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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
846 global ratings
5 star
66%
4 star
23%
3 star
8%
2 star
2%
1 star
2%
Demolition Angel: A Novel

Demolition Angel: A Novel

byRobert Crais
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Elizabeth Muir-Chamberlain
5.0 out of 5 starsAll I Can Say is, "Wow!"
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2021
This novel is intense. It's filled with intensity on almost every page. I found myself speed reading in a rush to get to the ultimate climax.
There were some issues I had with Carol's self destructive behaviors, but accepted them in light of her experiences. I mean, come on, dainty, lady like, and self composed is not part of a female cop's basic personality to begin with. On top of that, throw in face time with bombs for a living, and you can accept her brash attitude as well earned.
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Top critical review

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An avid reader
VINE VOICE
3.0 out of 5 starsAmateur offering
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2020
I’m a great fan of Robert Crais, but this book feels like he wrote it at the beginning of his career, stuck it in a drawer, then just pulled it out recently—now that he’s famous—and published it.

I’m so used to Crais giving his characters strong and unique voices that I was astonished over this book lacking that completely. The protagonist sounded like the author talking the whole way through.

Crais also wrote in the rookie style of “telling” rather than “showing,” and also going into long expository explanations about what was going on. This was disappointing, as it’s not his norm.

And because he did this, he utterly failed to engage me in the plot or the characters.

The worst was that the book flowed in a very confusing manner (or didn’t flow). Usually a character does a gesture, and then the dialogue of that character comes right after the gesture.

Like so:
Marzik looked miffed. “Kelso asked us not to attend.”
“You’re kidding.”

But Crais would have a character do a gesture, then have the dialogue on the next line:

Marzik looked miffed.
“Kelso asked us not to attend.”
“You’re kidding.”

Then the next person would jump in to speak, then another person, with no “he said, she said” dialogue tags. I was constantly confused over who was speaking, and this took me out of the story. Another shocking fail on Crais’s part.

His main character of Carol Starkey was also very dark—she wasn’t anyone fun to hang out with for the length of a book—and her burgeoning love for ATF agent Pell was under-developed to the point of being unbelievable.

The only thing good about this book was the plot, and because the author failed to engage me emotionally in what was going on, even that lacked.

This was really a 2-star read for me, but I gave Crais 3 on this one, because normally he’s a great writer, and I didn’t want to destroy his star count by too much.

But overall I recommend passing on this book.
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3 people found this helpful

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From the United States

An avid reader
VINE VOICE
3.0 out of 5 stars Amateur offering
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2020
Verified Purchase
I’m a great fan of Robert Crais, but this book feels like he wrote it at the beginning of his career, stuck it in a drawer, then just pulled it out recently—now that he’s famous—and published it.

I’m so used to Crais giving his characters strong and unique voices that I was astonished over this book lacking that completely. The protagonist sounded like the author talking the whole way through.

Crais also wrote in the rookie style of “telling” rather than “showing,” and also going into long expository explanations about what was going on. This was disappointing, as it’s not his norm.

And because he did this, he utterly failed to engage me in the plot or the characters.

The worst was that the book flowed in a very confusing manner (or didn’t flow). Usually a character does a gesture, and then the dialogue of that character comes right after the gesture.

Like so:
Marzik looked miffed. “Kelso asked us not to attend.”
“You’re kidding.”

But Crais would have a character do a gesture, then have the dialogue on the next line:

Marzik looked miffed.
“Kelso asked us not to attend.”
“You’re kidding.”

Then the next person would jump in to speak, then another person, with no “he said, she said” dialogue tags. I was constantly confused over who was speaking, and this took me out of the story. Another shocking fail on Crais’s part.

His main character of Carol Starkey was also very dark—she wasn’t anyone fun to hang out with for the length of a book—and her burgeoning love for ATF agent Pell was under-developed to the point of being unbelievable.

The only thing good about this book was the plot, and because the author failed to engage me emotionally in what was going on, even that lacked.

This was really a 2-star read for me, but I gave Crais 3 on this one, because normally he’s a great writer, and I didn’t want to destroy his star count by too much.

But overall I recommend passing on this book.
3 people found this helpful
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Elizabeth Muir-Chamberlain
5.0 out of 5 stars All I Can Say is, "Wow!"
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
This novel is intense. It's filled with intensity on almost every page. I found myself speed reading in a rush to get to the ultimate climax.
There were some issues I had with Carol's self destructive behaviors, but accepted them in light of her experiences. I mean, come on, dainty, lady like, and self composed is not part of a female cop's basic personality to begin with. On top of that, throw in face time with bombs for a living, and you can accept her brash attitude as well earned.
One person found this helpful
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K. Kaniut
5.0 out of 5 stars Carol Starkey is back from the dead and mad as hell.
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2015
Verified Purchase
A departure from Robert Crais' Elvis Cole and Joe Pike characters. This story tracks a bombing/murder investigation headed by Carol Starkey, a former bomb squad technician whose partner was killed in an accident that left her briefly flat-lined. Though mostly recovered physically, she remains psychologically and emotionally scarred in her new job in LAPD's Criminal Conspiracy Section. Her coping mechanisms include almost equal amounts of sarcasm, anger, antacid tablets and gin. Her old teammates are pulling for her to overcome her many demons but the battle is far from won.

And now someone is targeting bomb squad technicians - again. Carol is placed in charge of the investigation when there seems to be evidence of the return of the mysterious villain "Mr. Red" whose previous attacks on bomb squad technicians have earned him a reputation as a serial bomber and killer, though not yet the "FBI Top 10 Most Wanted" list designation that his ego covets. Carol knows bombs. Was this latest attack really the work of Mr. Red, or does she have a copycat? She and her team are in a race against time to determine the truth before the copycat strikes again, or before the real Mr. Red returns to take his revenge on this copycat who is using his "name in vain".

The story is well-paced and gripping, like all of Mr. Crais' novels. Carol Starkey appears in minor roles in later novels in the Cole/Pike series.
9 people found this helpful
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William D. Curnutt
VINE VOICE
3.0 out of 5 stars A bit to "gritty" for me
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2011
Verified Purchase
I am new to Robert Crais and so I really wanted to enjoy this book. I have read two of the Elvis Cole Detective novels and really enjoyed them. So, I thought maybe here was another. But low and behold this is a Carol Starkey novel. While the action and suspense are good, while the author keeps you guessing as to who the real criminal is there was just something I couldn't quite enjoy. So you ask, what was that?

Well, I didn't enjoy the fact that the heroine, Carol Starkey, needs a cigarette every few minutes to keep her life moving forward. I almost felt like we were reading an add for cigarettes and alcohol. OK, so you say, "well, you are a pastor and pretty sheltered." That is true. But I didn't feel that the cigarette every few minutes needed to be there. Frankly after he makes his point that she is dealing with her angst from the past with cigarettes and booze he could have moved on.

Well, back to the story. Carol Starkey is a bomb squad specialist, well she used to be, that was before she got herself blown up, was dead, and then brought back to life by the efforts of the paramedics.

She lost her partner in the explosion and hasn't been the same since. That was three years ago. Now she is an investigator for explosion scenes, not a bomb squad member anymore. She is called out to the fatal explosion of another bomb squad member. This experience obviously will bring back all her memories of her experience. Crais does a good job of building that part of the story. He does a good job of helping us feel the pain and agony that Carol Starkey has been experiencing.

She must work through this investigation and find, Mr. Red, the person responsible. It turns out he is a serial bomber and has been targeting bomb squad members across the country. Jack Pell enters the story as an ATF agent who comes to try and help solve the case. He and Carol don't quite hit it off at first. But as all of these novels seem to do, their interest in each other develops over the course of the novel.

Long story short. The bomber isn't who you think it should be. Mr. Red does come into play, but not like you would think.

My problems. The over indulgence of smoking, the crass sexual comments and the way to easy to figure out mystery of the story. If you remove the sexual comments and reduce the smoking talk to just a few times you will have a great detective novel. So, for those who read my reviews regularly. I liked the story, but found myself learning to skip over the sexual comments and the smoking and drinking sequences. That made it read quicker.

My recommendation . . . . well, only if you don't mind a 'gritty' novel will you enjoy this.
5 people found this helpful
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PTA45
5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes Good Things Happen to Good People
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
Having run through all of the Elvis Cole stories, I started reading the spin-off tales, and came across this one, involving Carol Starkey, a demolition expert, whose life becomes threatened by a mad bomber. Her only real support comes from a former ATF officer whom the bomber nearly killed. These two lonely, damaged people find a way to nab the bomber; the outcome comes down to two minutes of controlled panic as the bomb timer approaches zero. A very happy ending follows.
Enjoy!
2 people found this helpful
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L. Quido
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars Carol Starkey is a detective. She's also a drunk.
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2003
Verified Purchase
The books of Robert Crais are a revelation in series mystery/thrillers. Friends recommended his satirical, well-sketched detective, Elvis Cole to me some months ago. It took me a little while to speed through the eight novels that feature Cole and his mystery partner, Joe Pike, and I couldn't wait for more! Crais departed from his success with Cole to write two non-series novels in recent years. Each featured a different main character ("Demolition Angel" and "Hostage"). Many novelists fail in their attempts to develop beyond a one-dimensional character focus, because their fans won't let them. Following the path that Michael Connelly and Harlan Coben have set, Crais proves to be the master at proving that he can create multiple marvelous story lines. The two "nonseries" novels met with critical acclaim and quickly hit best seller status. Of the two, I much prefer "Demolition Angel".
Carol Starkey is the disenfranchised heroine of the book. Starkey is one of a rare breed of "bomb squad" cops who treat bombs like sophisticated puzzles. We join Starkey (now off the bomb squad) several years after her lover had died in a freak accident; a minor earthquake set off a bomb that Starkey and Sugar are trying to assess and defuse. Starkey died that day, as well, but they somehow revived her. She's not sure that was a good thing. Since the accident, Starkey's been a walking disaster area; subsisting on Tagamet, coffee and cigarettes, her failures at therapy and her unwillingness to form any meaningful relationships are destroying her energy, in the same way that liquor is destroying her career. Starkey is a drunk.
Another squad technician, Charles Riggio, is fatally blown up by an explosive device as the novel opens. The device bears the signature of madman bomber "Mr. Red". The reader is allowed to spend some time exploring the theory before being introduced to Mr. Red, himself. Complicating the search for the bomber, and toying with Starkey's emotions, is an ATF agent, Jack Pell, who's an expert on Mr. Red.
It's Starkey's case. Solving it will cause her to relive the most horrible day of her life. Many of the leads she turns up are false, and it seems that even Pell wants her to take the easy way out in solving a series of explosions that are devastating the landscape. The powerful story of how Carol Starkey breaks through the pain to follow her instincts without losing her life, will haunt you for days, once the tale is finished.
An excellent introduction to Crais that will make you want to get involved with Elvis Cole, as well!
One of his best, and that's saying a lot!
8 people found this helpful
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oldcaman
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice change from Elvis
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2012
Verified Purchase
Crais is really quite good. He realized that his 'funniest detective' Elvis was getting bit on our nerves and changed his protagonist. The book is written in an appropriately different style and I can only recommend it to everyone.

OK, I would prefer bit less complicated law enforcement individuals. Understandable in the case of Starkey (we know her story from other books) but yet another law enforcement individual with serious problems? For me this is bit redundant - we common folks would prefer to see our law enforcement populated by straight arrows. Unrealistic but this is, after all, a fiction not a documentary.

When author 'documents' problems of the protagonists (smoking, drinking, irregular eating habits, insomnia) one gets bit uncomfortable. One or two of them would be more than enough for me.

I cannot resist a bit of nitpicking. The esential part of the story deals with wrapping the plumbers' sealing teflon tape clockwise or counter-clockwise. I have done it many times and there is really no way to do effectively with the tape wound counter-clockwise (for regular threads). It will just unwrap during tightening the pipe. Well, at least that what happened to me every time I tried.

Also, we civilians would prefer the police brass to be better than the one depicted in Crais's (or Connelly's) books. That too, may be a realistic approach but a few more wise commanders will not hurt.
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John R. Linnell
4.0 out of 5 stars A blast!
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2001
Verified Purchase
Except for the feeling that I might get lung cancer after finishing this book, I really enjoyed it. For some reason, the author felt compelled to have Carol Starkey sucking on a cigarette during most of her waking hours. Perhaps it was to demonstrate her fragile hold on reality after having been killed as a Bomb Squad member of the LAPD. She was clinically dead for a period of time and then revived. Her partner and lover was not so fortunate. Transferred from that position to the Criminal Conspiracy Section of the LAPD (Dective-2) she catches the lead in investigating the death of another Bomb Squad member. It appears that the bomb in the case she is investigating was made by a serial bomber known as Mr. Red who, while available as a killer for hire with his pyrotechnics, is apparently killing a bomb squad member or two, just for the fun of it. To tell more of the story line would give away some of the twists, turns and quirks of this very well told tale of revenge and betrayal. To do that would be to spoil the soup. Again, this book is evidence of the growth of this author from his early and popular Elvis Cole novels.
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Nancy Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars Dark Angel Indeed
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2000
Verified Purchase
Robert Crais' writing is becoming darker. The early Elvis Cole books were rather flip and breezy, but this one is a dark story indeed. In a departure from the Cole series, Crais has given us Carol Starkey, an ex bomb squad tech who has been reassigned to the Criminal Conspiracy Section of the LAPD. Starkey has been maimed in body and mind by the bomb blast that also killed her lover, another bomb squad tech. Though this happened three years ago, Starkey is still living on gin and Tagamet and reliving the incident every night in her dreams. When a bomb technician is killed what seemed to be a routine bomb disarmament, Starkey is assigned to the case. Starkey and an ATF agent believe the bomb is the work of a notorious serial bomber who calls himself Mr. Red. Their investigation leads to some frightening Web sites and to interviews with people who derive pleasure from seeing things explode. When they make contact with Mr. Red, he claims that the bomber they seek is a copycat who may just be one of their own. A great suspenseful read. I finished it in one day. You may not find Starkey likeable, but she is altogether admirable in her tenacity to solve this crime and to reclaim her life.
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allanwol
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2013
Verified Purchase
It reads well and fast. I have no patience for flowery descriptions anymore. I love Elvis and Nick. I like the physical descriptions of the characters which are mature and to the point - it is really getting old to read the latest plethora of books written by people who's writing capability is worse than the average high school English essay - "her full succulent lips" - please! give me a break! The action is fast, real, gripping; and it is nice to have a book that you do not want to put down.
The only thing that pisses me off is the fact that when I buy this book, I pay for it and it belongs to me. I can do whatever I want to with the book, but either the author or the publisher does now allow it to be loaned. This is against the ruling of the Supreme Court and is illegal. I'm thinking Class Action here.
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