Not as much of a thriller as a character study in a small Pennsylvania town. It was a good read, just not super unique in story line or outcome. ( )

4.5 stars.

Despite plenty of dysfunction, despair and dark secrets, Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell is a surprisingly light-hearted yet sometimes heartbreaking mystery set in a small Pennsylvania town.

Police Chief Dove Carnahan is shaken by the discovery of a burned body in the nearby abandoned mining town of Campbell's Run but she is horrified to learn the victim is seventeen year old Camio Truly. Camio's family is well-known for its frequent brushes with the law and somewhat tragic deaths, but Dove is stunned by their lack of interest in bringing Camio's killer to justice. Stonewalled at every turn by the largely apathetic clan, Dove, along with State Police Detective Nolan Greely, unearth the family's well-concealed secrets but is the information they discover a motive for murder? And if it is, is someone in the family Camio's killer?

Although Dove is no stranger to dysfunction or tragedy, she does not let the past define her. Her neglectful but beautiful mother was brutally murdered when Dove was a teenager but she and her sister, Neely, have forged successful lives in the years since the crime. Unfortunately, their younger brother, Champ, has not fared as well as his sisters but when he turns up out of the blue after a decades' long absence, the sisters are hopeful they can repair their distant relationship. Champ's return and the murder investigation coincide with the release of Dove's mother's killer from prison and all of these events combined resurrect painful memories from her distant past but she remains committed to finding the person who murdered Camio.

Despite the lack of crime in the small town, Dove is an excellent investigator and she has an insider's perspective of how her community works. She is keenly observant and empathetic but she also becomes very impatient with the Truly family's lack of cooperation. Although her methods are occasionally a bit unorthodox, Dove uncovers valuable evidence that changes the course of the investigation. While troubled by the brewing problems in her personal life, Dove never loses focus of the task at hand and she eventually breaks the case wide open.

Poignant with an undercurrent of despair, Angels Burning is more than a mystery. This complex story has a cast of deeply flawed yet surprisingly sympathetic characters that are well-drawn and personable. The novel is intricately plotted with seemingly complicated storylines yet when the truth is finally revealed, reasons and motives are shockingly simple and easy to relate to. Another absolutely stellar novel by Tawni O'Dell that offers an intuitive and discerning peek into the seamier side of life in rural America. ( )

Well written and heart wrenching. ( )

My review is originally posted on my blog: http://www.literaryfeline.com/2016/01/bookish-thoughts-angels-burning-by.html

Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell
Gallery Books, 2016
Crime Fiction; 288 pgs
Source: NetGalley

I was first drawn to this book because it features a female chief of police, Chief Dove Carnahan. That and the Pennsylvania countryside setting. Given my dad is from Pennsylvania originally and I still have family there, I enjoy reading books set in the state.

Chief Carnahan knows she and her small force are out of their league when a teenage girl is found brutally murdered in their jurisdiction. She does not hesitate to call in the State Police for help. And while she knows they will take lead on the investigation, she and her team work diligently to solve the crime. The victim is a member of the Truly family, a poor and extremely dysfunctional family. As the chief begins to poke her nose into the Truly family's business, she cannot help but think on her own similar childhood. It doesn't help when a man from her past, the man convicted of killing her mother several years before, is released from prison and returns to confront the chief and her sister. What follows is a dark and twisted look into human motivations, family secrets, and just how far someone will go when pushed to the limit.

Dove has had to work hard to get where she is, sometimes harder just because she is a woman. She is dogged in her approach to her work, rarely showing any outward vulnerability. She has a fierce loyalty to her family, both her sister and her brother. Her childhood has left her somewhat bitter, and has damaged her ability to have a healthy relationship. To say I liked her character would maybe be too much. I never was quite sure of Dove. I felt for her and could understand where she was coming from, but she isn't an easy person to get close to. It's clear she is good at her job and takes it seriously. She has had to make some hard choices in her life, for right or wrong.

I would like to have known more about Dove's sister who at times seemed more closed off than Dove. Her love for animals and preference over them to humans was something I could relate to to some degree.

The Truly family is at the heart of the novel in many respects. They are dysfunction at its worst. Poverty itself does not make dysfunction, but for the Truly family it certainly played a part. The more I learned about the Truly family, the more I found myself mentally backing away from them. I wish I could say families like them do not exist, but I know first hand they do. While the Truly clan was impossible to like for many reasons, the same can't be said for the young Derk Truly who, as wild as he is, seems to have some redeeming qualities. There were a number of times I wish I could have plucked him out of the book and dropped him into a much better--healthier and loving--environment.

O'Dell's Angels Burning was an intense novel, keeping me engaged throughout. The characterizations are raw--you really get a feel for just how desperate and frustrated the characters are. While I felt the murder investigation itself was wrapped up well, I wasn't quite satisfied with the way one particular thread was left. Still, overall I enjoyed this novel.
( )

[Angel's Burning] by Tawni O'Dell
3★'s

From The book:
On the surface, Chief Dove Carnahan is a true trailblazer who would do anything to protect the rural Pennsylvanian countryside where she has lived all fifty of her years. Traditional and proud of her blue-collar sensibilities, Dove is loved by her community. But beneath her badge lies a dark and self-destructive streak, fed by a secret she has kept since she was sixteen.

When a girl is beaten to death, her body tossed down a fiery sinkhole in an abandoned coal town, Dove is faced with solving the worst crime of her law enforcement career. She identifies the girl as a daughter of the Truly family, a notoriously irascible dynasty of rednecks and petty criminals.

During her investigation, the man convicted of killing Dove’s mother years earlier is released from prison. Still proclaiming his innocence, he approaches Dove with a startling accusation and a chilling threat that forces her to face the parallels between her own family’s trauma and that of the Trulys.

My Thoughts:

This was the second book by Tawni O'Dell that I have read this month and I do have to say it was much better than the first one. There is still way too much time spent on descriptions and unnecessary histories of the characters and not enough time on the investigations and the progress in solving the crime.

The plot is very complex at times and there are insights and discoveries in this one that were absent from the first book. I was hoping that [Angel's Burning] might be the beginning of a new series but it seems to be going to remain as a standalone thus far. Some of the character's actions are beyond belief but I believe there is hope for this authors books. ( )