Rating: 
Summary: Great book, beginning to end
Review: This was a great book. I had not read any Robert Crais books prior to reading Demolition Angel. I liked the book well enough to explore other books by Crais and am in the process of reading them now. Great book all the way through.
Rating: 
Summary: Tough and gritty
Review: Carol Starkey is a bomb squad technician who is now working with L.A.P.D.'s criminal conspiracy section. Formerly she was an active member of the demolition squad but barely escaped with her life after an horrific explosion which killed her lover and left her badly mutilated,both physically and mentally.
She exists mainly on alcohol,cigarettes and Targemet and is barely holding herself together,even with the help of psychiatrists. When a serial bomber kills one of her former workmates, she is thrust back into the spotlight and is teamed with an out of town bomb expert,Jack Pell.While this is an exciting 100 mph race to track down the killer, Carol is a difficult heroine to empathise with and I'll remain ambivalent about her as a regular in Crais books until she cleans up her act a bit.Her standards of personal hygiene are dubious to say the least and for someone who doesn't shower regularly and who wears the same clothes repeatedly---not to mention the non-eaters, smokers breath and hair which must reek of cigarette smoke, she'd be enough to knock over a brown dog at 20 paces !!!
Rating:
Summary: Sustained Suspense
Review: Carol Starky is an interesting character. She is strong/weak, tough/vulnerable, and a little crude. I didn't like her very much at first, but as the story evolved, I found myself liking her more and more. Three years earlier she was on the bomb squad when a bomb unexpectedly exploded and killed her partner/secret lover and nearly killed her. She survived with some terrible scars and is still trying to deal with it and not doing very well. Her job is all she thinks she has left and she's barely holding it together. Then another man on the bomb squad is killed by a bomb. This leads Starky on a perilous trail to discover who is responsible. Along the way, she meets Special Agent Jack Pell of the ATF and her personal life is turned upside down. This is a wonderfully plotted mystery with many interesting characters. The suspense is sustained to a tension filled ending. An excellent read.
Rating: 
Summary: Been there, Done that
Review: Carol Starkey is the only character you can be sure about. Former bomb tech, now homicide detective is fighting the demons of her past as she confronts a fatal bomb explosion that killed people she knows. As character after character is introduced, you begin to realize none of them are who they seem to be. The clues are all there, you just have to pay attention.A good summer afternoon read.
Rating:
Summary: good stand-alone
Review: this book is actually teetering on the halfway mark between four and five. This is a very good standalone novel from Crais. The plot is good, very original. the writing is as humane as ever, and the writing about the bomb-squad procedures is interesting and well researched. Carol Starkey is a very good character, well developed, and real. There are few male authors who can write accurately form a female perspective, but Robert Crais appears to be one of the exceptions. She is believeable and interesting. I would like to read more books about her. The way her relationship with Pell grows is also really well written and paced. Also, somewhat touching. The conclusion is thrilling and the solution satisfactory. Its good to know that his talents dont just lie with the Pike/Cole series, and that he can write different types of books. Shows range, which is always good. Well done RC, a compelling and well written thriller.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD FOR A FOUR!!!!!
Review: Starting a new character, Carol Starkey, Crais takes you through the horror of working the bomb squad. Starkey was a bomb squad technican but an explosion that took her partners life and nearly ended hers has gotten her assigned to the Criminal Conspiracy Section. A bomb has gone off killing another technican, Starkey is on the new case. She has two partners, Beth Marzik, who she does not get along with and Jorge Santos, a real good cop. The have to catch the bomber before he strikes again. Special Agent Jack Pell, with the AFT shows up and they are all sure he will take over the case. Pell is sure the bomber is Mr. Red. A man they have been after for a while. The book will hold your attention. You won't want to put it down once you start. Did Mr. Red set the bomb? What about Pell?????? Can Starkey continue to live on gin and tagament and still function well enouth to catch the real bomber?????
Rating:
Summary: Starts OK but gets better and better!
Review: This was written before The Hostage, which I read first, my first time reading Mr. Crais. I loved The Hostage, it was so fast paced, so I thought I would read some of his other novels. This started off slower than Hostage, not grabbing you quickly, but the more you get into it the better it gets. The characters are believable. Readers cannot help but feel empathy with the main character, Carol Starkey, detective and bomb expert, who lost her life briefly but was revived after a terrible blast which also took the life of her lover. This story begins 3 years after that fact. She is still having trouble dealing with it, still undergoing therapy, and surviving on gin, cigarettes and Tagamet. Yet, her mind is sharp and her experience invaluable in seeking the answers to what happened and who is responsible when another of her close associates is killed in yet another blast. Her involvement with agent Jack Pell, in trying to solve the case and catch Mr. Red, the presumed bad guy, draws them closer together, which creates havoc for each of them emotionally, as they each have baggage to deal with and don't know how to do so. The plot twists are page-turners and keeps the reader involved and on the edge of your seat after the first few chapters. I had trouble putting this book down for the last third of it. The internet dialogue between Carol and Mr. Red, is riveting, and the climax very intense. I do recommend this book if you are a fan of crime drama and suspense.
Rating:
Summary: excellent read
Review: This was the first R. Crais book I'd read in several years. I don't remember what the first one was that I read, but I didn't care for it. But I happened to see this one and decided to try it, and I'm really glad I did. I enjoyed it a lot - enough that I ordered two more books by Crais.
Rating:
Summary: Rough around the edges.
Review: Three years after the blast that killed her partner and lover and left her physically and emotionally scarred, Carol is assigned as lead investigator in a bomb explosion that had killed yet another officer, Charles Riggio. When a federal agent shows up asking questions, Carol is convinced that the case is going to be taken away from her. This makes Carol even angrier, and spurs her to continue her investigation no matter what. Demolition Angel is fast-paced, always moving, and always someting happening. There seems to be no down time at all during this book. It was a little unrealistic in the sense that Carol lives on gin, cigarettes, and tagamet - I think throughout the whole book she actually only ate maybe two or three times, but the characters are believable. I hope Robert Crais decides to continue using Carol Starkey as another series.
Rating:
Summary: A good "listen...."
Review: I, too, "read" this book on a Recorded Books, Inc. version by the great Paul Hecht (he did "The Shipping News," and made it come alive for me). "Angel" is a fun story, with oddball characters...Starkey is quite the hard-boiled heroine. I guess if you've been blown apart and come back to life you might just be a little more wary than the average person. The only thing I really objected to was that she was abusive - she socks her would-be lover three times and he (a former FBI agent) barely raises a whimper...call him "Whimpy." That reduced his attraction for me. And - I don't believe anyone should ever hit another person, especially someone you think you love. Hello? Other than that, it's well-paced, well-written story and the excitment and intrigue build. Enjoyable. Could be a great action flick.
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