Death Angel

by Linda Howard

In Linda Howard’s gifted hands, second chances, unexpected romance, and unrelenting action combine into a riveting new novel of suspense. In Death Angel, bad girls can wake up and trust their hearts, bad guys can fight for what’s right . . . and dying just might be the only way to change one’s life.

A striking beauty with a taste for diamonds and dangerous men, Drea Rousseau is more than content to be arm candy for Rafael Salinas, a notorious crime lord who deals with betrayal through quick and treacherous means: a bullet to the back of the head, a blade across the neck, an incendiary device beneath a car. Eager to break with Rafael, Drea makes a fateful decision and a desperate move, stealing a mountain of cash from the malicious killer. After all, an escape needs to be financed.

Though Drea runs, Salinas knows she can’t hide–and he dispatches a cold-blooded assassin in hot pursuit, resulting in a tragic turn of events. Or does it?

Left for dead, Drea miraculously returns to the realm of the living a changed woman. She’s no longer shallow and selfish, no longer steals or cheats or sells herself short. Both humbled and thrilled with this unexpected second chance, Drea embraces her new life. But in order to feel safe and sound–and stop nervously looking over her shoulder–she will need to take down those who marked her for death.

Joining forces with the FBI, supplying vital inside information that only she can provide, Drea finds herself working with the most dangerous man she’s ever known. Yet the closer they get to danger, the more intense their feelings for each other become, and the more Drea realizes that the cost of her new life may be her life itself–as well as her heart.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Mystery, Thriller

341 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award.

Linda Howard lives in Gadsden, Alabama with her husband, Gary F. Howington, and two golden retrievers. She has three grown stepchildren and three grandchildren.

Reviews

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who wrote the second half??

1st half = 5 stars
2nd half = 1 star

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read...Yup, 4.5 Stars...

I knew I had this marked incorrectly. I’ve read it so many times over the last 12 years, there’s no way it was anything less.

XXXXXXXXX

I have this marked as 3 stars, but I'm pretty sure I've read this MANY times over since I originally read it over a decade ago. I feel like this was a 5-start LH for me. So, I'm gonna grab this battered mass market paperback off my shelf and give it another read...because I KNOW 3 stars is too low for the book I remember.

[Blacky *Romance Addict* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a strange book!





I loved it though the second half not as much as the first :D

This is what started everything:

“Her,” said the assassin. “I want her.”
Her interest caught—who was her?—Drea looked up…and the bottom dropped out of her stomach. The assassin was staring at her with the same cold, unblinking gaze she remembered.
“I don't want to keep her,” the assassin said dismissively, without looking away from Drea's face. “I just want to f*ck her. One time.”

Anyway, everything I say here will be a spoiler because you seriously shouldn't know anything before going into it, so I'll try to be vague but still say what worked for me and what didn't.



The story

Drea has been pretending to be a dumb blonde bimbo for over two years, and in the meantime stealing from her mob boss boyfriend.
After she gets propositioned by the mysterious assassin, she realizes it's time to move forward and rob the guy of everything XD
I don't want to say anything more, the rest you need to find out for yourself :)



Drea

She... was... AWESOME!





I have to admit I didn't know what to think of her in the beginning but OMG it was so great to see a SMART heroine, she was playing the mob boss dude like a pro, OMG it was hilarious and exciting, I loved every second of the whole robbing thing :)



The assassin

Me... likey... MUCHO!




Nobody knows anything about him, not even his name, but what's known is that he's one of the best. He does the job and is uber intelligent to be able to find anyone :)
I loved how he fought with his decision in the first half, he wasn't good but he wasn't bad either.
Second part though... I was mush <3 Him standing outside looking at her <3



The middle of the book SHOCK




The first half of the book I was laughing in glee like a lunatic, I loved it all, OMG it was awesome!
Then came the middle thing that was a huge shock and I read it all with my mouth open and constantly saying: What? Is this really happening?
It isn't anything bad, it was just weird and totally unexpected and when I say unexpected I mean I would never ever think of that kind of thing in a book like this :DD
Anyway, The whole mood of the book changed after that and it isn't that I didn't enjoy it, it just wasn't exciting anymore, but the romance was more pronounced here so I don't mind.



Overall

I'd give the first half of the book about 10 stars, while the other would get 3 or 4 :D
Weird calculation but I'm still giving overall 4 because I did enjoy it, it was intense and funny and so damn intelligent you have no idea, I admire the author for all the research she must have done for this one!!

