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Angel Delaney Mysteries #3
As Good as Dead
A private investigator + a missing brother + a notorious crime family = a deadly mix for Angel Delaney and her family. Can Angel find her brother before it's too late?
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2005
53 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Patricia H. Rushford
64 books143 followersPatricia H. Rushford, an award winning author and speaker, has extensive experience in writing and has authored over sixty books, both fiction and non-fiction. In addition to having a nursing degree and masters in counseling, she is also an artist and quilter.
The Jennie McGrady Mysteries for young adults have sold well over 500,000 copies. Silent Witness won the Silver Angel Award for Excellence in Media and was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award by Mystery Writers of America. She also wrote the Max & Me Mysteries for middle grade.
The various mystery series for adults continue to receive great reviews. Her series include, The Helen Bradley Mysteries, The Angel Delaney Mysteries, The McAllister Files and her latest, the Artisan Mysteries.
Her newest releases are: Watercolor Dreams, Deadly Deception and The Quiltmaker's Daughter, both are romantic suspense novels featuring artists.
She has been awarded the Golden Quill Award by RWA- Desert Rose Chapter and earned honorable mention in the Silver Angel Awards.
Patricia is a member of ACFW and a number of other writing organizations. She has participated in such mystery events such as Bouchercon--the World Mystery Convention, Left Coast Crime, and other conventions for lovers of mystery and suspense. She manages a website and blog and has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads and Linked-in and also generates a newsletter. Called Mysterious Musings.
Additional info at www.patriciarushfordbooks.com
The Jennie McGrady Mysteries for young adults have sold well over 500,000 copies. Silent Witness won the Silver Angel Award for Excellence in Media and was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award by Mystery Writers of America. She also wrote the Max & Me Mysteries for middle grade.
The various mystery series for adults continue to receive great reviews. Her series include, The Helen Bradley Mysteries, The Angel Delaney Mysteries, The McAllister Files and her latest, the Artisan Mysteries.
Her newest releases are: Watercolor Dreams, Deadly Deception and The Quiltmaker's Daughter, both are romantic suspense novels featuring artists.
She has been awarded the Golden Quill Award by RWA- Desert Rose Chapter and earned honorable mention in the Silver Angel Awards.
Patricia is a member of ACFW and a number of other writing organizations. She has participated in such mystery events such as Bouchercon--the World Mystery Convention, Left Coast Crime, and other conventions for lovers of mystery and suspense. She manages a website and blog and has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads and Linked-in and also generates a newsletter. Called Mysterious Musings.
Additional info at www.patriciarushfordbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 8, 2015
Angel hunts for her missing brother who has been missing for years.
April 2, 2023
Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰
Another will written family and friends relationships romantic murder mystery adventure thriller novel by Patricia H. Rutherford (Angel 👼 Delaney Mysteries book (3 of 3). Angel 👼Delaney's father passes away due a heart attack. At the funeral the missing brother makes an appearance. Nick, the constable and friend of the missing brother is shot but recovers. Angel 👼 is taken to where her brother is hiding. Everything is taken care of and the family is back together. I would recommend this series and author to 👍 readers of mystery novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶to Alexa read books 📚. 2023 👒😀💘🏡
Another will written family and friends relationships romantic murder mystery adventure thriller novel by Patricia H. Rutherford (Angel 👼 Delaney Mysteries book (3 of 3). Angel 👼Delaney's father passes away due a heart attack. At the funeral the missing brother makes an appearance. Nick, the constable and friend of the missing brother is shot but recovers. Angel 👼 is taken to where her brother is hiding. Everything is taken care of and the family is back together. I would recommend this series and author to 👍 readers of mystery novels 👍🔰. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶to Alexa read books 📚. 2023 👒😀💘🏡
July 8, 2018
As short as this book was, it was most certainly intriguing. The book reveals the mystery behind Luke Delaney's disappearance and highlights the timeline from the point of view of major characters. I expected this to be more of a murder mystery rather than a crime scene investigation type novel but I was pleasantly surprised by the unfolding of the plot. Although it was a good read, it was far from original. The ending also tied together quite neatly; you could say the case was closed with a nice red ribbon on top.
