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Capturing Angels
V.C. Andrews, queen of Gothic fiction for twenty-five years, explores a new genre in her women’s fiction debut—available exclusively as an eBook. A young mother struggles to keep her marriage together in the wake of her daughter’s kidnapping…and to keep hope of her return alive.
Grace is the doting mother of Mary, an angelic five-year-old who charms everyone around her. But in one tragic moment at a local shopping mall, Grace looks down to discover that Mary is no longer at her side…and can’t be found anywhere. She and her husband wait by the phone for a ransom demand that never comes. For months Grace believes that Mary is somewhere, alive and safe, waiting to come home to her—but as her family and friends give up hope, Grace’s marriage begins to crumble. Only one detective, Sam Abraham, shares her determination to find Mary…but could his motives be less than altruistic? As Sam and Mary work together to track Mary’s disappearance, they discover clues that this was more than a random kidnapping—and that Mary may have been special to more than just her mother…
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 2, 2012
170 people are currently reading
1827 people want to read
About the author
V.C. Andrews
370 books9,099 followersBooks published under the following names - Virginia Andrews, V. Andrews, Virginia C. Andrews & V.C. Endrius. Books since her death ghost written by Andrew Neiderman, but still attributed to the V.C. Andrews name
Virginia Cleo Andrews (born Cleo Virginia Andrews) was born June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The youngest child and the only daughter of William Henry Andrews, a career navy man who opened a tool-and-die business after retirement, and Lillian Lilnora Parker Andrews, a telephone operator. She spent her happy childhood years in Portsmouth, Virginia, living briefly in Rochester, New York. The Andrews family returned to Portsmouth while Virginia was in high school.
While a teenager, Virginia suffered a tragic accident, falling down the stairs at her school and incurred severe back injuries. Arthritis and a failed spinal surgical procedure forced her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Virginia excelled in school and, at fifteen, won a scholarship for writing a parody of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. She proudly earned her diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth. After graduation, she nurtured her artistic talent by completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home with her family.
After William Andrews died in the late 1960s, Virginia helped to support herself and her mother through her extremely successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.
Frustrated with the lack of creative satisfaction that her work provided, Virginia sought creative release through writing, which she did in secret. In 1972, she completed her first novel, The Gods of the Green Mountain [sic], a science-fantasy story. It was never published. Between 1972 and 1979, she wrote nine novels and twenty short stories, of which only one was published. "I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night", a short fiction piece, was published in a pulp confession magazine.
Promise gleamed over the horizon for Virginia when she submitted a 290,000-word novel, The Obsessed, to a publishing company. She was told that the story had potential, but needed to be trimmed and spiced up a bit. She drafted a new outline in a single night and added "unspeakable things my mother didn't want me to write about." The ninety-eight-page revision was re-titled Flowers in the Attic and she was paid a $7,500 advance. Her new-generation Gothic novel reached the bestseller lists a mere two weeks after its 1979 paperback publication by Pocket Books.
Petals on the Wind, her sequel to Flowers, was published the next year, earning Virginia a $35,000 advance. The second book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks (Flowers also returned to the list). These first two novels alone sold over seven million copies in only two years. The third novel of the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns, was released in 1981, bringing Virginia a $75,000 advance. It reached No. 2 on many bestseller lists within its first two weeks.
Taking a break from the chronicles of Chris and Cathy Dollanganger, Virginia published her one, and only, stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, in 1982. The book welcomed an immediate success, topping the sales figures of her previous novels. Two years later, a fourth Dollanganger novel was released, Seeds of Yesterday. According to the New York Times, Seeds was the best-selling fiction paperback novel of 1984. Also in 1984, V.C. Andrews was named "Professional Woman of the Year" by the city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Upon Andrews's death in 1986, two final novels—Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts—were published. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V.C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by
Virginia Cleo Andrews (born Cleo Virginia Andrews) was born June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The youngest child and the only daughter of William Henry Andrews, a career navy man who opened a tool-and-die business after retirement, and Lillian Lilnora Parker Andrews, a telephone operator. She spent her happy childhood years in Portsmouth, Virginia, living briefly in Rochester, New York. The Andrews family returned to Portsmouth while Virginia was in high school.
While a teenager, Virginia suffered a tragic accident, falling down the stairs at her school and incurred severe back injuries. Arthritis and a failed spinal surgical procedure forced her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Virginia excelled in school and, at fifteen, won a scholarship for writing a parody of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. She proudly earned her diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth. After graduation, she nurtured her artistic talent by completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home with her family.
After William Andrews died in the late 1960s, Virginia helped to support herself and her mother through her extremely successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.
Frustrated with the lack of creative satisfaction that her work provided, Virginia sought creative release through writing, which she did in secret. In 1972, she completed her first novel, The Gods of the Green Mountain [sic], a science-fantasy story. It was never published. Between 1972 and 1979, she wrote nine novels and twenty short stories, of which only one was published. "I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night", a short fiction piece, was published in a pulp confession magazine.
Promise gleamed over the horizon for Virginia when she submitted a 290,000-word novel, The Obsessed, to a publishing company. She was told that the story had potential, but needed to be trimmed and spiced up a bit. She drafted a new outline in a single night and added "unspeakable things my mother didn't want me to write about." The ninety-eight-page revision was re-titled Flowers in the Attic and she was paid a $7,500 advance. Her new-generation Gothic novel reached the bestseller lists a mere two weeks after its 1979 paperback publication by Pocket Books.
Petals on the Wind, her sequel to Flowers, was published the next year, earning Virginia a $35,000 advance. The second book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks (Flowers also returned to the list). These first two novels alone sold over seven million copies in only two years. The third novel of the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns, was released in 1981, bringing Virginia a $75,000 advance. It reached No. 2 on many bestseller lists within its first two weeks.
Taking a break from the chronicles of Chris and Cathy Dollanganger, Virginia published her one, and only, stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, in 1982. The book welcomed an immediate success, topping the sales figures of her previous novels. Two years later, a fourth Dollanganger novel was released, Seeds of Yesterday. According to the New York Times, Seeds was the best-selling fiction paperback novel of 1984. Also in 1984, V.C. Andrews was named "Professional Woman of the Year" by the city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Upon Andrews's death in 1986, two final novels—Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts—were published. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V.C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
August 31, 2012
It is a sad day when you can sum up a book by one of your favourite authors with one word and that word should happen to be boring. Unfortunately, this is exactly how I would describe Capturing Angels by V.C. Andrews. Gone is the gothic romance and fractured fairytales that made the name V.C. Andrews a worldwide phenomenon and in its place is a short, mediocre and poorly researched tale of a little girl who is abducted by a religious fanatic who believes that she has special qualities.
Told from the perspective of Grace, a thirty-something wife of a religious zealot, the novel opens with the abduction of Mary, her five year old daughter, before turning to focus on the problems with Grace's marriage, her affair with a police officer and the eventual discovery of who abducted Mary and why. Unlike novels by the original V.C. Andrews, there is nothing terribly groundbreaking or shocking about this story, but for a few plot holes. I find it incredible that the police did not interview Margaret, a close family friend, immediately after Mary's abduction, for example. Of course, its worth noting that this novel was not actually written by V.C. Andrews, but Andrew Neiderman, a popular horror writer whose novels are often a hit-or-miss affair (Pin and The Devil's Advocate are both hits for example, Sister, Sister and Someone's Watching are misses.) VC Andrews wrote just a few novels before she died, while more than sixty have been written by Neiderman. Personally, I think that it was high time V.C. Andrews name was retired or a new ghostwriter with a new perspective was found, but that is just my humble opinion.
This review previously appeared on my blog, Kathryn's Inbox
Told from the perspective of Grace, a thirty-something wife of a religious zealot, the novel opens with the abduction of Mary, her five year old daughter, before turning to focus on the problems with Grace's marriage, her affair with a police officer and the eventual discovery of who abducted Mary and why. Unlike novels by the original V.C. Andrews, there is nothing terribly groundbreaking or shocking about this story, but for a few plot holes. I find it incredible that the police did not interview Margaret, a close family friend, immediately after Mary's abduction, for example. Of course, its worth noting that this novel was not actually written by V.C. Andrews, but Andrew Neiderman, a popular horror writer whose novels are often a hit-or-miss affair (Pin and The Devil's Advocate are both hits for example, Sister, Sister and Someone's Watching are misses.) VC Andrews wrote just a few novels before she died, while more than sixty have been written by Neiderman. Personally, I think that it was high time V.C. Andrews name was retired or a new ghostwriter with a new perspective was found, but that is just my humble opinion.
This review previously appeared on my blog, Kathryn's Inbox
September 19, 2012
Are you a fan of V.C Andrews books ? I have been a fan ever since I first read the "real" Virginia Andrews book "Flowers in the Attic" and then I went on a reading binge and read everything of her's that I could get my hands on and then from there went post her death and started reading the V.C Andrews books. So when I saw this one, I knew I just had to read it . When I saw the cover , I had no idea what I was in for but as I read the first chapter I was thrown headfirst into a tale of child abduction as we meet Grace and her daughter Mary. While shopping one day, Grace turns her back for a second and when she swings around her daughter Mary is missing. Soon the reader is embroiled into a tale of Cops, FBI, Amber Alerts as the whole world sets out to find Mary. Soon days pass , months and eventually years pass and Grace and John are left with the thoughts that they may never see their daughter alive again. Grace wanting closure discovers that the only person she can turn too is Detective Abrahams. Is Grace pulling away from her husband ? Does John blame Grace for their daughter's disappearance ? Will they ever have their daughter returned to them safely ?
Capturing Angels is a story that starts off really good and engrosses the reader but then after a few chapters in , it starts to slow down and I found in some parts the novel dragged but readers this is one of those books where I will peer pressure you into continuing as it does near the last few chapters start to pick up and capture your attention.
An interesting read and look at the work of miracles, religion and faith-healers.
Capturing Angels is a story that starts off really good and engrosses the reader but then after a few chapters in , it starts to slow down and I found in some parts the novel dragged but readers this is one of those books where I will peer pressure you into continuing as it does near the last few chapters start to pick up and capture your attention.
An interesting read and look at the work of miracles, religion and faith-healers.
August 2, 2012
I loved VC Andrews novels when I was younger. Even recently, rereading the Flowers in the Attic series (except for Garden of Shadows, which I do hope to re-read sometime soon...ish) was a total guilty pleasure. Yes, the books were pretty awful, but they were also incredibly fun.
This book wasn't fun. I don't mean because it was wrenching (although obviously reading about a family with a kidnapped daughter isn't exactly light reading) but because it wasn't at all the VC Andrews I was used to.
Obviously part of this is because she died years ago (so technically, a lot of the novels I read---the Casteel series and the Cutler series and however far I made it into the Ruby series) wasn't technically the VC Andrews I was used to, either.
In the VC Andrews world, Grace is a Corrine. Grace is a good mom (so that's a strike against her being Corrine, really) but her life revolves around men. She considers herself very lucky to have a husband like hers, John, and when her friends disagree, she willingly agrees with him that they're just jealous. After Mary disappears, she goes from relying completely on John to being angry that they're grieving differently.
It's pretty easy to guess the twists and turns of the story, but while usually I enjoy the book anyway, I was really happy when this one was over.
This book wasn't fun. I don't mean because it was wrenching (although obviously reading about a family with a kidnapped daughter isn't exactly light reading) but because it wasn't at all the VC Andrews I was used to.
Obviously part of this is because she died years ago (so technically, a lot of the novels I read---the Casteel series and the Cutler series and however far I made it into the Ruby series) wasn't technically the VC Andrews I was used to, either.
In the VC Andrews world, Grace is a Corrine. Grace is a good mom (so that's a strike against her being Corrine, really) but her life revolves around men. She considers herself very lucky to have a husband like hers, John, and when her friends disagree, she willingly agrees with him that they're just jealous. After Mary disappears, she goes from relying completely on John to being angry that they're grieving differently.
It's pretty easy to guess the twists and turns of the story, but while usually I enjoy the book anyway, I was really happy when this one was over.
April 13, 2016
struggled to read it
February 2, 2015
Bloody awful ... do anything other than read this complete & utter tripe masquerading as a novel!!
September 5, 2012
My history with V. C. Andrews: Began as a teenager reading the young adult Orphans series. Quickly gobbled the backlist, and kept going until Celeste. That was the last one I read properly. Tried a Delia paperback, but quickly gave up. Saw Capturing Angels on Edelweiss, though, and decided to give it a crack.
The VCA ghost-writer has given up Gothic family sagas for the time being. This is a different kettle of fish: romantic suspense/women's fiction. But one VCA trait remains: a religious nut. Or a nut that happens to be religious, though in fiction the two tend to go hand-in-hand. (Not in Christian fiction, obviously.) So there's your spoiler, and the book's title, Capturing Angels, explains why young Mary disappears.
Info-dump, purple prose, characters difficult to like - this one has it all. It's understandable why Grace would fancy Sam, but not the other way around. As far as I've seen online, this novel is an eBook only. Fair enough, as print readers tend to be more discerning with their dosh.
The VCA ghost-writer has given up Gothic family sagas for the time being. This is a different kettle of fish: romantic suspense/women's fiction. But one VCA trait remains: a religious nut. Or a nut that happens to be religious, though in fiction the two tend to go hand-in-hand. (Not in Christian fiction, obviously.) So there's your spoiler, and the book's title, Capturing Angels, explains why young Mary disappears.
Info-dump, purple prose, characters difficult to like - this one has it all. It's understandable why Grace would fancy Sam, but not the other way around. As far as I've seen online, this novel is an eBook only. Fair enough, as print readers tend to be more discerning with their dosh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 19, 2015
"Capturing angels" starts with a mother and daughter in a shopping mall. Mother, Grace lets go of 5 year old Mary's hand for a matter of seconds. Mary disappears.
What follows is a mothers worst nightmare. The detectives decide she had been kidnapped and Grace and husband, John are devastated. Two months pass and still no sign of Mary. After befriending a particular detective on the case, grace finds out some extraordinary things about her daughter and the investigation starts changing direction.
I enjoyed this. There was a fair bit of religious referencing which may not sit well with some readers but it started out extremely exciting. The ending, for me was slightly anti climatic - I kind of expected more and it didn't deliver. A good little read however.
What follows is a mothers worst nightmare. The detectives decide she had been kidnapped and Grace and husband, John are devastated. Two months pass and still no sign of Mary. After befriending a particular detective on the case, grace finds out some extraordinary things about her daughter and the investigation starts changing direction.
I enjoyed this. There was a fair bit of religious referencing which may not sit well with some readers but it started out extremely exciting. The ending, for me was slightly anti climatic - I kind of expected more and it didn't deliver. A good little read however.
October 9, 2015
Unlike many books that are associated with V.C. Andrews, "Capturing Angels" has the essence to stand alone without a series. This book was wrote more with the style of a book written by Danielle Steel with that the first real climax of the book was found over half way through. Usually, books that are associated with V.C. Andrews seem to have many small climaxes and even some that are almost immediately stated in the book. As far as the tone of this book, it was more similar to one that you would think that Mary Higgins Clark wrote. It was very suspenseful but it was similar to those that I have read by Mary Higgins Clark. However, that does not make this book any less sublime. It was fantastic.
February 16, 2014
The first half of the book delved into the mindset of the mom; her reaction to her daughter's disappearance and her opinion of her husband's reaction. The second half of the book was the real mystery -- the who, what, why and how but still in the mindset of the mom. In this regard, it was much different from the typical mysteries I read and one hand, it was nice to get that depth from the mom but on the hand, it made the book move slowly.
June 30, 2015
I love that this book was not a typical V.C.Andrews book. I have always been a fan of the author, but after reading this book, I was happy that it didn't have all the twist and turns of other books she has written. the story of faith and family is strong as they find out that someone they trusted had abducted their daughter. As Grace and John question their relationship strength, they cope in their own ways with dealing with the loss of their daughter. Of course, it all works out in the end.
tbr-adult-issues
June 26, 2017Welp, I wasn't going to read this because it was going to be e-book only, but apparently the longtime VCA fans have rebelled so hard that the publishers changed their minds. I'll wait for this one on BookMooch. God help me, I keep hoping to find one of the new VCA redeeming...but I will probably be disappointed!