So my rec is, if you want to read a book that's unpredictable, go ahead and give this a try :)

[vio · Rating 1 out of 5]

GUYS. I'M PISSED. I'M SO PISSED. HELP ME- HOW DO I UNPISSED MYSELF??

gosh- if I really really have to describe this book in one word, it would be ANTICLIMACTIC.

I swear to anything in this world that this book is very much anticlimactic and I have no words other than that. The build-up was very very strong and honestly, I am so hooked and intrigued, I couldn't even stop reading this. Because I was very much curious about the story and I would really like to know where is this going. IT'S GOING NOWHERE.

At this point, I really want to flip a table.

To really open this review, I would like to say that selling this book as a romance is misleading because yes there was romance in this book but it was even under the bare minimum. Sure, it was marketed as Suspense Romance but I only felt suspense like 70% of the book and then there was barely even romance. And honestly, I'm so pissed because I felt like I'm on a roller coaster. I had certain hopes and expectations for this book but none, and I said NONE, had gone exactly like my hope and expectation. At first, it was great you know? I mean how do you feel when a book went beyond your expectations? It should be good, right? This book didn't give that to me. Sure, it went beyond my expectations but it went too far that it became weird and it caught me off-guard and it wasn't in a good way. It's weird. Odd. I have to admit that wasn't pleasant for me. Not even a little.

Second, writing was not my go-to so I don't like it. This one is just my own preference but I like to add it here because I've been too pampered with POV that focused mainly on the main characters. This book jumped even to the smallest side character in the book, that just weirded me out and it was tbh misleading. Because at first, the book started from Drea's POV and then switched to Rafael's, I really thought Rafael is out mmc here and when I suspected he was not I thought we were going to have a triangle love. But nope. That went beyond my expectations badly.

Characters, god- other than Drea everyone is blurry and unsolid. Does that even make sense to you? Because tbh the book felt like started in the middle of the timeline and automatically the characters did too. The background on Simon was just... nonexistent. Rafael was also nonexistent. I supposed this book is about Drea but that didn't make sense to me because the author added a lot of different POVs from every character in this book. But I have to say Drea has a solid background and it was touching, I mean it did succeed in making me sympathize with her and side with her (at a certain point). Do I even count this as great? Because honestly none of them were annoying or annoying enough for me to dislike and hate. It's not bland also but it didn't deliver anything. Does that make sense? Which category does this count as? So-so? Not good? Bad?

The story. Fuck that. Seriously. I'm pissed. I wasn't joking when I said the book was anticlimactic. It really was. So I'm just gonna add a very mild spoiler here, basically, the book should end with both mcs would hold-hand with the FBI and fighting the antagonist together, or serving justice for him, I mean that's what the synopsis implied right? If you read the synopsis I'm sure this would be your assumption, because that was my assumption when I read the synopsis. But nope. It's not. What happened was the mmc single-handedly (and I mean this literally) killed the antagonist. Boom. How anticlimactic. How disappointing. And then? The mcs both flew to Mexico to live happily ever after. But I doubt that lool.

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

There. I flipped a table.

Gosh- it should be a crime to write a book this anticlimactic and disappointing and unsatisfying. It should be a crime, istg. The fact that sacrificed Harry Potter to finish this breaks my heart in two 🥲

So, 1 star.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I don’t expect much,” he murmured, staring at the ceiling while he stroked her hair. “At the end. If remorse is a requirement for redemption, then I’m not there. I don’t imagine I ever will be. All I can offer is…revenge, maybe, and retribution. I can offer restraint—unless you’re threatened, and then all bets are off. But I don’t feel remorse. Some people need killing, and I did the job. So…this life with you is probably all I’ll have, but it’s enough, sweetheart. It’s enough.”
I can't believe I put this off for so long.

[Crista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have developed a sort of love/hate relationship with Linda Howard. I tend to love her earlier works and hate what she has written the past 5 years or so, Cry No More being the exception to that rule. Death Angel was excellent and was more in line with the writing that makes Linda Howard one of the most talented authors on the planet!

This book starts out INTENSELY and EROTICALLY. I was hooked from the beginning page and read this book in one day. Drea Rosseau is a "trophy girlfriend" to a mob boss. She is "happy" with this life, hoping to "take what she can" until he tires of her. When his best "assassin" names sleeping with Drea as his price for service and Salinas agrees, Drea knows that she is a "whore at best" and vows to leave Salinas ASAP. What she doesn't bargain on are the feelings that the assassin brings out in her.

That's all I'm going to say about the plot. The rest you simply must read for yourself. I have been on a Anne Stuart kick lately because she does the "bad boy" hero better than anyone else.....but I had forgotten what a good Linda Howard book can do to scratch the "bad boy' itch. The assassin is one of the darkest men I've read about in a long time....I wish I knew him better by the end of the book, but it definitely adds to his intrigue. Drea was wonderful. She had flaws, but admits them and gets the chance to start again.

Don't miss this one.

[Bibi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't get over how good this was.

[Stacia (the 2010 club) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andie Butts. What a name. I'd change mine too if I got stuck with Butts.

Moral of the Story : If you're going to change your name, you might as well get involved with a drug lord, so you can steal 2 million dollars.

Oh wait. That wasn't it. Take 2.

Moral of the Story : If you're going to steal 2 million dollars, try to outrun the person tailing you, so your reckless behavior gives you a chance to experience some wtf-ery.

I do believe I got buzzed again. Take 3.

Moral of the Story : If you're going to start a new life, make sure to hook up with the hot assassin killer who is tailing you.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

So maybe that wasn't really the moral of the story. Who cares? I liked where we ended up.

I had no expectations for Death Angel, other than hoping it was as good as Mr. Perfect. While the great humor from Mr. Pee wasn't present in DA, I did alright without it. There were plenty of other aspects of the story to keep me entertained.

Surprisingly enough, I wasn't bothered by how rape-y things got in the first few chapters. This is something which would normally bother me (just the other day I ripped on book for having a similar, but less graphic, situation). However, the setup of how this particular story started made for an interesting turn of events later. What can I say? There's no way to predict when or how something will or won't set you off. It wouldn't be the first time I've experienced an awkward double standard. :p

This is one of those times where I'm glad that my in-depth knowledge of technology and surveillance is limited, so I didn't have to nitpick anything for being inaccurate. From my viewpoint, Drea/Andie's escape and time on the run all seemed thrilling and plausible. I still don't fully understand why someone would choose to transfer funds to a stateside bank vs. an offshore account, but maybe I didn't need to know.

Finding her didn't take five minutes. It took two minutes and seven seconds.

My lone gripe lies with a scene around the 50% mark and how it didn't fit in as well with the story as I think the author would have liked it to. There was a reason for the scene and how it tied in to the characters' world view later, but you could have removed the scene (and recurring "talents" of Andie's) and it wouldn't have been missed. Plus, there wouldn't have been this weird paranormal/magical realism thing stuck in there haphazardly for a weak reason. I didn't hate what happened, but found it to be unnecessary.

Overall, I'm still happy. This is the second Howard book I've read and both have been a success. I'll definitely be checking out more by this author. She's shown me that I might not actually dislike suspense the way I thought I had. It might have been all along that I was just trying out the wrong authors.

[Julie (jjmachshev) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure that only Linda Howard could write a story where the lead characters were an assassain and the arm candy for a drug lord and make me like them! But like this book I did. The characters are fascinatingly complex and their reactions to events and second chances made all the difference for me.

Drea doesn't ever remember being happy. Her goals in life are safety and security and she's used her looks, her brains, and sex to struggle to the comfy position she now holds. Mistress to a NYC drug lord. She knows it's a temporary gig and she's taking steps to hide some assets for when it's over. But she never expected the drug lord to acquiesce to the demand of his hired assassain for one bout of sex with her. And she certainly never expected that 4 hours of sex with a virtual stranger would change her life forever.

Simon is as cold and calculating as they come. Oh, he has rules sure, like no doing cops, no leaving clues, no feelings, etc. At times he can even convince himself that he's doing the world a favor by 'taking out the trash'. From the first moment he spies Drea, he sees more than what she shows. When his request for her instead of a bonus is granted, he's amazed by the emotions she pulls from him. When she gets even with the drug lord by stealing a fortune, he gets the call to hunt her down. Will he or won't he?

I just couldn't put this sucker down. I didn't like either one of them at first. I'm still not sure why I like them now. But I found myself wanting them to survive and be happy together. Go figure...

If you like romantic suspense with about half and half for romance and suspense, you really need to pick up "Death Angel" by Linda Howard. It will surely make you think...

[Pang · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!! This book is different from other Linda's books I've read. Mostly Linda's heroes I found are Police, but in this book, the Hero is Assassin and I like Assassin hero in general. Drea, the Heroine she is different also. Her character is hard to accept. Yep. Both main characters are DARK! but, it is not change the fact that they both are Intelligent!

The thing I like about this book is not Romance. It is the Plot! I'm hooked from the start. The Suspense plot is Great!! and I love Intelligent Characters. I love the outwit between the hero and heroine, and I was shocked about the plan that Drea think to revenge Rafael, a powerful and wealthy criminal. It is the Risk, because if Drea make a little mistake, it means she can be dead!

The steamy scene is quite very few. I think :P If compare to other Linda's books I've read. Romance is not the importance for this book. Conversely, I really enjoy the plot and the clever characters. Maybe because I barely found Intelligent characters long time and I want to read something like this. hahaa. I do enjoy the outwit and the suspense. But Warn you.. the main characters are DARK and Quite hard to accept!! but Oh.. Definitely Interesting read for me!! :D

[Fani *loves angst* · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Ok, this is one hard book to rate because it was so uneven. The first 150 pages were a solid 5 stars, even if the romance was almost non-existent. But still the suspense, the characters, the intrigue kept me at the edge of my seat and made it hard for me to put it down. At this point, this book was one of the best I've ever read.

And then, the PNR elements arrived. I did not have a problem with the PNR elements themselves, but by the way they were handled. For once, they took over almost 100 pages where nothing really happened, beyond the heroine's recognition that there is an after life and how amazing, and peaceful, and serene, and fullfiling and yada yada it is. So, it's 2 stars for this part.

When I'd almost given up hope, the suspense kicked again and the romance too, more loudly this time. And at least, I had the urge again to see what will happen. It was interesting, it was fast, it was almost as nice as the beginning, until the last 20 pages. I suddenly felt as if I had jumped right into Buscalia's Living Loving and Learning. Love is the answer to everything, to love someone and being loved is the most important thing in life, to do something out of pure love is the most rewarding experience... you get the point. And how love for an assassin is justified? Well, when ordered by a thug to kill someone, that someone must also be a thug, right? So he actually did a good thing cleaning up some of the bad guys of the world. Sorry, but that is cheesy at best to me. I felt it would be better to leave his profession unmentioned and just say he's a changed man. To try to justify something usually means there's a wrong in there anyway IMO. So it's 3 stars for this final part.

I have the feeling that Howard must have gone through a personal tragedy before she wrote this book and wanted to put her belief that "death is not the end" (to quote Nick Cave) in her work. This wouldn't be so bad, if it was not hammered again and again on the reader and bogged down the story.

All in all, a nice book with a very strong Anne Stuart feeling which would have been a great suspense had it not been bogged down by so many philosophical/metaphysical ideas.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐
Yet another enjoyable romantic suspense from Ms. Howard. She pretty much nails it every time!!!!

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Death Angel, Linda Howard takes a most unlikely hero and heroine, and turns what should have been unappealing characters into sympathetic ones that pull on your heart strings. This was a great book, and I am still trying to determine how the author created such a wonderful story with a hero who is an unrepentant assassin and a heroine whose last two years have been spent as the pampered mistress of a dangerous drug lord. This fast paced story pulled me in and in no time I was engrossed in the book and wishing for a wonderful conclusion for the two main characters.

Drea Rousseau is the mistress of Rafael Salinas, a powerful and wealthy criminal. In order to enjoy a life of luxury with Rafael, Drea has had to hide her intelligence and pretend to be a vacuous female who hasn't any idea of what goes on in Rafael's business. At thirty, Drea knows her allure will not hold Rafael's interest for too many more years, so as insurance for her future, she sells the jewels he gifts her with, and replaces them with paste fakes. Drea believes she is content to continue her current life as long as Rafael wants her, until he stuns her with what she sees as an ultimate betrayal.

Rafael's underestimation of Drea's intelligence results in his conducting business dealings in her presence. When Rafael meets with a dangerous assassin and offers him a hundred thousand dollar bonus for work well done, the man responds by asking for sex with Drea. Drea is hurt and shocked when Rafael agrees and leaves Drea with the assassin. Even though she is feeling stunned, Drea expects to be treated brutally by this man. Instead, he shows himself to be a very gentle, concerned lover, and he gives her pleasure that she has never before experienced. After their physical intimacy, Drea feels a strong connection to this man, and as their afternoon together ends, she begs him to take her with him. He responds by telling her that once was enough, and he leaves, refusing to even tell her his name.

