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Death Angel
A psychopathic serial killer, who alerts his victims of his lethal intentions, is thwarted when young Johnny Wright's parents leave town, but Johnny's return years later affords the killer a second chance
236 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 20, 2024
A mysterious serial killer is killing young boys on the countryside. He's mutilating them. When Silas or Silly as he is called kills his whole family the killing spree is over. Was Silly Death Angel? 50 years later Johnny Wright, meanwhile a professor for literature, returns to the little village he grew up. He wants to solve the puzzle about the mysterious killer. He meets some characters of the past still alive. What about his wife Jean? Did she really fall for motorcycle man Manfred? One of the best hick horrors I've read for quite a while. You suspect different characters being the murderer and can't put the book down because of it's flair and sinister pace. Old school prose meets murder mystery and horror with biblical references. Really enjoyed this little long forgotten gem. Highly recommended!
June 2, 2021
So sometimes you just have to choose to read something that is out of your normal reading genre and let the chips fall where they may. My son (37 and still loves old horror books) recommended I read this story. It was a cool rainy day so I thought, what the heck.
I read a LOT of psychological thrillers but I have to admit that the first half of this book was just creepy and unsettling. There is a serial killer in the Nebraska area who targets young boys. Not only does he kill them, but he removes their hands and feet. (I know - creepy.) Those that are targeted actually are pre-warned by a letter that he is coming after them. None of them escaped -- that is until Johnny.
It's been nearly 60 years since the summer that nearly took John's life. With his kids grown and summer session at a lull (John is a college literary professor), he decides to return to his home town to find closure to his narrow escape from the Death Angel.
I'll admit that I figured out who the "Angel" was but still enjoyed watching the mystery unfold. You have to keep in mind that this book was written in 1988, so the writing is a bit dated, but since the story begins in the 1930's, the time and location are dated as well. I can't say I disliked it, but it just wasn't really my cup of tea. The big "gotcha" moment seemed a bit too much to believe, but maybe in 1988 you weren't supposed to think that hard about the plausibility of the ending.
I read a LOT of psychological thrillers but I have to admit that the first half of this book was just creepy and unsettling. There is a serial killer in the Nebraska area who targets young boys. Not only does he kill them, but he removes their hands and feet. (I know - creepy.) Those that are targeted actually are pre-warned by a letter that he is coming after them. None of them escaped -- that is until Johnny.
It's been nearly 60 years since the summer that nearly took John's life. With his kids grown and summer session at a lull (John is a college literary professor), he decides to return to his home town to find closure to his narrow escape from the Death Angel.
I'll admit that I figured out who the "Angel" was but still enjoyed watching the mystery unfold. You have to keep in mind that this book was written in 1988, so the writing is a bit dated, but since the story begins in the 1930's, the time and location are dated as well. I can't say I disliked it, but it just wasn't really my cup of tea. The big "gotcha" moment seemed a bit too much to believe, but maybe in 1988 you weren't supposed to think that hard about the plausibility of the ending.
November 24, 2018
"Fred is out for his morning walk when he finds the body of Joan Cavanaugh floating face down in the lake. This is just the kind of excitement that his doctor told him to stay away from. The sheriff is determined to call it a suicide, so Fred worms his way into the investigation, getting the woman's long lost sister involved against her will. But the more he and Kate investigate, the more questions they seem to have. Can they uncover the secret that got Joan murdered? the idea of an elderly sleuth appealed to me, and I was quick to grab this book. I wasn't disappointed. Fred is a charming character. I especially loved the way he was able to talk people into doing what he wanted sometimes. And you can't help be feel sorry for him whenever everyone gangs up on his health. Kate was an interesting character as well full of so many contradictions you couldn't figure her out. The plot itself is great as well. While I saw a few of the twists coming, there were still plenty of surprises for me and I couldn't wait to reach the suspenseful end. Sadly this series is out of print. Don't let it stop you from meeting a charming character. I'll be hunting down the rest of this great series so I can see what happens next to Fred."
September 1, 2023
2 🎃 rating!
I was initially drawn to Death Angel solely because of its captivating 80's cover art. This book has the vibes of a B-rated 80's slasher film that never graced the big screen but went straight to the dark abyss of VHS.
Set against the backdrop of rural Nebraska during The Depression, Death Angel unfolds through the eyes of a 10-year-old farm boy. His world is overshadowed by the malevolent presence of a serial killer known as Death Angel, a remorseless entity (or demon as the local folks would describe him) wreaking havoc and inflicting gruesome mutilations upon innocent young boys throughout the state. The premise alone sounds scary, right? However, while the potential for terror looms large, the dialogue within the story often descends into cringe-worthy cheesiness, and the author adds a lot of crap we really didn't need to know about. Because of this, the "scare factor" of the book barely registers a 1 on the fright scale.
I was initially drawn to Death Angel solely because of its captivating 80's cover art. This book has the vibes of a B-rated 80's slasher film that never graced the big screen but went straight to the dark abyss of VHS.
Set against the backdrop of rural Nebraska during The Depression, Death Angel unfolds through the eyes of a 10-year-old farm boy. His world is overshadowed by the malevolent presence of a serial killer known as Death Angel, a remorseless entity (or demon as the local folks would describe him) wreaking havoc and inflicting gruesome mutilations upon innocent young boys throughout the state. The premise alone sounds scary, right? However, while the potential for terror looms large, the dialogue within the story often descends into cringe-worthy cheesiness, and the author adds a lot of crap we really didn't need to know about. Because of this, the "scare factor" of the book barely registers a 1 on the fright scale.
January 24, 2021
This story was set in the early 1930's in a rural farming community in Nebraska. Death Angel was a serial killer that went around killing ten year old boys and dismembering them. before he would strike he would send his next target a package with some piece from his latest victim and then soon after he would send a letter with a page torn from the bible... Johnny is his next target but so far he has been able to elude the Death Angel.
THe characters in this story are all loony, a couple of them were so loony they were put into insane asylums... This story was just not for me, it wasnt very engaging the way it was written. I would have DNF'ed it , but I wanted to see if Johnny survived and who death angel was.
Havent been having any luck on reading good stories so far...
THe characters in this story are all loony, a couple of them were so loony they were put into insane asylums... This story was just not for me, it wasnt very engaging the way it was written. I would have DNF'ed it , but I wanted to see if Johnny survived and who death angel was.
Havent been having any luck on reading good stories so far...
September 15, 2024
Not a bad read, a bit slow going but well done. The depression era section was well done I thought.
Plenty of suspects to choose from and it does seem it could be any of them although I did guess fairly early on who the killer was.
Three and a half stars
Plenty of suspects to choose from and it does seem it could be any of them although I did guess fairly early on who the killer was.
Three and a half stars
March 4, 2021
Fabulous!! This book began my lifelong love affair with horror fiction and reading! So happy to have found it again finally in 2021!!!
October 17, 2015
I usually reserve one star reviews for books I can't finish, but there's really nothing good to say about this book and it somehow manages to get even worse in the last five pages.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews