Avenging Angel

Point Crime: The Beat #0.5

by David Belbin

One of a series of crime novels with tortuous plots and many suspects to keep the reader guessing. In this book Angelo has a head-on car crash in which he could see the panicked face of the oncoming driver. He tried to throw himself out of the way but he didn't have time.

Genres: Young Adult, Crime

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 1994

About the author

Belbin's work is known for breaking boundaries and dealing responsibly with difficult social issues that affect teenagers. He first attained success with a number of books for Scholastic's Point Crime series.

Reviews

[Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK book. Good characters, written well, interesting plot, a definite twist at the end, and a good ending. I'd say this is a good beginner for mystery reading. Pre-teen and up. Great for passing time or just something to read. Good luck.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, not as good as the Beat books, but okay. I was annoyed that I read all the Beat books before finding out in the back of the last book that this book was 'where it started'.

* Angelo Coppolo is knocked off his bike and killed. The last word he says is 'Blaze', and the police look into cars, wondering if there is one called 'Blaze'. It turns out there is a Japanese car called Blaze, and there are 2 of them in Nottingham.
* The police track down both cars, but both drivers have alibi's, although they're not really sure they believe either of them.
* Angelo's sister Clare decides to take things into her own hands. She finds out about the 2 cars, and starts harassing the two drivers, their neighbours, and anybody else who she can find.
* Neil is working the case, and Clare sticking her nose in gets him in hot water with his bosses.
* Eventually Clare finds that one of the cars was repairs off the books, and the driver lets it slip that Angelo wasn't wearing a helmet, so he is arrested.
* The case goes to court, but the driver is found not guilty.
* Clare is cycling a few days later when she hears someone being called 'Blaze', and realises that he must be the real killer. She calls Neil and Blaze is arrested, but there's little evidence, so Neil says he probably won't get long.
* Clare announces that she's not going back to university, she's becoming a policewoman instead.

[Sarah Tilatitsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THESE POINT CRIME BOOKS! THEY ARE SOOOOO GOOD! Although I feel bad for Claire, as well as Angelo's death, it happens. Too often as it seems. Yet, this could be prevented in the first place. I think this book should teach us something. To never drive drunk, and to never break up families over a death. Just saying, but it seems too good to be true, yet it is. Sighs. Just read it. You'll love it, but just don't cry. It's a story. ☺ (heh, heh)