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Arch Angels
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Plot Summary of Arch Angels
"

Dunne, Mar 2004, 24.95, 352 pp.
ISBN: 0312308787

So far the victims are all between the ages of eight and ten. The three strangled in St. Louis were female: in Chicago three boys were murdered in the same manner. Every couple of days a killing occurs. The police in both cities remain baffled over whether there is one culprit, two in tandem, or an originator and a copy cat as the I-55 serial killings of these little angels leave law enforcement officials feeling helpless and distraught.

Federal Service Killer Task Force Detective Joe Keough flies to St. Louis while his partner Harriet Connors travels to Chicago to help with the inquiries. The local cops are irate that these superstar outsider hired guns are perching in their territory, but that does not stop Joe and Harriet from taking over much of the investigations. Soon the DC based duo finds twin suspects, but are they driven killers or is there something even more diabolical behind the serial murders of the angelic children?

Though Joe and Harriet are an interesting duo whose teamwork makes this serial killer investigation work as the latest of what seems like the zillionth serial killer novel offers quite a stretch of a solution to the murders. The story line moves at a leisurely pace more suited to a cozy belying that a killing machine or two is preying on the preadolescent populace. The territoriality of the local police seems genuine though one would hope that they would welcome outside expertise.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Arch Angels
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Kind of investigator - police procedural, American
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - insanity
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 8 or more
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Arch Angels
Sullivan's Justice by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
Endgame by Dee Davis
Night Game by Kirk Russell
Dangerous Curves by Pamela Britton
Darkness on the Edge of Town by J. Carson Black


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