Drea is so furious with Rafael that she decides leaving with only the jewelry he has given her isn't enough. She hacks into his bank account and transfers over two million dollars to herself. The next morning she escapes Rafael, making it look as if her disppearance was unplanned. Rafael has started to believe that he loves Drea, so he grieves when faced with her loss. When he finds out about the missing money that was transferred to Drea, he is so angry that he decides to avenge himself by having her killed. He turns to the assassin and offers him two million dollars to find and kill Drea.

The assassin, who acknowledges to himself that a human life is worth no more to him than that of a housefly, is puzzled by himself when he cannot decide whether to take the hit on Drea or not. He decides to find and track her until he makes his decision. Locating Drea is no problem for a man of his abilities, and within days he is following her as she drives along a treacherous winding highway leading into the mountains. Drea's awareness of the assassin's pursuit throws her into a panic and affects her ability to drive calmly. As Drea tries to escape him before he has a chance to kill her, an incident occurs that will drastically alter them, causing both to search for redemption, and changing both of their lives forever.

I am amazed by how much I liked this book. When I read the synopsis, I expected to dislike the characters and to be disappointed. That was not at all the case. I quickly came to care about what happened to the characters, and I enjoyed the engrossing storyline. It takes a talented author to take characters of this ilk and turn them into a believeable hero and heroine.

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“She was holding her breath, waiting to start living.”
― Linda Howard, Death Angel


This book is Five wonderful stars!

Drea and Simon..Drea and Simon..what a GREAT BOOK! I started reading this not expecting much, and never knowing it would land on my list of favorites but that is exactly what happened.


You'd never expect that a book about a mobster's girlfriend and a Hit man would have this much emotional depth but it does. I was enamored of this book. Did not dig the title but other then that..perfect.

This book was so unusual..I can honestly say I have nothing to compare it to. It starts out as sort of a modern Noir and turns into a mystery and love story combined with a heavy dose of magical realism thrown in. (Which I LOVED by the way.) I was so impressed, I read it again shortly after.

I love the way Drea stands up for herself and the way she grows. Simon too. (Simon Goodnight..love it.) I have mentioned this book to a few people who have not heard of it but I'd really tell any book lover to read this one and I see by some of the other reviews I am not alone.

Death Angel has depth, soul, suspense, danger, and love. It is also a heck of a wild ride and the fast moving plot coupled with the extreme and unexpected (at least for me) Depth make this book utterly compelling and a must read.

SPOILERS:

Could not get enough of this couple and I loved the FBI Agent who saves Drea. This was such a great read!

[MelissaB · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was different. It was pretty much just a fiction book with mostly suspense and a tiny bit of romance. The story wasn't bad but it sometimes went on way too much about exactly how the characters did certain things like escape, move money around, plan their next moves, etc. I was hoping for more romance as well.

[Katie(babs) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I must say that Death Angel is a major pass for me. I was able to finish reading in less than a day and afterwards I felt empty. I was close to making this a DNF, but because of my loyalty to Linda, I finished. Death Angel has an interesting set up, about a mistress of a high powered mobster, and the assassin he hires. The mistress and the assassin end up having a one night stand together. The first chapter grabs you in a way that no other book I have read in recent memory has done. Basically Drea Rousseau has been offered by her mobster boyfriend, Rafael Salinas, as payment to the mysterious assassin he has on his payroll. The assassin wants a few hours with Drea in return for a job well done. Rafael gives his permission and leaves his girlfriend of two years with the cold blooded killer. Drea has no choice but to do what the killer wants, and expects the worst. But Drea is a survivor and will get through this. Expecting the killer to be rough, and the sex painful, he surprises her by being very gentle and gives her the best four hours of intense loving she has ever had. After it is over, he leaves her and Drea is changed forever.

Incredible how great sex can change your outlook on life.

For the next few chapters, we see Drea forming a plan where she will leave Rafael and hit him where it hurts, his bank account. She will steal two million dollars and hide it in her own secret account. Since he thinks she is an airhead, he has no clue how smart Drea really is, because her persona is all an act. Plus, she is a very angry woman who wants Rafael to pay for giving her to another man. She also feels angry at herself, because her four hour lover made her come alive for the first time in her life. She will no longer be anyone’s plaything and make a better life for herself.

Up to this point I was very intrigued and couldn’t wait to see if Drea would get away and if the mysterious assassin would make an appearance again. Drea is able to escape from under Rafael’s nose and with the money. But not before too long, Rafael finds out and wants her dead. He hires the same assassin to kill her. And this is where the story becomes a bit confusing.

It seems to me that Linda had began writing Death Angel one way and then a quarter of the way through, decided to change the plot. What I assumed would be a woman on the run, and the man who must find her, essentially coming to fall in love with her and protect her, becomes a bit of a paranormal in a way. Drea ends up having a car accident where she dies. She sees the white light and is given a second chance. When she comes down to Earth, she is remorseful and has a change of heart. And oh yeah, she now can sense a person’s future. She has the “sight". If she comes in contact with someone, she warns them or gives them advice on their future. Why and how does this suddenly happen? Well, Drea, really named Andie, has seen the light, literally and figuratively.

Also at this time, the assassin, who we come to know as Simon, also has a sudden change of heart. He watched Andie die and now that he knows she has lived, he will watch over her and make sure she is safe. He becomes her angel in a way, her guardian. But he still has his day job as a ruthless killer, even though he takes some time off to make sure Andie doesn’t continue to go on the run or is found alive by Rafael.

Death Angel quickly lost momentum. I am all for an amoral character who changes his stripes, and I guess Simon is the hero, but he is written in such am ambiguous way that as the reader I can’t find myself to like him. Drea/Andie has a bit more merit because her thoughts and actions are more pronounced. I wanted to really like her, but again the way Linda writes Andie’s life change took away from my overall enjoyment of the novel. I even found the sex scenes stale and lacking, perhaps because I couldn’t find any emotional attachment to these two characters who I can barely like? Perhaps I just don’t understand a romance between a hit man and a woman who has risen from the grave, so the speak.

[jenjn79 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm...what an odd book with such a bizarre dynamic. I'm not quite sure I liked it, but I'm not quite sure I disliked it either.

It's rather atypical to read a book where the heroine starts out as the pampered mistress of a drug lord. I was fully prepared to despise her for the entire book. All she cared about was keeping herself in diamonds and designer clothes. And to steal $2mil from a drug lord...well, not the smartest of life choices. I can't say I truly came around to liking Andie, but she did grow on me.

And Simon...now there's an anti-hero for you. He's a merciless killer, an assassin paid for his services. But yet there's something magnetic about him. He was a rather interesting character, and the protectiveness he felt for Andie, it was rather endearing.

I can't say I found this book to be as exceptional as some other readers did. I thought it was interesting and unusual and the story definitely kept me reading, but I never really got attached to the story. I don't really know why. Maybe I would have felt the connection more if Simon and Andie had been given more face-to-face time together because for the majority of the book, they are separate from each other.

So bottomline...I'm not really sure whether I liked it or not. It was different, that's for sure - and kudos to Howard for going against the norm - but I can't really say it was my type of story. I know some say the story was uplifting to them, but for me, it had a dreary vibe. I don't know why, it just did. But anyway, interesting story. If you want to read a romantic suspense that goes against the grain, then definitely give this one a try. But if you don't like your romances/books to venture into the nebulous "gray areas" then this one probably isn't for you.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining, on-the-run suspense. I didn’t want to put it down.

This has romance, but it’s mostly suspense, adventure and escape. There is a secondary idea of good works earning a place in heaven.

STORY BRIEF:
Drea is smart but has been pretending to be dumb so Rafael would keep her as his girlfriend. Rafael is a drug lord. Rafael wants to hire Simon, a hitman. As part of his fee, Simon asks to have one afternoon of sex with Drea. Rafael says ok. Drea is so mad at Rafael for giving her to Simon that she decides to leave Rafael. She steals money from him as she leaves. Rafael hires Simon to find her and kill her.

REVIEWER OPINION:
I enjoyed seeing how smart Drea and Simon were. Drea was on the run and doing it well. Simon was second guessing her and doing it successfully. The ending was very feel good.

I read the hardback several years ago and recently listened to the audiobook. The following bothered me the first time I read it, but it didn’t bother me the second time.

Here’s what I wrote the first time: I didn’t like Drea’s stupidity in stealing money from Rafael. If she hadn’t stolen from him, they might have had a normal lovers’ break-up and her life wouldn’t be in danger. Because she took the money, he wanted her dead.

The second time I read this, I did NOT feel heroine stupidity. It was logical and motivations fit. Characters with a little bit of wackiness make good stories. So I was fine with it.

The first time I read it I said wanted more relationship development and interaction between Drea and Simon. But the second time I read it I didn’t miss that. I think that as time goes on my reading tastes are moving more toward good stories rather than preferring heavy emphasis on romance.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR:
Joyce Bean did a fine job.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 339 pages. Swearing language: I don’t recall any, but there could have been an occasional something. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: five. Setting: current day New York City, Denver and Kansas City. Copyright: 2008. Genre: romantic suspense.

[Crazy About Love &#x1f495; · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ three stars -

A solid three star read for this fairly good romantic suspense from a favorite author of mine in this genre, Linda Howard.

For me, this was not my favorite from Howard, but it was pretty good. If you’re like me and you enjoy a good suspense with a side of romance; you might consider this book if you’ve already read all of Howard’s best, and really need to read a good romantic suspense. That’s why I picked this one up, anyway 💁‍♀️
* see bottom of this review for a quick footnote about favorites

I thought that Howard did a great job with the crime drama in this book, and I really enjoyed that part of it. This is another one of the author’s books where her skill in this arena shines. She really reminds me of Michael Connolly when she’s on pointe with the drama. I definitely felt the presence of Jerry Edgar again in this book (Bosch reference for those that don’t read crime drama haha).

I also enjoyed the dramatic suspense here; that was quite well done. What I didn’t enjoy was the heroine’s sudden clairvoyant ability, and I found that to be pretty cheesy and distracting. I also didn’t care for the author’s “Dream Man for this reason (my review for that book can be found here 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). “Dream” was also too heavy on the esp drama for me, and that’s just my own personal preference against this addition to the plot here, as well.

What I also did not enjoy in any way, shape, or form was the initial on-page scene between our heroine and Hero. Their initial encounter begins with what I consider to be rape. Some may characterize their sexual encounter as dub con, since she does enjoy their sexual experience, and she describes his sexual power over her in this initial encounter as gentle, but her being trapped and forced by her boyfriend to be with him? To me, that’s rape. I don’t care that she thinks she loves him after four hours of sex with the Hero. Just no.

Overall, points got taken away for the uncomfortable dub con scene, the unbelievable insta-love, and underdeveloped character development. Howard is skilled enough to have worked out the dub con better, but that didn’t happen here imo, and that’s probably my main issue with it 💁‍♀️

Not Howard’s best. Three stars.

* added footnote

* What do I consider Howard’s best?
Here’s a quick list of some of my personal favorites (with links to my reviews) from this solid romantic suspense author:

. After the Night 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

. Mr. Perfect 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

. Open Season 👉 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Alex is The Romance Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Summary: A striking beauty with a taste for diamonds and dangerous men, Drea Rousseau was once content to be arm candy for Rafael Salinas, a notorious crime lord. Then, when he loans her to a cold-blooded assassin as payment, Drea makes a fateful decision and a desperate move to escape, stealing a mountain of cash from the malicious killer. Though Drea runs, Salinas knows she can't hide - and dispatches the same assassin in hot pursuit. Left for dead, Drea miraculously returns to the realm of the living a changed woman. Both humbled and thrilled with this unexpected second chance, she embraces her new life. But in order to feel safe and sound, and stop nervously looking over her shoulder, she will need to take down the man who marked her for death, even if it means joining forces with the most dangerous - but most enticing - man she's ever known...

*My thoughts & Feelings”

I am a fan of Linda Howard and had read Death Angel when it was first published but couldn’t remember most of the story, so decided to read it again.

It’s definitely not one of her most incredible books and I understood why it was possible for me not to remember the whole story.
The first part of the book kept my interest but then found myself skimming over pages – the pacing became bogged down with all the descriptions about banking procedures, fake documents, etc etc. and halfway there’s this twist that just made the whole story totally unbelievable to the point that I could not invest in the whole scenario and characters and plot.

The storyline was quite interesting and unusual – here the hero is not a good person but a dark killer and assassin who is hired to kill the thug’s gold-digger girlfriend, who has made off with his two million dollars. These two are not the most likeable characters but I did, in some strange way, like them as the story progressed. Finding redemption, being given a second chance in life and discovering that love can grow between the most unlikely people.

I am still not sure why there was a need to introduce a paranormal angle to this story when so few pages that dealt with the otherworld subject - but hey this is fiction after all and there had to be some kind of explanation why Drea/Andie suddenly and miraculously changed her life so drastically – from this vacuous, airhead, bimbo Barbie to a benevolent, charitable and wise sage. Simon goes from a cold-hearted killer, having raped Drea on their first meeting, to a somewhat moral and honorable man. – I found this a bit hard to get into. I was more curious to know a bit more about these two, what shaped them to what they became - especially Simon who remains a totally mystery to the end.

