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Angel Boy
Dana Pierson has invited Mia Antonelli, the grand-niece of her friend Father Giovanni Borelli, to stay with her while the girl attends a private Catholic high school in Boston. As Dana, a reporter for the Globe, settles the Italian teen into her new life, she is caught up in the excitement and horror of a potential story as one Catholic church, then another, is set on fire. Joining forces with the State Fire Marshal, Ryan Kelly, Dana sets out to determine who is responsible, unaware that Mia and her new friend, Meagan, are attempting to solve another mystery—what happened to Dana’s three-year-old son who disappeared thirteen years ago.
As Dana becomes more involved in the investigation, as well as with Ryan Kelly, she realizes that he has enlisted her help because of a story she covered years ago involving a scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston. As details from the past are reexamined, these two tragedies—the church fires and the disappearance of Dana’s son—collide and come together in a most unexpected and shocking way.
As Dana becomes more involved in the investigation, as well as with Ryan Kelly, she realizes that he has enlisted her help because of a story she covered years ago involving a scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston. As details from the past are reexamined, these two tragedies—the church fires and the disappearance of Dana’s son—collide and come together in a most unexpected and shocking way.
366 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 5, 2021
6 people are currently reading
623 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Jones
104 books88 followersKelly Jones grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho. She graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, with a degree in English and an art minor. During her junior year in Italy she developed a love for both travel and art history.
Her Dana Pierson mystery series includes Lost and Found in Prague (2015), Bloodline and Wine (2019), and Angel Boy (October 2021.)
The Woman Who Heard Color (Berkley Books, October, 2011), is a historical novel set in Munich, Berlin, and New York. A story of family loyalty, banned art, and creative freedom, it spans a period of over a century.
Other novels include The Seventh Unicorn (Berkley Books, 2005), inspired by The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries in the Cluny Museum in Paris, France, and The Lost Madonna (Berkley Books, 2007), set in Florence, Italy.
In her novella and short story collection, Evel Knievel Jumps the Snake River Canyon . . . and Other Stories Close to Home, she departs from these settings in a story set in her hometown of Twin Falls, Idaho.
She is a mother and grandmother and is married to former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones, who also served on Idaho’s Supreme Court. They live in Boise.
Visit Kelly at http://www.kellyjonesbooks.com
Her Dana Pierson mystery series includes Lost and Found in Prague (2015), Bloodline and Wine (2019), and Angel Boy (October 2021.)
The Woman Who Heard Color (Berkley Books, October, 2011), is a historical novel set in Munich, Berlin, and New York. A story of family loyalty, banned art, and creative freedom, it spans a period of over a century.
Other novels include The Seventh Unicorn (Berkley Books, 2005), inspired by The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries in the Cluny Museum in Paris, France, and The Lost Madonna (Berkley Books, 2007), set in Florence, Italy.
In her novella and short story collection, Evel Knievel Jumps the Snake River Canyon . . . and Other Stories Close to Home, she departs from these settings in a story set in her hometown of Twin Falls, Idaho.
She is a mother and grandmother and is married to former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones, who also served on Idaho’s Supreme Court. They live in Boise.
Visit Kelly at http://www.kellyjonesbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 23, 2021
Review of eBook
When seventeen-year-old Mia Antonelli arrives in the United States to spend the school year in Boston, she’s both tentative and thrilled. Although she hadn’t told anyone, she’d been messaging with Zac Pierson and they’d developed a friendship.
Dana Pierson, a friend of Mia’s father and Zac’s aunt, is hosting the teenager for the school year. Dana, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the “Globe,” had been part of a team of reporters that, some fifteen years earlier, had uncovered a scandal within the Archdiocese of Boston . . . her big break in journalism.
Now, she finds herself caught up in another story revolving around the Catholic Church; this time it’s a series of arson fires set in abandoned church buildings. As she becomes entrenched in the story, she finds herself attracted to the State Fire Marshall, Ryan Kelly. As they investigate, the witness accounts all seem to point to an angel in the midst of the fires.
As Mia settles into school, making friends with Meagan MacCormack [another girl new to Saint Gertrude’s], she learns about the mysterious disappearance of Dana’s three-year-old son, Joel, some thirteen years ago. The girls decide to investigate.
Will Dana discover a connection between her long-ago investigation and the fires? Is there really an angel at the scene of each church fire? And what will Mia and Meagan learn about Joel?
=========
This character-driven narrative, third in the Dana Pierson series, works well as a standalone for readers who have not read the earlier books in the series [“Lost and Found in Prague” and “Bloodline and Wine”]. With nuanced, well-developed characters and an intriguing premise, readers will find themselves pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset. difficult to set this one aside before turning the final page.
Several unexpected plot twists keep the suspense building and, at the same time, build empathy for the characters involved in the story. There’s a strong sense of constancy, a sense of allegiance, friendship, and rapport woven throughout the fabric of the story; together with some sweet romantic moments, it creates a narrative that will keep those pages turning until readers reach the story’s satisfying denouement.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program
When seventeen-year-old Mia Antonelli arrives in the United States to spend the school year in Boston, she’s both tentative and thrilled. Although she hadn’t told anyone, she’d been messaging with Zac Pierson and they’d developed a friendship.
Dana Pierson, a friend of Mia’s father and Zac’s aunt, is hosting the teenager for the school year. Dana, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the “Globe,” had been part of a team of reporters that, some fifteen years earlier, had uncovered a scandal within the Archdiocese of Boston . . . her big break in journalism.
Now, she finds herself caught up in another story revolving around the Catholic Church; this time it’s a series of arson fires set in abandoned church buildings. As she becomes entrenched in the story, she finds herself attracted to the State Fire Marshall, Ryan Kelly. As they investigate, the witness accounts all seem to point to an angel in the midst of the fires.
As Mia settles into school, making friends with Meagan MacCormack [another girl new to Saint Gertrude’s], she learns about the mysterious disappearance of Dana’s three-year-old son, Joel, some thirteen years ago. The girls decide to investigate.
Will Dana discover a connection between her long-ago investigation and the fires? Is there really an angel at the scene of each church fire? And what will Mia and Meagan learn about Joel?
=========
This character-driven narrative, third in the Dana Pierson series, works well as a standalone for readers who have not read the earlier books in the series [“Lost and Found in Prague” and “Bloodline and Wine”]. With nuanced, well-developed characters and an intriguing premise, readers will find themselves pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset. difficult to set this one aside before turning the final page.
Several unexpected plot twists keep the suspense building and, at the same time, build empathy for the characters involved in the story. There’s a strong sense of constancy, a sense of allegiance, friendship, and rapport woven throughout the fabric of the story; together with some sweet romantic moments, it creates a narrative that will keep those pages turning until readers reach the story’s satisfying denouement.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads program
October 11, 2021
What an extremely satisfying, edifying, emotionally satisfying, and mystifying journey the three books in this series have been. A bit bittersweet to finish this book. All of the threads in the series seem to be concluded. Which I am afraid means my time with the characters I know and love are probably not going to be appearing in print again. Guess I will just have to read them again later.
Dana Pierson, the main character, started this series shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. At the time she was an aspiring journalist. By the start of this third book, decades have passed. Dana has become a well known journalist for the Boston Globe and was instrumental in researching and revealing the sexual abuse scandal and cover up. Unfortunately, that is not the only reason Dana is famous in Boston. She and her husband, along with their 3 year old son, Joel, had gone to her family home, along with other family members to spend Easter weekend. The night before most of the women were in the yard hiding eggs for the little ones to find in the morning. However, the tragic discovery that morning was that Joel, who had been sleeping in a small bedroom with his 4 year old cousin, had vanished. No sign of him had ever been found, either living or dead. This tragedy profoundly affected Dana's personal life, as well as her emotional well being. Now, in present day Boston, her writing partner having taken a leave, she is investigating a series of fires set in vacant Catholic churches, and teams up with the state Fire Marshall to try to solve the mystery. Both Dana and the marshall have personal ties to the crimes. And now I am not going to give any more information, because I do not want to spoil the fun for anyone else.
