Book Review: Angels of Destruction by Keith Donohue

Angels of Destruction by Keith Donohue

Published by Shaye Areheart Books

Rating: 4.5 stars

The books begins with a late-night knock on Margaret Quinn's door, which is highly unusual for a window living alone. The mysterious visitor is a young girl who claims to be an orphan with nowhere to stay. Ten years earlier, Margaret's own daughter, Erica, ran away with a radical cult-like group known as the Angels of Destruction and she has never seen her again. In an effort to reclaim the daughter she once lost and fill the void in her heart, Margaret takes in the little girl and presents her to the town as her granddaughter, Norah Quinn. Norah befriends a neighborhood boy nameds Sean Fallon, and together they find companionship until Norah's magical abilities threaten their security. Throughout the book, a mysterious figure haunts the characters and elements of magical realism fill its pages.

Angels of Destruction begins in the present and describes Margaret's re-awakening once the mysterious girl enters her life and only briefly refers to her runaway daughter through her memories. I enjoyed the second part of the book being told from Erica's perspective and getting into her psyche in order top find out what would possess someone to leave their life behind and never return. As more secrets are revealed, the book increases in intensity and I found myself amazed by what was transpiring.

I am particularly fond of books that incorporate magical realism into the stories, such as in books by Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen. In this book, the mystical elements had both uplifting and morose connotations which I found especially intriguing. Not only are the events in the book magical, but the writing itself felt like it had a magical quality to it as well.

Although some lingering questions remain after the book has ended, I really like the way things tie in together in the book's conclusion, offering the closure I was waiting for all along.

This wonderfully written book captured my interest until the very end and left me missing the characters once it was over.


BIG THANKS to Random House for my review copy.