Review of Making Angels
Posted: 03 Sep 2022, 19:43
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Making Angels" by M.J. Holt.]
After Stella Fargo survived her abusive ex-fiancé’s attempt to kill her, she thought life was finally becoming normal again. However, she has recently been receiving weird postcards and threatening phone calls.
Stella’s business partner and friend implored her to go to his daughter Hannah’s home and retrieve her things. Although missing for four months, no progress had been made in finding her. Stella only planned to be there for a couple of days. However, things went haywire when a body dump was discovered in the woods across the road from Hannah’s house, and it was determined that a serial killer was in their midst.
A resourceful and energetic woman named Exie, an elderly neighbor who knew Hannah, offered Stella food and support. Through her, Stella met several neglected and possibly abused children. Retrieving Hannah’s things and returning home will not be as uncomplicated as previously thought.
Making Angels by M.J. Holt is a 306-page crime drama with plenty of suspense. The book begins with three and a half pages of names and descriptions of the characters in the story. This is very helpful as there are numerous names to remember, and I certainly took advantage of it. This is the second book with Stella Fargo as the leading character. After becoming increasingly confused when people and events from the first novel became incorporated into the tale, I downloaded the first book, The Devil’s Safe. Upon completing it, the current story made sense. Therefore, I don’t recommend reading Making Angels as a standalone novel. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed both books, and they are both filled with action and intrigue. Danger seems to be coming at Stella from multiple directions, so there is no time to get bored. The hair-raising suspense kept me thoroughly enthralled. This descriptive story is narrated from Stella’s first-person point of view, which transports the readers into the narrative and makes them feel they are there. Each chapter is labeled with the day when it is taking place, so the reader is able to follow the timeline without confusion.
I thought Stella’s character development was superb. She is a resilient and courageous female protagonist. At times, I thought she took reckless chances on her own (when she could have easily called for help). However, that just illustrated her determination to get to the bottom of things, in spite of her fears. Exie, her neighbor and friend, was my favorite character. Although in her eighties, she was constantly feeding and aiding others in multiple ways. She had a huge family, with multiple children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and they, along with neighbors and friends, were constantly in and out of her house. Exie was a boundless source of energy, courage, and wisdom and was certainly an inspiring figure.
As much as I enjoyed the book, it contained a few problems. The most pressing issue was too many grammatical and punctuation errors. A formatting problem at the beginning should also be addressed. After Chapter One, the next page said Chapter Two with a line underneath it and an additional label of Chapter 1. A following page was listed as Chapter Three, so there was no narrative with Chapter Two. The last problem was on page 294. In the first full paragraph, three sentences were repeated. A professional editor should be able to help with these issues.
If the previous problems are corrected, I’m confident this book would receive the highest rating. Because of the aforementioned reasons, Making Angels receives a rating of three out of four stars. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy crime dramas, mysteries, and suspense novels but only after they read the first book. Violence and profanities are encountered in the novel. Rape is alluded to but not described. If any of these presents a problem for the reader, they might want to look elsewhere.
******
Making Angels
View: on Bookshelves
After Stella Fargo survived her abusive ex-fiancé’s attempt to kill her, she thought life was finally becoming normal again. However, she has recently been receiving weird postcards and threatening phone calls.
Stella’s business partner and friend implored her to go to his daughter Hannah’s home and retrieve her things. Although missing for four months, no progress had been made in finding her. Stella only planned to be there for a couple of days. However, things went haywire when a body dump was discovered in the woods across the road from Hannah’s house, and it was determined that a serial killer was in their midst.
A resourceful and energetic woman named Exie, an elderly neighbor who knew Hannah, offered Stella food and support. Through her, Stella met several neglected and possibly abused children. Retrieving Hannah’s things and returning home will not be as uncomplicated as previously thought.
Making Angels by M.J. Holt is a 306-page crime drama with plenty of suspense. The book begins with three and a half pages of names and descriptions of the characters in the story. This is very helpful as there are numerous names to remember, and I certainly took advantage of it. This is the second book with Stella Fargo as the leading character. After becoming increasingly confused when people and events from the first novel became incorporated into the tale, I downloaded the first book, The Devil’s Safe. Upon completing it, the current story made sense. Therefore, I don’t recommend reading Making Angels as a standalone novel. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed both books, and they are both filled with action and intrigue. Danger seems to be coming at Stella from multiple directions, so there is no time to get bored. The hair-raising suspense kept me thoroughly enthralled. This descriptive story is narrated from Stella’s first-person point of view, which transports the readers into the narrative and makes them feel they are there. Each chapter is labeled with the day when it is taking place, so the reader is able to follow the timeline without confusion.
I thought Stella’s character development was superb. She is a resilient and courageous female protagonist. At times, I thought she took reckless chances on her own (when she could have easily called for help). However, that just illustrated her determination to get to the bottom of things, in spite of her fears. Exie, her neighbor and friend, was my favorite character. Although in her eighties, she was constantly feeding and aiding others in multiple ways. She had a huge family, with multiple children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and they, along with neighbors and friends, were constantly in and out of her house. Exie was a boundless source of energy, courage, and wisdom and was certainly an inspiring figure.
As much as I enjoyed the book, it contained a few problems. The most pressing issue was too many grammatical and punctuation errors. A formatting problem at the beginning should also be addressed. After Chapter One, the next page said Chapter Two with a line underneath it and an additional label of Chapter 1. A following page was listed as Chapter Three, so there was no narrative with Chapter Two. The last problem was on page 294. In the first full paragraph, three sentences were repeated. A professional editor should be able to help with these issues.
If the previous problems are corrected, I’m confident this book would receive the highest rating. Because of the aforementioned reasons, Making Angels receives a rating of three out of four stars. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy crime dramas, mysteries, and suspense novels but only after they read the first book. Violence and profanities are encountered in the novel. Rape is alluded to but not described. If any of these presents a problem for the reader, they might want to look elsewhere.
******
Making Angels
View: on Bookshelves