LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Barry Forshaw on R. J. Ellory and Stanley Ellin...
A Quiet Belief in Angels was the breakthrough book for British writer R.J. Ellory, and his particular skill lies in a sprawling, ambitious realisation of American locales – at times reminiscent of the great Stanley Ellin. And like the sardonic American author of The Speciality of the House, Ellory has a taste for the darker recesses of human psychology.
January 2008 Book of the Month.
Sarah Broadhust's view...
Named the No.1 Mystery of the Year by The Strand Magazine.
Now for something completely different – a small-town setting for a riveting tale, one that grows so that when the eventual horror comes, it fair hits you in the stomach. It involves the killing of young girls as World War I breaks out in Europe, a period of death and brutality that so affects a young boy that his teacher persuades him to write about his feelings. We get much depth and emotion which in a crime novel lifts it way above the genre. I particularly enjoyed this one.
Reviewed on Richard & Judy on Wednesday 30 January 2008.
Comparison: William Kowalski, John Irving, Edward Wright.
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A Quiet Belief in Angels Synopsis
Joseph Vaughan's life has been dogged by tragedy. Growing up in the 1950s, he was at the centre of series of killings of young girls in his small rural community. The girls were taken, assaulted and left horribly mutilated. Barely a teenager himself, Joseph becomes determined to try to protect his community and classmates from the predations of the killer.
Despite banding together with his friends as ' The Guardians', he was powerless to prevent more murders - and no one was ever caught. Only after a full ten years did the nightmare end when the one of his neighbours is found hanging from a rope, with articles from the dead girls around him. Thankfully, the killings finally ceased.
But the past won't stay buried - for it seems that the real murderer still lives and is killing again. And the secret of his identity lies in Joseph's own history...
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780752882635 |
| Publication date: |
27th December 2007 |
| Author: |
R. J. Ellory |
| Publisher: |
Orion Publishing Co |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
396 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Thriller and Suspense
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
R. J. Ellory Press Reviews
"Once again R.J. Ellory shows off his special talents... This isn't your standard shock and bore serial killer novel. It's an impassioned story of a man's life told in Ellory's distinctive voice, and it confirms his place in the top flight of crime writing." Susanna Yager. Sunday Telegraph
"Each jolt strikes perfectly, and the reader will seek, utterly riveted, this masochistic beating right to the end of the book... This is thriller writing of the very highest order." Matthew Lewin,The Guardian
Author
About R. J. Ellory
R .J. Ellory is the author of nine previous novels including the bestselling A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS, which was a Richard & Judy Book Club selection and won the NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR CRIME FICTION PRIZE. Ellory's novels have been translated into 23 languages, and he has won the USA EXCELLENT AWARD FOR BEST MYSTERY, the STRAND MAGAZINE BEST THRILLER 2009, the THEAKSTONS OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR for A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE and the QUEBEC LAUREAT. He has been shortlisted for a further 13 awards including four Daggers from the UK Crime Writers' Association. Despite the American setting of his novels, Ellory is British and currently lives in England with his wife and son.
He has also written books under the name Roger Jon Ellory, which can be viewed by clicking here.
In 2011 R. J. Ellory was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library, awarded to an author for a body of work.
Author photo © Adam Scourfield
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