Rating: 
Summary: TV vampires have never been better.
Review: A battle to the death in the 18th century drives Angel to protect a lovely innocent actress who is not a vampire but plays one on TV. The intense hunger for her blood, her life which once drove him to destroy her is now replaced by an irrational desire for atonement. But is she the same woman who had vowed to kill the vicious Angelus? Has her hate kept her alive for 200 years for one purpose and one purpose alone...to kill the vampire who took her life? The story ripples with action and danger. Cults,spirits, bookies and the LAPD insist on interferring in Angel's quest for redemption. Doyle and Cordelia provide the comic relief with their friendly bickering. Especially amusing is Cordelia suggesting that they make a TV series out of Angel's life. I strongly recommend this book. I read it all in one sitting.
Rating:
Summary: Whitney Tyler's not a vampire, she just plays one on TV...
Review: Angel Investigations takes on the case of Whitney Tyler, the hot young actress who plays the vampire Honor Blaze on "Dark Midnight," the hit television show. It seems that there is a cult of crazies out there who think Whitney is a real vampire and are trying to kill here. If that was not enough of a hook for author Mel Odom to get you interested in this original novel based on the "Angel" television series, he also tosses in a sinker: Angel recognizes Whitney as somebody from his past (as in two centuries past). I have to admit up front that in "Redemption," a story set in the very early days of the "Angel" series (i.e., Doyle is still around), employs a narrative technique that more often than not rubs me the wrong way, namely alternating chapters between the present and the past until the author is ready to tie up all the narrative threads in one neat little bundle. Usually pacing is one of Odom's strong suits, but I think the fact that the chapters set in Ireland in 1758 are long on mystery and short on clues, works against this approach. However, two of Odom's other strengths are amply present in "Redemption." The first is his characterization, where he does a nice job of capturing Angel's reticence, Cordelia's babbling self-absorption (at that point in the series), and Doyle's unhuman ability to constantly put his foot in his mouth when it comes to having a conversation with Cordelia. In all of this "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" novels Odom always has his characters talking the right talk. However the most memorable character in the book is actually one of the minor characters. No, not the loan shark who collects toes, but Gannon, a priest from a warrior cult sworn to slay demons and the like who is willing to give the vampire with a soul the benefit of the doubt; marvelous idea for a character and well written. Second, Odom comes up with a pretty good payoff for the mystery. If anything, he holds off on the payoff too long and by the time we know Whitney Tyler's secret we do not really have a moment to enjoy the revelation because it is time to fight the final big fight. Along similar lines, Odom should be working out more of the mystery elements of the two mysteries in "Redemption", namely who or what is Whitney Tyler and who or what is killing the guards assigned to protect her. Now, I do not mind not being able to figure out the mystery, but I do like to feel the clues are there for me to at least play along, and that is not really the case in this novel. But, to be fair, Odom is dealing with a character that is in the Sam Spade hard-boiled detective tradition, where you go along for the ride and watch the man work his mojo, rather than the Sherlock Holmes super slueth genre. Add to that the fact that the "Angel" series has never been into deciperhing the clues and my criticism is pretty much completely undercut. But it still would have been sweet. Obviously one of the other fun bits in "Redemption" are the bits about a hit show about vampires (Cordelia is always complaining that Whitney's character does not have a "grrr" face like a real vampire). Odom shows remarkable restraint in regards to such wry commentary, but you have to wish he had let himself have a bit more fun with that aspect of the story. "Redemption" is certainly an above-average "Angel" book and proves once again Mel Odom never short changes his readers in any of these books.
Rating:
Summary: Whitney Tyler's not a vampire, she just plays one on TV...
Review: Angel Investigations takes on the case of Whitney Tyler, the hot young actress who plays the vampire Honor Blaze on "Dark Midnight," the hit television show. It seems that there is a cult of crazies out there who think Whitney is a real vampire and are trying to kill here. If that was not enough of a hook for author Mel Odom to get you interested in this original novel based on the "Angel" television series, he also tosses in a sinker: Angel recognizes Whitney as somebody from his past (as in two centuries past). I have to admit up front that in "Redemption," a story set in the very early days of the "Angel" series (i.e., Doyle is still around), employs a narrative technique that more often than not rubs me the wrong way, namely alternating chapters between the present and the past until the author is ready to tie up all the narrative threads in one neat little bundle. Usually pacing is one of Odom's strong suits, but I think the fact that the chapters set in Ireland in 1758 are long on mystery and short on clues, works against this approach. However, two of Odom's other strengths are amply present in "Redemption." The first is his characterization, where he does a nice job of capturing Angel's reticence, Cordelia's babbling self-absorption (at that point in the series), and Doyle's unhuman ability to constantly put his foot in his mouth when it comes to having a conversation with Cordelia. In all of this "Angel" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" novels Odom always has his characters talking the right talk. However the most memorable character in the book is actually one of the minor characters. No, not the loan shark who collects toes, but Gannon, a priest from a warrior cult sworn to slay demons and the like who is willing to give the vampire with a soul the benefit of the doubt; marvelous idea for a character and well written. Second, Odom comes up with a pretty good payoff for the mystery. If anything, he holds off on the payoff too long and by the time we know Whitney Tyler's secret we do not really have a moment to enjoy the revelation because it is time to fight the final big fight. Along similar lines, Odom should be working out more of the mystery elements of the two mysteries in "Redemption", namely who or what is Whitney Tyler and who or what is killing the guards assigned to protect her. Now, I do not mind not being able to figure out the mystery, but I do like to feel the clues are there for me to at least play along, and that is not really the case in this novel. But, to be fair, Odom is dealing with a character that is in the Sam Spade hard-boiled detective tradition, where you go along for the ride and watch the man work his mojo, rather than the Sherlock Holmes super slueth genre. Add to that the fact that the "Angel" series has never been into deciperhing the clues and my criticism is pretty much completely undercut. But it still would have been sweet. Obviously one of the other fun bits in "Redemption" are the bits about a hit show about vampires (Cordelia is always complaining that Whitney's character does not have a "grrr" face like a real vampire). Odom shows remarkable restraint in regards to such wry commentary, but you have to wish he had let himself have a bit more fun with that aspect of the story. "Redemption" is certainly an above-average "Angel" book and proves once again Mel Odom never short changes his readers in any of these books.
Rating:
Summary: A quick, easy and fun read.
Review: As a big fan of the Buffy show, and it's new spinoff Angel, I'm always leery of picking up books on the shows. It seems as though some books based on tv shows lose something in the transalations (no, I'm not just talking about the visuals :), but this one gets it right. I liked all elements of this novel. The characterizations of Angel, Cordy and Doyle were spot on and the original characters were interesting. I really did like the Blood Cadre. I liked how Angel's inner struggle was shown. He has to constantly fight his urges and live with his guilt. The flashbacks were handled well, I think. I usually don't like flashbacks, but they worked here. They were exciting and fun. A vampire pirate, now that's something different! All in all, an exciting story that moved along at a good pace and keep the feel of the series. Some suprises here and there make for a very enjoyable book indeed. Good job, Mel!
Rating: 
Summary: An excellant addition to the Angel series.
Review: During his early days as a vampire, Angelus encourted a young woman, Moira, who hunted vampires with extradinary skill. Yet when he killed her, she seemingly came back from the dead, not one, but two, times. 240 years later, Angel is working for his redemption. He is hired to protect an actress who portrays a vampire on TV. Some people seem to believe she is a real vampire, and have made attempts on her life. When he meets the actress, Whitney Tyler, he is amazed - she looks exactly like Moira. When Angel meets some of the creepy guys after Whitney, the tell him she is evil. Angel doesn't believe so. But then what connects her to Moira? I highly reccomend this excellant edition to the Angel novel series.
Rating:
Summary: Redemption
Review: Easily the best of the series so far. Even the flashbacks were interesting, Doyle got to be an integral part of the plot, and Cordy was at her brilliantly tactless best. The whole "I'm not a vampire, I just play one on tv" plot could have been really badly done, but Mel Odom gave it just the right ironically funny twist considering that Angel is both a "real" vampire and a "real" television show. The humor was dead-on and the story was actually a fun read. Makes me wish Odom was writing the next book too.
Rating:
Summary: Redemption
Review: Easily the best of the series so far. Even the flashbacks were interesting, Doyle got to be an integral part of the plot, and Cordy was at her brilliantly tactless best. The whole "I'm not a vampire, I just play one on tv" plot could have been really badly done, but Mel Odom gave it just the right ironically funny twist considering that Angel is both a "real" vampire and a "real" television show. The humor was dead-on and the story was actually a fun read. Makes me wish Odom was writing the next book too.
Rating:
Summary: Feels like an episode of the series!
Review: Great tie-in novel, that stays close to the tone, and spirit of the series, but tells a new story. Odom really captures the personalities of Angel, Doyle, and Cordelia in this latest tie-in novel, and I felt like I was watching an episode of the series. In fact, I wish I had been--Odom gave Doyle in particular some fantastic scenes, that I wish the viewers could have seen Glenn Quinn perform... The plot moves along at a great clip, and Angel's compassion for Whitney felt spot on. I read it all in one sitting, and couldn't put it down. Great original novel for fans of the show, particularly those who enjoyed the early episodes best.
Rating:
Summary: Reads like an episode of the series...
Review: Great tie-in novel, that stays close to the tone, and spiritofthe series, but tells a new story. Odom really captures thepersonalities of Angel, Doyle, and Cordelia in this latest tie-in novel, and I felt like I was watching an episode of the series. In fact, I wish I had been--Odom gave Doyle in particular some fantastic scenes that I wish the viewers could have seen Glenn Quinn perform... The plot moves along at a great clip, and Angel's compassion for Whitney felt spot on. I read it all in one sitting, and couldn't put it down. Great original novel for fans of the show, particularly those who enjoyed the early episodes best.
Rating:
Summary: A good read, keeps you guessing to the end
Review: I have to say this is soooooo much better than "Not Forgotten!" It took me a while to get into it, but once the action started I couldn't put it down! The plot is full of twists and keeps you guessing untill the end. This book has more of a mystery element to it and I like the way the present day story fits in with flashbacks to Angel's past. It centres around a young, pretty hollywood actress - Whitney Tyler who stars in her own T.V series - Dark Midnight about a female vampire detective. However, the actress soon starts receiving death treats from a cult who believe she is a real live vampire. Angel is called on to get to the bottom of the mysterious threats and deaths - while protecting the woman from further harm. Angel somehow feels Whitney Tyler is very familliar, and he begins to have flashbacks to his past. The actress is identical to a young woman the evil Angelus fought on The Handsome Jack, a ship, hundreds of years ago. Angel must somehow find what links the two very different women together, and he must do it fast before even more people die at the hands of an evil creature from his past... I really enjoyed this book. The plot is gripping and is very well thought out - if you enjoy mystery stories this is the Angel book for you. You can also rely on Cordelia and Doyle to bring some humour and comic moments into the book too.
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