Review: Where Angels Fear: An addictive crime thriller with a gripping twist

Where Angels Fear: An addictive crime thriller with a gripping twist by D.K. Hood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Where Angels Fear is the fifth installment of the Kane and Alton series of suspense thrillers by author D.K. Hood. Although the plot is one that moves quickly and held my interest, the writing is at times clunky, sentence constructions are often awkward and much of the dialogue is unrealistic and cliche. These shortcomings distracted me from the reading and removed me from the story far too often to overlook.

Sheriff Jenna Alton and Deputy David Kane, both living under assumed identities provided them by the government, work to discover the truth behind several missing teenagers. The cases share similarities that are disturbing, and all signs point to a serial killer on the loose in Black Rock Falls, Montana. The investigation unfolds as clues lead Alton and Kane to derelict locations in pursuit of unsavory characters who fall under suspicion. As the tension mounts, the pair close in and the truth of what’s happening in Black Rock Falls is finally revealed.

As mentioned, the story does move quickly from scene to scene, though tossing red herrings like scattered bird shot. Alton develops theory after theory, and shares them with the authority of someone who is convinced she is right. She just wasn’t a very likable character, and in fact some of her dialogue is flat out cringe-worthy. When carrying out interrogations she jumps to conclusions and behaves in a way that calls to mind the cliched cartoon detective—the one who points a finger and yells “AHA!” when he is convinced he has outwitted a suspect. It’s like a demented game of Clue in which someone occasionally ventures an overly enthusiastic guess—“Colonel Mustard in the library with a wrench!”

There were other areas of weakness here as well. Although set in the US state of Montana, Where Angels Fear has a distinctly British under current that is disconcerting. Characters go “to hospital”, a firing is called being “struck off” and a furnace becomes a “boiler”. Other word choices are, while not particularly British, equally as confusing. Pickup trucks are referred to as “rigs”, a grassy road is called a “two track” and the words “gape” and “maw” are put to use more than one time too many. Finally, problematic sentence constructions made the writing feel unpolished and clumsy (“The warm air from the heater permeated through her clothes, she was so sleepy”).

In the end, though a great plot, due to the issues raised above, this was simply not my cuppa tea.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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