I was fortunate enough to read an ARC of this book. But reading the actual finished copy was an even bigger treat.
Dana Pierson, the main character, started this series shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. At the time she was an aspiring journalist. By the start of this third book, decades have passed. Dana has become a well known journalist for the Boston Globe and was instrumental in researching and revealing the sexual abuse scandal and cover up. Unfortunately, that is not the only reason Dana is famous in Boston. She and her husband, along with their 3 year old son, Joel, had gone to her family home, along with other family members to spend Easter weekend. The night before most of the women were in the yard hiding eggs for the little ones to find in the morning. However, the tragic discovery that morning was that Joel, who had been sleeping in a small bedroom with his 4 year old cousin, had vanished. No sign of him had ever been found, either living or dead. This tragedy profoundly affected Dana's personal life, as well as her emotional well being. Now, in present day Boston, her writing partner having taken a leave, she is investigating a series of fires set in vacant Catholic churches, and teams up with the state Fire Marshall to try to solve the mystery. Both Dana and the marshall have personal ties to the crimes. And now I am not going to give any more information, because I do not want to spoil the fun for anyone else.
I was fortunate enough to read an ARC of this book. But reading the actual finished copy was an even bigger treat.
October 18, 2025
Angel Boy by Kelly Jones is a haunting, emotionally charged mystery that blends investigative suspense with deep personal reckoning. When reporter Dana Pierson welcomes Mia Antonelli into her Boston home, neither woman anticipates how quickly the past and present will intertwine through a wave of church fires, buried scandals, and the unresolved pain of a child’s disappearance.
Jones masterfully interlaces two mysteries the arson attacks and the haunting loss of Dana’s son into a single narrative where faith, guilt, and truth collide. The partnership between Dana and State Fire Marshal Ryan Kelly unfolds with both professional tension and emotional depth, while Mia’s parallel investigation adds youthful courage and hope to a story heavy with loss.
Tautly written and profoundly human, Angel Boy explores how grief reshapes the soul and how redemption can emerge from even the darkest secrets. It’s a mystery that burns slow and bright, lingering long after the final revelation.
Jones masterfully interlaces two mysteries the arson attacks and the haunting loss of Dana’s son into a single narrative where faith, guilt, and truth collide. The partnership between Dana and State Fire Marshal Ryan Kelly unfolds with both professional tension and emotional depth, while Mia’s parallel investigation adds youthful courage and hope to a story heavy with loss.
Tautly written and profoundly human, Angel Boy explores how grief reshapes the soul and how redemption can emerge from even the darkest secrets. It’s a mystery that burns slow and bright, lingering long after the final revelation.
October 25, 2021
Wow!
What an ending to the Dana Pierson books! It kept me guessing, and I'm happy it ended as it did. You don't have to read the other two, but I enjoyed them all. Thank you, Kelly, for another great story!
What an ending to the Dana Pierson books! It kept me guessing, and I'm happy it ended as it did. You don't have to read the other two, but I enjoyed them all. Thank you, Kelly, for another great story!
March 11, 2022
Loved this 3rd book in the series and loved the ending! Sometimes when an author winds up a story it doesn't feel right - this one felt good when I read the last page. My only negative is that I will really miss the characters - I hope there is a book 4 sometime soon.
February 20, 2024
The lost one
Dana and Ryan are investigating 3 church fires as Dana hosts Mia from Italy for the school year. Mia investigates Dana's loss of 9 years ago when her boy was abducted. I liked thus series a lot!
Dana and Ryan are investigating 3 church fires as Dana hosts Mia from Italy for the school year. Mia investigates Dana's loss of 9 years ago when her boy was abducted. I liked thus series a lot!
November 4, 2021
This was my first book by Kelly Jones and I enjoyed it. I need to read the first two books in the series even though this one was easily a standalone.
August 11, 2025
The story line (however implausible) kept me reading to see if my hunches would turn out right. Other than that, it wasn't great but it wasn't bad.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews