Official Review: In the Shadow of Angels

Please use this sub-forum to discuss any crime, thriller, mystery or horror books or series.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Post Reply
TrishaAnn92
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3986
Joined: 20 Oct 2013, 15:59
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =2595">The Messenger (2)</a>
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 192
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-trishaann92.html
Latest Review: Superhighway by Alex Fayman
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 20

Official Review: In the Shadow of Angels

Post by TrishaAnn92 »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "In the Shadow of Angels" by Donnie J Burgess.]
Book Cover
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


In the Shadow of Angels written by Donnie J Burgess is a Suspense/Thriller novel. It is Donnie J Burgess's first novel. This is a story that starts out innocent enough with innocent characters but turns out to be full of secrets and deceptions. One problem leads a group of people down a dark path that they may never be able to find their way back out.

What started as an affair and a broken marriage quickly became the worst night of their lives. Devin Bryant a lawyer was going about his night as usual, out enjoying the night. When he goes to meet his mistress, however, his night becomes one that he is likely to never forget. Unknowingly his wife was at the same place he was going to which sets them on a path of crime where secrets come out and each lie and deception is bigger than the last. Beginning with his wife Beth, six characters are unaware of each other's involvement with a murder. This leads into a story full of dramatic irony. After the murder is committed the characters begin to realize how each one of them is connected to the crime whether it be through a heinous act of their own or just circumstantial. But as the story goes on each person involved commits their own heinous act adding to all of their problems and dragging them deeper into a hole they can never escape from.

There was a lot that I liked about this book. Firstly, the author begins with the background of the town that the story takes place in and it really draws the reader in with the ominous feeling it provides. Once the story moves on to the present day that feeling stays with the reader throughout the entire story making it difficult for the reader to put the book down. Also, the story is given from the perspective of all the characters involved, adding to the dramatic irony and giving the reader a better connection with the characters making them all easily relatable. What I liked most about the story was how it ended. The author left off with a bit of a cliffhanger, leaving the reader wanting to read more. But also allowing the reader to decide what happened for themselves based on what they knew about the character in question.

Now, there was one thing I did not like about the story and that was the amount of grammatical errors. I had to reread sentences several times throughout to understand what the author was trying to say. I think that it really detracted from the story for me because of how many there were. Other than that as I said before I really enjoyed reading the book.

I rate In the Shadow of Angels by Donnie J Burgess a 3 out of 4 stars because I really enjoyed the book. It was fast paced and held the reader's attention with the dramatic irony and suspense offered by the different characters. I would have rated the story a 4 out of 4 stars if it were not for the errors throughout the story. I highly recommend this book to all those looking for a good suspense novel.

******
In the Shadow of Angels
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Barnes and Noble

Like TrishaAnn92's review? Post a comment saying so!
User avatar
debo9967
Posts: 489
Joined: 15 Feb 2015, 21:52
Bookshelf Size: 64
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-debo9967.html
Latest Review: "Self Examination" by VK Grover

Post by debo9967 »

Seems like an engaging book. Nice review.
Latest Review: "Self Examination" by VK Grover
TrishaAnn92
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3986
Joined: 20 Oct 2013, 15:59
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =2595">The Messenger (2)</a>
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 192
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-trishaann92.html
Latest Review: Superhighway by Alex Fayman
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 20

Post by TrishaAnn92 »

Thank you. :)
User avatar
PashaRu
Posts: 9174
Joined: 15 Mar 2014, 17:02
Currently Reading: Vicars of Christ - The Dark Side of the Papacy
Bookshelf Size: 191
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-pasharu.html
Latest Review: "Damn Females on the Lawn" by Rachel Hurd

Post by PashaRu »

Thanks for a nice review, Trisha! Sounds like a cool story.
[Insert quote here. Read. Raise an eyebrow. Be mildly amused. Rinse & repeat.]
Latest Review: "Damn Females on the Lawn" by Rachel Hurd
User avatar
gali
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 53652
Joined: 22 Oct 2013, 07:12
Favorite Author: Agatha Christie
Currently Reading: The Suite Life
Bookshelf Size: 2287
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gali.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
Publishing Contest Votes: 0
fav_author_id: 2484

Post by gali »

Thank you for the nice review. I am glad you enjoyed the book despite its grammatical errors. :)
A retired Admin/Mod

Pronouns: She/Her

"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
TrishaAnn92
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3986
Joined: 20 Oct 2013, 15:59
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =2595">The Messenger (2)</a>
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 192
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-trishaann92.html
Latest Review: Superhighway by Alex Fayman
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 20

Post by TrishaAnn92 »

PashaRu wrote:Thanks for a nice review, Trisha! Sounds like a cool story.
It was. :)

-- May 19th, 2015, 8:56 am --
gali wrote:Thank you for the nice review. I am glad you enjoyed the book despite its grammatical errors. :)

:) Thank you, gali. It was pretty easy to overlook them despite their annoyingness with everything else going on.
User avatar
bookowlie
Special Discussion Leader
Posts: 9071
Joined: 25 Oct 2014, 09:52
Favorite Book: The Lost Continent
Currently Reading: The Night She Went Missing
Bookshelf Size: 442
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bookowlie.html
Latest Review: To Paint A Murder by E. J. Gandolfo

Post by bookowlie »

Nice review! The plot sounds interesting. Glad you were able to enjoy the book, even with those pesky grammatical errors. When there are so many errors, it just becomes unprofessional.
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
TrishaAnn92
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3986
Joined: 20 Oct 2013, 15:59
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =2595">The Messenger (2)</a>
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 192
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-trishaann92.html
Latest Review: Superhighway by Alex Fayman
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 20

Post by TrishaAnn92 »

I wouldn't necessarily say unprofessional. Inexperienced, yes. Unprofessional, no. All other aspects of the book were very well done. It was good enough that I'm sure the authors books will improve and I would look out for any other books that he writes. :)
User avatar
bookowlie
Special Discussion Leader
Posts: 9071
Joined: 25 Oct 2014, 09:52
Favorite Book: The Lost Continent
Currently Reading: The Night She Went Missing
Bookshelf Size: 442
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bookowlie.html
Latest Review: To Paint A Murder by E. J. Gandolfo

Post by bookowlie »

I can see what you mean. I used the word unprofessional since I feel a book is published, as opposed to a diary or journal that people write for themselves. The good news is your review contains constructive criticism, which the author will probably use to improve his future works.
"The best way out is always through" - Robert Frost
User avatar
ann864
Posts: 5
Joined: 19 May 2015, 13:22
Currently Reading: Forever Twelve
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by ann864 »

Awesome book.I love it!
TrishaAnn92
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3986
Joined: 20 Oct 2013, 15:59
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =2595">The Messenger (2)</a>
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 192
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-trishaann92.html
Latest Review: Superhighway by Alex Fayman
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 20

Post by TrishaAnn92 »

bookowlie wrote:I can see what you mean. I used the word unprofessional since I feel a book is published, as opposed to a diary or journal that people write for themselves. The good news is your review contains constructive criticism, which the author will probably use to improve his future works.
I agree completely with what you are saying and I also see where yu are coming from. Though it does seem to be a trend with the ebooks. :)

-- May 19th, 2015, 3:19 pm --
ann864 wrote:Awesome book.I love it!
Have you read it? :)
User avatar
DonnieB
Posts: 1
Joined: 27 Apr 2015, 06:34
Currently Reading: In the Shadow of Angels
Bookshelf Size: 14
Reading Device: B00KC6I06S

Post by DonnieB »

Thank you for taking the time to review my book, TrishaAnn. I really love your summation, it is probably better than the back copy I currently use.

I am glad you liked it despite the issues with grammar. As mentioned in the dedication to the book, it was written solely for my Mother. The plan was to print a single copy to give her as a gift and call it a career. When she insisted that I make the book available to her friends, I knew I had to hire an editor. I had no idea how expensive editing was until that moment. With prices ranging from $1500-$4000, I just couldn't go with a really good editor (4G's is a bit more than I could reasonably pay for what was essentially a birthday gift for Mom). So the editor that I employed to help me on this project wasn't exactly top shelf, and it shows.

Grammatical issues aside, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. This gives me hope. If I can scrape together enough pennies before next year, Mister Bearsley might be able to earn that fourth star.
TrishaAnn92
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 3986
Joined: 20 Oct 2013, 15:59
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... =2595">The Messenger (2)</a>
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 192
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-trishaann92.html
Latest Review: Superhighway by Alex Fayman
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 20

Post by TrishaAnn92 »

DonnieB wrote:Thank you for taking the time to review my book, TrishaAnn. I really love your summation, it is probably better than the back copy I currently use.

I am glad you liked it despite the issues with grammar. As mentioned in the dedication to the book, it was written solely for my Mother. The plan was to print a single copy to give her as a gift and call it a career. When she insisted that I make the book available to her friends, I knew I had to hire an editor. I had no idea how expensive editing was until that moment. With prices ranging from $1500-$4000, I just couldn't go with a really good editor (4G's is a bit more than I could reasonably pay for what was essentially a birthday gift for Mom). So the editor that I employed to help me on this project wasn't exactly top shelf, and it shows.

Grammatical issues aside, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. This gives me hope. If I can scrape together enough pennies before next year, Mister Bearsley might be able to earn that fourth star.
I really think it is great you did that for your mom. The editing cost I what is keeping me from completing the writing of my own book, that and my children. :) good luck with your writing.
User avatar
Jesska6029
Posts: 544
Joined: 28 Feb 2015, 09:21
Favorite Author: J.K. Rowling
Favorite Book: The Harry Potter series
Currently Reading: It and Mr. Mercedes
Bookshelf Size: 279
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-jesska6029.html
Latest Review: "Texaners: Eight Short Stories" by T. F. Rhoden
fav_author_id: 1778

Post by Jesska6029 »

Nice review! This books seems like a good one!
“Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default.” ~J.K. Rowling
Latest Review: "Texaners: Eight Short Stories" by T. F. Rhoden
User avatar
JungHaeju
Posts: 9
Joined: 27 May 2015, 22:56
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-junghaeju.html

Post by JungHaeju »

Hmm. Nice, informative review.
Post Reply

Return to “Crime, Thrillers, Mystery and Horror Books”