February 27, 2019
In "As Good as Dead," Angel Delaney attempts to find her brother who had disappeared years before. She gets into many scrapes and situations throughout her investigation which we're taken along on.
Things I liked about this book:
-- no language
-- clean, appropriate relationships (romantic)
-- Christian perspective and basis
What I disliked about this book:
-- I found the plot to be rather boring because of the way it was written
-- Predictable
-- Didn't grab and hold my attention as much as you'd expect from a mystery
Things I liked about this book:
-- no language
-- clean, appropriate relationships (romantic)
-- Christian perspective and basis
What I disliked about this book:
-- I found the plot to be rather boring because of the way it was written
-- Predictable
-- Didn't grab and hold my attention as much as you'd expect from a mystery
May 30, 2022
She does it again! So good. They are so hard to put down. I have it four stars because to tie up all loose ends she finished out the series in about 3 paragraphs. But I’m reading a mystery not a romance🙈
June 17, 2024
I have not read the two previous books in this series, and was still able to follow along perfectly fine which I was very pleased about!
The story starts very fast, has a longish middle, and this an explosion for an ending. I did really enjoy the plot and always having to ask myself “who did it?”
The story starts very fast, has a longish middle, and this an explosion for an ending. I did really enjoy the plot and always having to ask myself “who did it?”
October 30, 2018
Entertaining read
Well written. I preferred the first two books in the series but his one was entertaining with a few twists and turns.
Well written. I preferred the first two books in the series but his one was entertaining with a few twists and turns.
February 11, 2020
Good interesting easy read
January 19, 2023
Riveting!
November 23, 2023
Just the same as the others ! Boring… the writing is not inventive, Angel is the best but I don’t know why.
July 29, 2016
I really enjoyed the Angel Delaney series, including this third (and, hopefully, not final) book in the series. The way this author writes, you get these teasers from point-of-view characters who are bad guys, but you don't really get enough information to figure out their identity until Angel does.
Following a prologue about a missing member of the Delaney family, the story picks up where Dying to Kill left off--with Angel, her family and friends mourning the loss of her father. Angel thinks she sees her long-lost brother on the edge of the crowd at the funeral, but leaves without talking to him. When Luke Delaney's best friend and Angel's fellow police officer, Nick, is shot after talking to the stranger, everyone is eager to find the missing brother and see what he knows about the fatal shooting of an important witness in a case in which he was involved as an assistant DA in Florida.
The book is fast-paced and suspenseful. As usual with Patricia Rushford's books, the suspect list was long, but it was hard to tell who the guilty party was. Turned out that there were more than one bad guys in this story, plus one fellow everyone thought was a criminal who was really nice. And, of course, I couldn't conclusively figure it out until the last few chapters.
The way the author resolved this book, she could very well continue the series. Angel figures out what she wants to do career-wise, and she seems ready to marry Callen, but we don't know exactly where he stands. I think he may be scared to commit to this woman who will do anything to protect people she cares about--often without concern for her own safety. The characters are well-developed, but we don't know everything about them. I think the author could easily produce more great stories and unfold more about the Delaneys and Callen. This is definitely a book I recommend from a series I really enjoyed--great mystery/suspense writing that is clean and has a gentle Christian flavor.
Following a prologue about a missing member of the Delaney family, the story picks up where Dying to Kill left off--with Angel, her family and friends mourning the loss of her father. Angel thinks she sees her long-lost brother on the edge of the crowd at the funeral, but leaves without talking to him. When Luke Delaney's best friend and Angel's fellow police officer, Nick, is shot after talking to the stranger, everyone is eager to find the missing brother and see what he knows about the fatal shooting of an important witness in a case in which he was involved as an assistant DA in Florida.
The book is fast-paced and suspenseful. As usual with Patricia Rushford's books, the suspect list was long, but it was hard to tell who the guilty party was. Turned out that there were more than one bad guys in this story, plus one fellow everyone thought was a criminal who was really nice. And, of course, I couldn't conclusively figure it out until the last few chapters.
The way the author resolved this book, she could very well continue the series. Angel figures out what she wants to do career-wise, and she seems ready to marry Callen, but we don't know exactly where he stands. I think he may be scared to commit to this woman who will do anything to protect people she cares about--often without concern for her own safety. The characters are well-developed, but we don't know everything about them. I think the author could easily produce more great stories and unfold more about the Delaneys and Callen. This is definitely a book I recommend from a series I really enjoyed--great mystery/suspense writing that is clean and has a gentle Christian flavor.
January 23, 2016
I just finished, AS GOOD AS DEAD, the third book in the Angel Delaney Mysteries by Patricia Rushford. What a great read! I thoroughly enjoyed all three books. The action, suspense, twists and turns, it had it all. Add that with a little romance and you have yourself a wonderful book filled with intriguing characters and fascinating plot lines.
Book one, DEADLY AIM, follows Angel Delaney as she struggles to deal with the death of a kid that she's shot in a gang related robbery, she begins to question why it is she is a cop. Is it what she wants to do or has she gotten involved in law enforcement to try and earn the love and respect of her father, a veteran cop himself?
In DYING TO KILL, Angel decides to step back from police work and try her hand at being a Private Investigator. When a string of murders happens, all link to her therapist, Angel gets involved. As her list of suspects grows, Angel herself is threatened. She now must figure out who the killer is before she is the next victim.
In AS GOOD AS DEAD, Angel deals with a loss that motivates her to find her brother who vanished several series ago. When Nick, a fellow cop and best friend to her brother Luke is shot and left for dead, she realizes Luke might not be that far away after all. Though she is ever convinced her brother is innocent of what he has been accused of, she realizes she will never know the truth until she can ask him herself.
Along with great plot lines, Patricia introduces a measure of romance in book one, in the form of Callen, the investigator assigned to her officer involved shooting. Though, he is struggling with the death of his wife, he is drawn to Angel. We get to watch there relationship grow and define itself throughout all three books.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Angel Delaney Mysteries. They were quick reads and kept you guessing until the end.
Book one, DEADLY AIM, follows Angel Delaney as she struggles to deal with the death of a kid that she's shot in a gang related robbery, she begins to question why it is she is a cop. Is it what she wants to do or has she gotten involved in law enforcement to try and earn the love and respect of her father, a veteran cop himself?
In DYING TO KILL, Angel decides to step back from police work and try her hand at being a Private Investigator. When a string of murders happens, all link to her therapist, Angel gets involved. As her list of suspects grows, Angel herself is threatened. She now must figure out who the killer is before she is the next victim.
In AS GOOD AS DEAD, Angel deals with a loss that motivates her to find her brother who vanished several series ago. When Nick, a fellow cop and best friend to her brother Luke is shot and left for dead, she realizes Luke might not be that far away after all. Though she is ever convinced her brother is innocent of what he has been accused of, she realizes she will never know the truth until she can ask him herself.
Along with great plot lines, Patricia introduces a measure of romance in book one, in the form of Callen, the investigator assigned to her officer involved shooting. Though, he is struggling with the death of his wife, he is drawn to Angel. We get to watch there relationship grow and define itself throughout all three books.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Angel Delaney Mysteries. They were quick reads and kept you guessing until the end.
January 1, 2015
A review from my old blog
I have to say that I was rather disappointed with this book.
As the book drifted to the end I became completely confused with the jumps in narration and the seeming "too-nice" bad guys. I couldn't figure out who was good or who was bad. Usually with a mystery that's a good thing. In this case the confusion caused the ending to be anti-climactic.
One other thing that I noticed about the book (the author actually because I noticed this with the other book in the series that I read) is that Patricia Rushford gives far too much backstory in the beginning of the book. It is almost as if she hands the backstory to the reader on a silver platter. Hmm...perhaps that's why I love Angela Hunt's books so much. She makes a concerted effort to avoid ang backstory until after page 30 (or 50 but I can't remember),
Overall though the book was decent and served its purposed...nice light reading for the evening.
I have to say that I was rather disappointed with this book.
As the book drifted to the end I became completely confused with the jumps in narration and the seeming "too-nice" bad guys. I couldn't figure out who was good or who was bad. Usually with a mystery that's a good thing. In this case the confusion caused the ending to be anti-climactic.
One other thing that I noticed about the book (the author actually because I noticed this with the other book in the series that I read) is that Patricia Rushford gives far too much backstory in the beginning of the book. It is almost as if she hands the backstory to the reader on a silver platter. Hmm...perhaps that's why I love Angela Hunt's books so much. She makes a concerted effort to avoid ang backstory until after page 30 (or 50 but I can't remember),
Overall though the book was decent and served its purposed...nice light reading for the evening.
June 3, 2015
I enjoyed the other books in the 'Angel Delaney Mysteries' series, but this was the best one, I think! It had good pacing, and the familiar characters stayed true to what I knew about them. When the mystery got rolling, it REALLY got rolling, and I was turning pages faster and faster until almost the very end.
If I were to have one 'issue' with this book, it would be that at the end, I wanted MORE! I want to know what happens next to Angel and Callen and the Delaney family! :)
If I were to have one 'issue' with this book, it would be that at the end, I wanted MORE! I want to know what happens next to Angel and Callen and the Delaney family! :)
July 1, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this series! I love Angel as a strong woman but not afraid to cry when she needs to and Callan now that is a real man. I would recommend all three books to anyone looking for a good murder mystery, intrigue, love story (no sex), and great characters,
March 18, 2014
The first half of the book didn't capture my attention enough to make me not want to put it down. The second half of book picked up quite a bit and a lot happened, almost too much. But a pretty good story line.
August 15, 2014
I love this
I love this
very good read! this book keeps you in the edge of your seat! I recommend reading the entire series to anyone who likes murder mysteries
I love this
very good read! this book keeps you in the edge of your seat! I recommend reading the entire series to anyone who likes murder mysteries
August 31, 2015
I hard a hard time putting down this series. Not as violent or as graphic as the titles make them seem. Christian author, some violence. There were some funky editing errors in this one but not in the others in the series.
October 27, 2015
This was a fun little quick read. It has a lot of characters (all sorts) and it kept my attention through the whole thing. It was exciting and had me laughing out loud at times from the comedy. I will definitely be reading more by this author.
January 13, 2016
Read entire Ann Delaney mysteries by Patricia H. Ruthford. Found to be good mysteries. Read many books before joining Goodreads so am adding late, but do remember goods ones from not so good ones. These are worth reading.
March 3, 2016
Missing brother missing witness, and just plain missing!!
Angel sets out to find her missing brother only to find herself in danger of losing her life and finding that her life has gotten more complicated than she ever dreamed.
Angel sets out to find her missing brother only to find herself in danger of losing her life and finding that her life has gotten more complicated than she ever dreamed.
August 25, 2008
Just as thrilling as the previous two books in the series. I liked the family element in the story and the fact that Angel finally, FINALLY made a decision about continuing with the police force.
August 24, 2012
the series was OK. A little too much religion/god talk for me.
December 13, 2012
Nice wrap up on a well done trilogy by Ms. Rushford! Good reads!
March 6, 2013
Not as good as earlier books in the series
February 20, 2013
Just the way I wanted to see this series end!!! Lots of drama and Angel saves the day, as always! Great book!
March 20, 2013
Purchased the first book of this trilogy free from kindle books. Enjoyed the stories so much bought the other two.
May 20, 2014
Slow beginning, I didn't know it was the third book in a series. Maybe if I had read the first 2 I would have been more interested.Ending wrapped up quickly.
November 6, 2014
Another exciting story from Patricia H Rushford. I loved this entire series.
February 23, 2015
A good mystery with several twists and turns.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews