Broken Angels

By Graham Masterton

As they came nearer, the black-clad body came into view, lying on its side in the shallows...

One cold spring morning in County Cork, two fishermen find a body floating in the Blackwater River: the mutilated corpse of a retired music teacher. His hands and feet are bound, and his neck bears the mark of a garrotting wire.

The Garda want to wrap this case up before the press get hold of it. But when a second man is found murdered, the body bears all the same marks as the first. And Detective Superintendent Katie Maguire fears this case carries the hallmark of a serial murderer...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Aug 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781781852194

Graham Masterton

Graham Masterton (born 1946, Edinburgh) is a British horror author. Originally editor of Mayfair and the British edition of Penthouse, Graham Masterton's first novel The Manitou was published in 1976 and adapted for the film in 1978. Further works garnered critical acclaim, including a Special Edgar award by the Mystery Writers of America for Charnel House and a Silver Medal by the West Coast Review of Books for Mirror. He is also the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger for his novel Family Portrait, an imaginative reworking of the Oscar Wilde novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Masterton's novels often contain visceral sex and horror. In addition to his novels, Masterton has written a number of sex instruction books, including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed and Wild Sex for New Lovers. Visit www.grahammasterton.co.uk

Reviews for Broken Angels

[pet12-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In Broken Angels, the second book featuring County Cork DI Katie Maguire, Graham Masterton focuses the plot on religion and beliefs. It picks up 18 months after the end of White Bones, when Katie is investigating the murder of a priest who has been castrated. While this could be a very obvious story line if you think about possible motives, it was anything but. I admit I found the brutal torture scenes in this one more disturbing than in book 1. Listening to the graphic descriptions actually made me squirm, which is highly unusual for me. But the scene with the rat really was horrendous. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted!The police procedural blends well with the plot line about Katie's personal life. But there were several inconsistencies that really should have been picked up by an editor. Those were details regarding the content that made no sense and were contradictory. And my last bit of criticism, please Mr. Masterton no more of those Katie sex scenes. I don't mind them at all if done well, but in this instance, there was just so much wrong with them. I also hope the recurring lesbian attraction angle will be dropped now. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this very much and I think a lot of it was due to the absolute perfect 5 stars audio book narration by Caroline Lennon. While the above may actually sound rather negative, I still think this was a terrific thriller and I really liked it despite my points of critique. On to book 3.

[runner56_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second book following the career of Detective Inspector Kate McGuire. It's a tough and an uncomfortable read as at times it involves repeated scenes of castration (ouch!)The story revolves around the creation of a "choir of Castrati" and as this suggest involves sexual and physical abuse. A number of priests are disappearing soon to be found horribly mutilated, all evidence points to an abuse of power and privilege within the church. The action is fast, the storyline never falters, and all this set against Kate's personal life which is fast disintegrating. I actually preferred book one in the series "White Bones" (originally released as A Terrible Beauty) but both are great reads by the master of horror Graham Masterton turning his talents to gritty crime writing...I look forward to no.3 in the series.