December 22, 2012
As a mother, I kept thinking what if thoughout the whole book. As I got closer to the end I couldn't put it down. For example, I just finished reading it and my clock reads 3:41am. I just would not have been able to sleep without know what happened!
March 5, 2015
I enjoyed this VC Andrews more than many of the last ones I have read it was a little faster paced and not as predictable. A pleasant treat from the teenager angst and sexuality that so many of the VC Andrew books center around.
January 10, 2018
The first 30% of the book was good. After that, it went downhill. I could kick myself for wasting time in finishing it. I just kept hoping it would pick back up, so I kept reading to see what would happen...what a disappointment!
Don't waste your time or money.
Don't waste your time or money.
September 28, 2012
very good book. Not a typical VC Andrews book by any means, but a good suspense read.
July 24, 2013
Enjoyed this book from start to finish
February 5, 2014
Good book. interesting story and great twist to it..
February 18, 2014
This was ok. It had twists and turns but I knew who kidnapped their daughter right from the start.
April 12, 2016
struggled to read it
Want to read
December 31, 2015#
NC
Own on Nook.
FS: "Reluctantly, I followed the mall police to their office."
LS: "Why not let her believe?"
NC
Own on Nook.
FS: "Reluctantly, I followed the mall police to their office."
LS: "Why not let her believe?"
May 5, 2018
Slow-moving and boring. Niederman shouldn’t have bothered. Predictable and unnecessary.
January 24, 2019
Sadly, I need to mark this book "DNF". 4 chapters into it and not only could I not get into the story, I actually hated the characters!
November 21, 2017
Although I did enjoy this book for the most part it had some weak spots. A mother and young daughter are out shopping when the mom suddenly realizes her daughter is not beside her. Security and police are called in immediately but when they come up with nothing the FBI is brought in to investigate this disappearance as a kidnapping. One of the things that spoiled it was the fact that I had a good feeling who the kidnapper was from very close to the beginning so the element of full suspense was rather low.
August 26, 2019
I loved this book. It was a tragic story of a mother who has a precious 5 yr old slip out of her sight for a moment. How many can relate to that? Then you learn how she is still maintaining hope to find her sweet child again, when everyone around her tells her to move on... everyone except 1 LA detective. She, with his help, unravels a horrible tale of religious extremists. Will they finally solve the case & will it be in time to save her daughter? Read the book... it is worth it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2023
Setting aside the laughable book blurb that "V.C. Andrews...explores a new genre in her women's fiction debut", I actually did find this book to be rather good. It was released exclusively as an eBook so likely flew under the radar. Certainly of the V.C. Andrews books published during the early 2010s, this has definitely been the best so far as I continue to catch up on the back catalogue.
This book fulfilled the 2023 PopSugar prompt #31 - A book about a family.
This book fulfilled the 2023 PopSugar prompt #31 - A book about a family.
August 10, 2022
Every since reading “Butterfly” by V.C. Andrews at the age of 13, I was hooked.
This book has quickly moved up to one of my favourites by her. It has everything you would expect from her books.
The ending of every chapter kept me wanting to read more. Some nights it was hard to put it down! And the ending was something that I didn’t expect at all.
This book has quickly moved up to one of my favourites by her. It has everything you would expect from her books.
The ending of every chapter kept me wanting to read more. Some nights it was hard to put it down! And the ending was something that I didn’t expect at all.
January 28, 2020
This book was a little difficult to read as it got bogged down in some places. But overall I enjoyed it. I thought I had it all figured out about halfway through but I was glad that I was wrong. I would definately give this one a read.
April 29, 2020
A masterfully superb mystery thriller. Has so many twists, the brain is in danger of being tightly knotted. Also peppered with amusing quirky dicta.
One of those cannot put down books, until the final page is read.
One of those cannot put down books, until the final page is read.
August 12, 2025
woah. this book was SO good. such an easy read and each chapter left you wanting more. it had the perfect mix of mystery and struggles and romance and religion in it. i’m going to try to get my mom to read it because it was SOOOO good!!
June 19, 2017
Loved It! Although, all V.C. Andrews books are really good. This book took you in many directions. You didn't know who was actually involved in the kidnapping. Many surprises.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews