The Angel

by James H. Pence

Dr. Lori Westlake has been invited to join the Circle of Peace, a clandestine euthanasia society operating at Sentinel Health Systems (SHS), a state-of-the-art HMO in Dallas, Texas. What she doesn't know is that lurking among the members of the society is a serial mercy killer who calls himself the Angel of Mercy. Suspense and mystery unite in this fast-paced novel that mirrors our culture's real-life debate about quality of life and who has the right to end it.

Genres: Fiction, Christian, Suspense

336 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2006

Reviews

[Jane Pettitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true thriller, this book really made me think. I will never look at ALS (Lou Gehrig's) or the idea of ending one's own suffering the same way again. But it's really a thriller, a sometimes-scary-serial-killer kind of book. You just end up more compassionate and aware of what so many people are dealing with. People a lot of us don't usually think much about.

This book isn't preachy about euthanasia at all but has a very powerful message. I personally don't think it needs to be under Christian categories.

I love the way Pence writes, and I just wish he would write more books. The scenes that take place on the huge hospital campus are so creepy!

I highly recommend this book, even if you're never enjoyed suspense before.

[Gophergirl58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, IMHO, but not a great one; but maybe I feel this way because the other book that I read by Mr. Pence, "Unseen," was so. very. good! I figured the killer out early, and, I don't know...it just didn't hold my interest. I cannot say that I particularly enjoyed the topic of human euthanasia because our lives are for God and God alone to take. So to have a main character that sort of believes in the cause, probably was the impetus for me to remain detached from this book. And lastly, it just made sense to me who the killer was, and I felt that it was obvious who was involved...all but one individual. Thus, for me, Mercy Killer is a solid three star story, but nothing over that.

[C.J. Darlington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never thought about euthanasia the same since reading this book, and I didn't guess the killer! I love it when an author can pull one over on me like that. James Pence is a skilled storyteller who keeps you riveted through each page. You care about his characters and savor his plots. I hope he writes more suspense novels in the future.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost nobody gets 5 stars from me - but this book was that good. When I am wrong about who the killer is, it is a good mystery. This is a fast-paced thriller, read it in a couple days, grabbing every spare second that I could.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! I didn't expect anything from this book and tbh, I thought I wasn't going to like it bc I just accidentally picked this up and I'm glad I did! It's a thriller/mystery book but it also sends a powerful message.