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Angels Burning
Angels Burning
Angels Burning
Audiobook10 hours

Angels Burning

Written by Tawni O'Dell

Narrated by Susan Bennett

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Oprah Book Club pick Back Roads comes this fast-paced literary thriller about a small town police chief who's forced to dig into her own shadowy past as she investigates the murder of a teenage girl. 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. With countless accolades to her credit, author Tawni O'Dell writes with the "fearless insights" (The New York Times Book Review) she brought to the page in Back Roads and One of Us. In this new, masterfully told psychological thriller, the past and present collide to reveal the extent some will go to escape their fate, and in turn, the crimes committed to push them back to where they began.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 5, 2016
ISBN9781501904639
Author

Tawni O'Dell

Tawni O'Dell is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed novels Back Roads, Coal Run, Sister Mine, and Fragile Beasts. She was born and raised in the coal-mining region of western Pennsylvania. Visit her website at tawniodell.com.

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Reviews for Angels Burning

Rating: 4.104838524193548 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dove Carnahan is Chief of Police in a rural Pennsylvania town. Her job is typically more administrative than investigative. So when a girl's body is found beaten and burned in abandoned part of town, Dove must rally her team's limited resources to find out what has happened. In addition, she must work with the state police, including Chief Nolan, with whom she has a past, to solve the crime. In doing so, Dove becomes entwined with a local redneck family. The crime also brings up memories of the murder of Dove's mother many years ago. Will Dove be able to bring justice for this crime, without getting sidetracked by her own past?

    I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it took me by complete surprise. Part of it was that I felt that I knew the characters. I've grown up with families like these - gone to school with them, live near them now. O'Dell portrayed the town dynamics flawlessly and she did a magnificent job of bringing each character into full detail.

    Dove is an interesting character - flawed in many ways, but you cannot help but root for her and like her. The entire book felt somewhat familiar, like I'd picked up in the middle of series. (Speaking of, when this ended, I thought, oh I hope O'Dell writes another book featuring Dove.) Dove reminded me a little bit of Kate Burkholder, from Linda Castillo's excellent series - another strong female detective fighting for her hometown.

    There were a few plot points that seemed a bit unbelievable (at one point, Dove shoots out the tires on a boys' pickup truck, just because he's annoyed her - something that would no doubt get her fired in this crazy media/viral video age we live in), but O'Dell's writing and plot gets you past any missteps. I thought Dove focused a bit too much on worries about her age (she's just turned 50) and her gender -- pointing out how men wouldn't treat her a particular way if she was actually a man. But really, Dove is so excellent at her job that she really just manages to prove that she can do anything - age or gender be damned.

    The plot is intriguing and compelling and you find yourself drawn into the deceased girl's family and acquaintances, as well as Dove's own family and past. Honestly, when this one was over, I felt sad, which is a rare quality anymore. 4.5 stars.

    (Note: I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    [Angel's Burning] by Tawni O'Dell3★'sFrom 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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had heard & read so many terrific reviews regarding this author since she was an Oprah pick many years ago. When this book was released, all of the critics raved, one even said that she was putting it on her "best of 2016" list.
    Well with such high praise, i was surprised to find that this story is a straight forward police proceedural. It is set in a small Pennsylvania town where a young girl from a local, notorious dysfunctional family is found murdered. And it's up to Dove, the town's female sheriff (with help from the state police) to solve the case. As the formula goes, the murdered girl's crazy family is uncooperative, which keeps the reader wondering how much they know about the murder and how closely they are involved.
    There is a side story about past secrets that Dove and her sister and brother are keeping, they were part of a dysfunctional family as well.
    Overall this story did keep me reading to find out "whodunit". Not a standout, but a pleasant read, 3.5 stars.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this book. Having just read Fragile Beasts, I was hoping it would be just as good and it did not disappoint. It has a little something for everyone - family drama, mystery, even a little humor and romance. The ending seemed to be setting up for a possible series of Dove Carnahan books - I hope that is the case because I will definitely read them. Tawni O'Dell does a great job of creating characters you care about and paints an absorbing and realistic picture of small town life.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tawni O'Dell has created an intense mystery involving a murdered teenager in a small mining town in Pennsylvania. Police chief Dove Carnahan, a fifty-something single woman works with the state police to investigate the death. What we learn is the family dynamics, not only of the teenager's family, but that of Dove and her family. It is a mystery, but also a look at family secrets and small town life is like. O'Dell really creates characters with depth making the reader care about them.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell is a very highly recommended fast-paced literary murder mystery in a contemporary setting.

    In the opening of Angels Burning, Police Chief Dove Carnahan, and two of her young officers meet Detective Nolan Greely and his team from the state police Criminal Investigations Division at a horrific crime scene in an abandoned rural Pennsylvania mining town. Dove had called in the state detectives right away because she knows she will need help solving this crime. There they recover the body of a teenage girl who was beaten and her body was thrown into a burning sinkhole. Apparently this action wasn't disposing of the body sufficiently for the perpetrators, so an accelerant was used, leaving the top half of her body burned beyond recognition.

    The teen is later identified as Camio Truly, a 17 year-old from a severely dysfunctional blue collar family. By all appearances, Camio is the one bright light in the hate-filled Truly family, which has more than its fair share of incarcerations, deaths, and illegitimate births. Camio actually wanted to go to college and make something of her life. The Truly family seems sullen and uncooperative. Camio's mother, Shawna, is apathetic. Her sister, Jessyca, a single mother, seems to care. When the matriarch of the clan, Miranda Truly, shows up, they all stop any pretense of cooperation. Miranda makes it clear that they don't trust Dove Carnahan. She also has no problem throwing the fact into Dove's face that Dove comes from a family background just as sketchy as their family.

    It is known in the community by those old enough to remember that Dove's beautiful, promiscuous mother used men to survive. She cared more about herself than her three children, Dove, Neely, and Champ. Dove reflects that "From watching my friends at home with their moms, I learned the most important aspect of a mother’s love was not the intensity but it’s reliable consistency." This consistency was something none of her siblings ever had from their mother. She was murdered when Dove was fifteen. Dove and her younger sister Neely are still very close, but both have chosen solitary lives. Neely trusts dogs more than people. Their younger brother, Champ, took off when he was 18 and they have only heard from him a few times. Now, right during this current murder investigation, Lucky Dombosky, the man convicted of murdering her mother based on testimony from Dove and Neely, has been released after serving 35 years. He maintains that he was innocent and is accusing Dove and Neely of framing him.

    This is an extremely well written and very satisfying mystery. The characters are remarkably well developed; the plot is complex and full of surprising insights and discoveries. Dove Carnahan is not perfect, but she came across as a real person. I loved it when she mentioned she got new shoes from Kohl's - with a 30% off. I could picture myself saying that exact thing (only maybe adding on sale with a 30% off and some Kohl's cash.) She recognized and knew the name of the bedding collection from Bed, Bath and Beyond, only because she has just went there. Sometimes it's the little details like this that pop-up in a character's conversations that make them feel like real people, someone you'd know.

    I am hoping that Angels Burning is part of a series. It felt like it could be, or that at least there should be another book with Dove and Neely to continue on with some story lines that were left open. Make no mistake; the murder is solved in a very satisfying way with some twists and surprises. However, I would love to spend some more time with Dove and see what happens next in her life. (I read Angels Burning in December, but wanted to make sure it was on the list of books for 2016 when it is released because it will be a contender for a top book.)

    Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Gallery books via Netgalley for review purposes.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Chief Dove Carnahan is the main character of this story. She is a police chief in a small community in Pennsylvania. There is an abandoned mine just out of town where the body of a teenage girl is found, partly buried and partly burned. It is up to her and her team to figure out what happened to her and why. She is identified as Camio Truly, a member of the Truly family, notorious for being rednecks and petty criminals. Suspects abound, Camio's family and her boyfriend are among them.Dove has issues of her own and her story is told along with the ongoing investigation of the girl's murder. Dove's mother was murdered when Dove was a teenager. Dove also has a sister Neely and a brother Champ. Their stories are also mingled in. Neely is a dog trainer with issues of her own, Champ left the family shortly after their mother was murdered and has not returned in 20 years, then suddenly turns up with a son. The man who was tried and convicted for the murder is out and he is not happy that he had to be imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.All of these stories combine to tell tale of dysfunctional families at their best, and worst. A suspenseful story that gets even more suspenseful as the story goes on. Definitely twists that I never saw coming. I love a good mystery/thriller type story and Angel's Burning is one of the better ones that I have read. All of Tawni O'Dell's books take place in Pennsylvania coal mining communities and she writes of the locality very well. This is the first book I have read by this author but I certainly will be reading more. I give this book 5 stars.I received a copy of this book for review and my honest thoughts.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Living in rural community can be a blessing and a curse due to long community memories. Dove Carnahan grew up in Buchanan, Pennsylvania as the eldest of three illegitimate children. Her illegitimacy was overlooked, if not "forgiven," when her mother was murdered. Now Dove is working as the sheriff in her hometown and must deal with another murder that has the town buzzing in Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell.It's usually hard to keep secrets in a small community, but the Truly family has more than their fair share of secrets. Sheriff Dove Carnahan is forced to try to delve into these secrets while she investigates the brutal murder of 17-year-old Camio Truly. Dove is not a novice law enforcement officer, but she's only been involved in three murder investigations over a 25-year span. She has no choice but to accept the assistance of the regional state police investigator, Nolan Greeley, who just happens to be her married occasional lover. If dealing with a secretive and insular family like the Trulys wasn't bad enough, Dove also has to contend with the release of the man found guilty of her mother's murder and he's accusing Dove and her sister Neely of lying about his guilt. Just when she thinks it can't get any worse, her estranged brother Champ returns after a 27-year absence with his nine-year-old son in tow. Dove has no choice but to deal with her past, her family's past, as well as the Truly's family past. What is the truth behind her mother's murder? Why did her brother stay away and incommunicado for so many years? Can Dove solve the murder of Camio Truly without destroying the Truly family?Ms. O'Dell has packed quite a lot of action and chills in Angels Burning. Some of the topics include pedophilia, rape, incest, and murder. The characters in this story include good people, not-so-good people, and very bad people, as well as people that are a mixture of good, not-so-good, and bad. Dysfunctional families are the more the norm than not, and the Carnahan family is just as dysfunctional as the Trulys, yet both seem to think that although they have issues it's not as bad as the other family. It might be easy to think that Angels Burning is a dark story, but it isn't. Ms. O'Dell has provided realistic characters in a realistic environment dealing with all-too-realistic scenarios, and yes, some of these scenarios are dark. The characters are all flawed and they all seem to know it, but most are striving to make the best of their bad situations. Did I enjoy reading Angels Burning? Yes! I found Angels Burning to be an engrossing read that captured my attention from the first page to the very last. If you enjoy reading realistic psychological thrillers, then you'll definitely want to read Angels Burning. If you've never read a psychological thriller, then put Angels Burning on your to-be-read list, it will not disappoint.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Could a book get much better than this? I was glued to the seat of my reading chair, I didn't want to miss a second of this whodunit. Chief of Police, Dove Carnahan is called out to a brutal crime scene of a young girl. She knows she's over her head on this case so she calls in State Police CID Investigator Nolan for assistance. I fell in love with Chief Dove when she's out in this no man's land barefoot because she was dressed for a Chamber of Commerce luncheon that day. She just bought a new pair of shoes at Kohl's with a 30% off coupon and didn't want to get them messed up. That's my kind of female protagonist when they are a law enforcement official. Well, let's just say she doesn't make the luncheon that day. When the young girl's identified as the youngest daughter of the Truly clan who happens to be one of the counties most dysfunctional families this case hits Dove pretty close to home. She came from one as well, but even she can't get over the indifference that awaits her with this case. There are several subplots going at the same time, that wove this novel brilliantly together. I didn't want it to end. The dialog never got stale and the setting is so real you could feel the heat, plus taste the dust the of the old mining town. Could a book get much better than this? I don't think so, at least not one I've read in a long time.I would like to thank Gallery Books and NetGalley for e-galley of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Tawni O'Dell has cemented herself on my list of favorite authors by writing with a true voice about places and people I grew up with. "Angels Burning" is set in Buchanan, a small city in the coal mining regions of Western PA, an Appalachia that few readers know. The book begins with the early morning discovery of the body of a murdered teenager stuffed into a mine fire. (For those of you who don't know about mine fires they are worth looking up.) Sheriff Dove Carnahan ruins a perfectly good outfit crawling into the muddy stinking mineshaft. She then goes to the office, showers in the locker room, and changes into a sweatsuit to finish the workday, glad to have missed breakfast with the VFW but sorry about her flowery blouse.In these very few pages Sheriff Carnahan comes to life as a pragmatic woman who sees what has to be done and does it with minimal fuss and bother while retaining a wry humor about nice clothes and what beauty means to a woman of 50. Her sister trains guard dogs. Their brother fled town years ago. These characters have been shaped by childhood with their slut of a mother and by her murder.That's all you need to know, really, about the book. The plot is plenty good, but it is the sense of people and place that sets this book above others. Ms O'Dell grew up in Western PA, and she is an accurate reporter. The scene setting – human, animal, and landscape – is as good as it gets.I received a review copy of "Angels Burning" by Tawni O'Dell (Gallery Books) through NetGalley.com.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A brutal murder opens this book with a bang. Veteran Police Chief Dove Carnahan has her hands full trying to solve the murder of Camio Truly and deal with her own emotional family crisis. Dove and her sister Neely have secrets; secrets that have been hidden for many years; a murdered mother, emotional scares from a neglected childhood, deep scares involving their brother, the ex-con convicted murderer returning to town declaring his innocence demanding they tell why she and Neely lied in court, their brother Champ has returned home after years with a son in tow, and the Truly's have dark terrible secrets that are circling around them; will all the secrets come to the light of day or will they remain buried?Secrets and mysteries are a theme in this story that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you try to ferret out the underlying secrets and lies. Ms. O’Dell masterfully leads you through the many layers of this story as she weaves the past and present to create a psychological thriller of the first order that intrigues the reader. Ms. O’Dell blended mystery, thriller, murder, family secrets, and lies into a well-developed story. Her character development and pacing was excellent as she showcases small town life and family relations from the richest to the poorest, the secrets they hide and the lives they lead.You will not want to put this book down. Ms. O’Dell even throws in a little romance to the mix, along with many twists and turns. This was an excellent well-rounded character driven read.I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A special thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Tawni O’Dell returns following One of Us (2014), with another haunting suspense mystery, set in the rural Pennsylvania area. Where secrets are buried— and the past threatens to roar its ugly head in the present.Dove Carnahan a fifty-year-old tough police chief in the rural Pennsylvanian coal town. A mom’s murder has been hidden. Thirty-five years ago, the most heinous crime this town has ever seen—until today. The crime has been forgotten by most, except her children, her mother, and the man who unfairly paid for it. Dove is loved by her community; however, beneath her badge lies a dark secret, she has kept since she was sixteen. Neely, Champ, and Dove—then they moved to Gil’s mansion when they were fourteen, twelve, and nine. As the book opens, someone has stuffed a girl, beaten to death in a fiery hole in the ground. The top portion of her body had been badly burned. Her hair is gone and the damage to her skull is obvious. Hopefully she was dead before she was lit on fire. One of the worst crimes she is faced with solving. Plus, one of the worst families. Dove and Nolan are on the case (they also have a little history). To further complicate her life, the man convicted of killing Dove’s mother is released from prison, where he has spent the last thirty-give years. Years ago, her mother’s only standard for men was that they could afford her. Young, old, handsome, homely, muscly, portly, blue-collar, white-collar, married, single, educated, and as dumb as dirt: she had watched all kinds come and go. Very few of them appealed to Neely and Dove. Lucky had been a jerk from the start. Now she is dealing with the dead girl’s family – The Trulys. Camio Truly, only seventeen years old. The girl went missing and now they will need her dental records to identify her. Who would do such a horrific thing to a young girl? During her twenty-seven years in law enforcement, each homicide was committed by a family member, spouse, or significant other. At the moment, she has no idea why anyone would want Camino truly dead, but someone has to answer the question.” She wants Camio’s killer brought to justice as much as anyone—including her own family. Told from Dove’s POV, readers get the down and dirty from all the rednecks, hillbillies, and dysfunctional families in town; mixed with wit and sass. Intertwined with the present day girl’s murder, Dove has an angry man out of prison on her trail, and demands answers why her family lied and sent him to prison. Can you say, psychological damage? The two stories connect. The ties that bind---despair, family; and the lengths they will go to protect those they love, crossing moral lines of right and wrong (victim and survivor). For me, I would not classify the novel as a psychological thriller, as much as it is a mystery; family dysfunction, and character-driven, with a feisty protagonist.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I finished Tawni O’Dell’s Angel’s Burning and can say this is a good southern crime novel set in small town Pennsylvania. I swear I heard a twang or two in some of the voices! This has got murder, adultery, family secrets, sibling rivalry with what should be a southern gothic edge but isn’t. O’Dell’s skill in dialogue really comes through with depicting the eleven-year-old Mason who is wise and fragile. The female police chief, Dove, is a great character as is her dog trainer sister and I hope to see them back. This isn’t just a whodunit. O’Dell expresses some ponderous turn of phrase throughout along with some wicked humor. An overall writing win!Provided by publisher
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I received a free advance e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The author does an excellent job of developing each character in this psychological thriller. This book is about rednecks and dysfunctional family life in a small town in Pennsylvania coal country. The present investigation dredges up old traumas and secrets from the chief of police’s past. There are several storylines and plot twists that held my interest until the end leaving me anxiously waiting for the next book featuring Police Chief Dove Carnahan.