies his time reviewing books for Reader's Favorite and Indie books on his website.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this from Audiobook Boom in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't like this one at all, mostly because I hated the characters, every single one. Not a single one had any redeeming qualities, and each did everything wrong because of their skewed perspectives.

Narration was okay, but nothing special.

[Eric Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this book. Not really so much a murder mystery...more of a "how to get away with murder" comedy. Comedy isn't the right word, but I'll go into this later.

The story revolves mostly around a single night and the activities of several main characters. It starts out simple enough with a hustler, her partner, a local therapist, a lawyer and his wife, and the lawyers two friends. Think of this book as a hustle gone wrong, but not just a little...this is a hustle gone wrong in biblical proportions! People start dropping like flies, and most of the book is centered on how those remaining deal with the situation.

The narration was pretty good. Most of the voices were discernable and the therapist sounded deranged and megalomaniacal, but it seemed to fit by the end. Really did a good job of inflecting emotion when and where appropriate.

Something that I loved was the way the author would go through a scene with one character, then rewind and go through that exact same scene from another character's perspective. It really helped to fill in holes. It felt a little weird from a timeline perspective, but for the storyline, it worked pretty well.

As for the story itself, it felt at time like a cross between Murphy's Law, the Keystone Kops and "What else can possibly go wrong," all wrapped up together. I found myself chuckling a few times in astonishment that the next mishap was even possible, let alone followed shortly by another one. It was a comedy of misfortune, almost to the point where it's really not feasibly possible to believe, but the author did a good job of pulling it off. There's always the fallback of "It could be worse!"

The one thing I really don't understand though is the time spent developing the backstory for the town in which the book is set. It seemed like the book would have some type of tie in with the graveyard and the founding story, but it's not brought back up after the intro. Might have missed it, but that's probably the only thing I found odd.

Overall, very good listen!

I received a free copy of this audio book for an honest review.

[Charles Parkhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat down expecting to read a couple of chapters after dinner and the next thing I knew it was 2am and I had finished it.

I really liked how the story was told from different points of view with each one adding more detail. Loose ends from the beginning, which I had totally forgotten about, were all pulled back together at the end.

I don't normally read this type of book, but I really enjoyed this one.

[Trish Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, I loved how the story unfolded for each character in the book and how the they were all connected...This book kept me entertained and wanting to know how it would end.

[Derek J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this audiobook! The story from multiple perspectives was a great way to tell this story. The way the author intertwined all the details of the night at The Place was amazing to say the least!

The characters were believable and detailed with recent histories of most of them. Every page my curiosity grew more and more. I could hardly wait to keep reading till the end.

I received this review audiobook copy at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Patrick S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is an attempt to have a modern take on a noir tale. It's way too smutty and the very start of it which lends the title to it has nothing to do with anything. The characters are ok but kind of one dimensional. The lead up to the end could have an interesting twist but it kind of just falls apart there too. Not much to say but I would skip this one if I could. Final Grade - D

[Pilar Guerrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, it made me laugh a lot, especially in the internal dialogues of the characters. I found it fast moving and always interesting to continue to read. Some parts were a little too harsh for me, but they were within the context of the story and the characters.
I would have liked to see more depth in the characters, but as a crime novel it was good enough.

[Augusto Delgado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very amusing reading, although the plot was just as predictable as some telly gumshoe series.
What's perplexing is the ease with which the yanks kill and get away with murder, even when the circumstances are ludicrously absurd, there are always corpses to be disposed.

[Simona Nielsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook: 4 STARS (narrator Neal Arango - 5 STARS)

Lies, secrets and dead bodies

In the shadow of Angels is a very intense, dark and suspenseful thriller and it defenitely had me sitting on the edge throughout the story. The story begins in the past and then revolves about one Saturday night where the protagonist Devan goes out for a night on the town with friends and his wife.

During the night we go through a lot of heart pounding supense with creepy characters and creepy language. Secrets are revealed, everyone is in a desperate trouble and just when you think you know it all, the story twists around and takes a new turn. The author Donnie J. Burgess is absolutely brilliant and he has managed to develop the characters to the fullest.

I enjoyed the narrator Neal Arango. He did a great and very enthusiastic bad-boy-performance. He made the story come to life so well, that there's no way you'll fall asleep during this book. I'm sure he has done a vivd job in getting to know these charaters and he performes with different voices and tones for each character.

*This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review*

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, honesty - The cover and title didn't really catch my interest or create high expectations. When I found out the promiscuous girl was named Jezebel, I wasn't hopeful either. BUT - the description doesn't really do it justice I really liked this book!

My favorite aspect of the book was that all of the characters are pretty bad people and pretty unlikeable. Those are my favorite.

EDIT: (it looks like part of my original review didn’t post)

Sadly, I can’t say much about this because it would really be wrapped into the story & would have spoilers left and right. However, the atmosphere and characters the author builds truly make the book. It makes every action that much more important and interesting to the story.

Neal Arango narrated this book and did a fantastic job capturing the casual cruelty of the characters.

This book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for an honest review via AudiobookBoom.

[Bookwyrm Speaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dark and twisted mystery/horror/comedy Hybrid will keep you on your toes pretty much from the start trying to guess who did what. This has so many twists and turns it will keep you guessing until the end, which has a satisfying payoff. Great characters, not entirely sympathetic, are scattered throughout, and the plotting is well paced. Neal Arango does a great job narrating, really bringing the characters to a life of their own.I would definitely recommend this book.

I was given a copy of this audiobook by the narrator, author or publisher in exchange for an honest review from Audiobookblast.

[Charles Parkhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat down expecting to read a couple of chapters after dinner and the next thing I knew it was 2am and I had finished it.

I really liked how the story was told from different points of view with each one adding more detail. Loose ends from the beginning, which I had totally forgotten about, were all pulled back together at the end.

I don't normally read this type of book, but I really enjoyed this one.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and enjoyable.

I found it to be an interesting mix of dark humor and unfortunate circumstances, where the characters keep falling deeper into a situation outside their ability to effectively control. The dialog was a bit campy at times, but that is part of the charm.