Stolen Angels - Shaun Hutson

I have had this book on my book shelf for about 5 years, and I finally got around to reading it recently. I wasn't to sure from the blurb if it was a book I wanted to read, as it contains "scenes" of child abuse and suicide. I discovered on reading it also contains references to witch craft and black magic. Not to mention satanic rituals.

I was pleasantly surprised though that Shaun Hutson, the author of this brilliant book, ...
...The same can be said of the suicides too.

This book is, in brief, about the police trying to discover why 3 ordinary professional men, a surveyor, an accountant and an architect, all commit suicide. All 3 appear to be happy and successful, so why would they all want to kill themselves? That is the question Chief Inspector James Talbot has to answer.

Also trying to solve the mystery is Catherine Reed, a journalist. She ... more

I have had this book on my book shelf for about 5 years, and I finally got around to reading it recently. I wasn't to sure from the blurb if it was a book I wanted to read, as it contains "scenes" of child abuse and suicide. I discovered on reading it also contains references to witch craft and black magic. Not to mention satanic rituals.

I was pleasantly surprised though that Shaun Hutson, the author of this brilliant book, didn't over elaborate the child abuse, with unnecessary descriptions. The same can be said of the suicides too.

This book is, in brief, about the police trying to discover why 3 ordinary professional men, a surveyor, an accountant and an architect, all commit suicide. All 3 appear to be happy and successful, so why would they all want to kill themselves? That is the question Chief Inspector James Talbot has to answer.

Also trying to solve the mystery is Catherine Reed, a journalist. She becomes involved when her lover, Philip Cross, a photographer for the police, is called to the scene of the first suicide. He lets her tag along, much to the dismay of Talbot, who has had a bad experience at the hands of the journalist in the past. Through out the book you discover that not only does Talbot have a terrible past he is trying to forget, he has to cope with the fact his mother, who is in a residential home for the elderly, is dying of cancer.

The story takes an interesting twist when Catherine's brother, Frank Reed, a local Deputy Head teacher at a local comprehensive school, tells her he is worried about a boy at school who he believes is exhibiting signs of abuse. He is also going through a rough personal patch. His wife has left him and taken their daughter with them. He is distraught when his estranged wife begins to restrict his access to his daughter whom he is completely devoted too. Catherine and Frank are very close, and this is obviously a bone of contention for Philip. This is due to the fact he wants more from Catherine than she is prepared to offer him and feels she puts her brother, quite rightly, before him or their relationship.

Things go from bad to worse for Frank when his estranged wife accuses him if sexually abusing his daughter, and he is arrested and charged for it. He also finds him self being on the receiving end of the head teachers wrath after he goes to the police and reports that he believes several of his pupils are being abused. The head feels this is going to bring bad press upon the school and Frank is disgusted that his priorities are with the schools reputation rather than the welfare of the children who attend the school.

There are also the desecrations at a local cemetery. As if this isn't bad enough things are made worse by the fact that all the graves vandalised are those of children. This becomes another mystery for Catherine Reed to try and solve. She soon discovers that this isn't the first time that this has happened, not at this particular cemetery but at another one on the other side of town.

Then there is Shanine Conner, a young girl who is frightened and running from something or someone. We follow her plight as she runs from Manchester to London. We never know what has her so frightened until the end of the book, and of course I am not going to tell you!!

How are these things connected? Is their a connection? These are questions I found my self asking as I read this book. All of which are answered in the last 50 or so pages.

There are some very interesting and weird twists and turns in this book. And I felt that the subject matter was handled surprisingly sensitively. There were moments when reading this that I felt overwhelmed by what was happening and had to put the book down so I could return to reality. I was, however, always compelled to keep picking it up to discover what the out come of this book would be.

I whole heartedly recommend this book. If you are a fan of horror/mystery/thriller books then this is a must read for you. Don't be put off, as I was originally, by the subject matter of this book. It is an interesting and well written book. The ending was one I really didn't expect. It was a little abrupt and took me somewhat by surprise, as it ended just as it was getting really good. However, it certainly left me thinking "well, I wasn't expecting that!"

This book is available from Amazon.co.uk new for £5.59 + P&P or used from as little as 00.01p + P&P. You can also obtain it from abebooks.com for $1 which converts to the small sum of just 56p + P&P.

The ISBN for this book is: 0751501255

Thank you for reading.

Anna ©
 

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