The book blurb had me thinking that Drea teams up with the FBI but there are only a few pages about her approaching them to help with bringing her thug ex-boyfriend down and within a few pages we come to the end and Drea/Simon going off into the world together. I felt the last few pages were somehow a bit rushed – leaving something unfinished in the story.

It’s not exactly a terrible book and if you want dark and unusual romance suspense, then give it a try.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorites. This was the first Linda Howard that I read. Why am I just now getting around to reviewing it? This is a very different book. The hero is an unapologetic assassion. It's what he's good at and he has no qualms or morals about it. She is a drug lord's money hungry girl friend. These are two of the most unlikely character's ever to be in a mainstream romance. The story is very fast paced especially in the first part where Drea is trying to escape with the money she stole from the drug runner. I just kept turning the pages and chanting "hurry up! hurry up!" Here we have the hero chasing the heroine. He's accepted a job to kill her and he's gaining every minute and just like him, the reader isn't sure what decision he's going to make when he gets there. Will her kill her or not? Nail biting writing.

The second half of the book is very different. It slows down and somehow these two misfits find each other but even that is tense. Simon is not repentant but his love for Drea/Andie enables him to change his life to accommodate her. He is the ultimate dark hero. What happens to Drea to turn her into the more sympathetic Andie is also extrememly unexpected and very well written.

I read this book over and over. If you've read as many romances as I have, you really appreciate different and this is different. (let's see I'm 48 and have probably been reading romances for 34 years, let's guess 2 romances a week for that long - that's about 3,500 romances and I'd guess that was conservative. That's a lot of the same old thing.)

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romantic Suspence / Paranormal
Publication Date: July 1, 2008

Her second chance wasn't really at this life, it was a second chance to earn that life.

Drea Rousseau is playing the part of ditzy dumb-blond-bimbo-girlfriend to a gangster Rafael Salinas. All is well until one day The Assassin asks Rafael to give Drea to him for sexual favours in return for a hit job. Rafael agrees.
Drea feels betrayed. She decide to pay back to Rafael by running away with $2 million of his money. But its not that easy to escape him because Salinas has contracted the same Assassin to find her and kill her for betraying him. Drea is no match for The Assassin...



This book sizzle right from the start. I was drawn into the plot right from the beginning. Neither of the main characters are very likeable at the beginning but you get to know them better as the story progress. I was rooting for Drea all the way as she runs for her life, try to stay alive and learn from her mistakes. I hope its never too late to turn new page in your life and become a better person.

It came down to good decisions and bad decisions, she thought as she drifted. Bad decisions were everywhere. Making one was easy, like picking fruit off the ground. The good decisions were mostly the ones that were difficult, like climbing a tree to get to the fruit at the very top. Yet sometimes the good decision was right there, lying on the ground in front of her, and all she'd have had to do was bend over and pick it up. But instead, she'd looked around and picked a bad decision-sometimes even going out of her way to get it. That was how wrong-headed she'd been.

Its more serious, darker story but I still liked it a lot and enjoy to re-read it.

[Mahlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very hot, emotional roller coaster. This gets underway immediatley. You learn that Drea has been the arm candy for a dangerous drug lord, Rafael Salinas. The sexy assassin is here again to discuss a contract for a hit, but he rejects the $100K being offered. The only form of payment he'll except? He wants sex with Drea, just once. The assassin is the best at what he does, and as it's clear this is non-negotiable, Rafael gives in and says he'll be back in 5 hours. Drea can't believe she's been left with this killer, but what follows is one very hot encounter. Unlike Rafael, the Assasin is soley focused on her pleasure and he proceeds to torture her for hours before his own release. "Until I c*m, this only counts as once..." OMG, I just about died! :) Are you hooked yet? Their passionate encounter awakens something in Drea, but after the Assassin's cool post-coital dismissal, she is devestated.

Drea has been pretending to be dumb and ignorant, and Rafael's total disregard for her by passing her to the Assassin gives her the motivation to pull a major double cross...Once Rafael discovers Drea's revenge, Rafael again contacts the Assassin...but this time the hits on Drea. Will he do it? Is he just a hard, trained killer? Or is there an emotional side to the Assassin that also needs awakening? I LOVED this one. Very unexpected, as I've never read Linda Howard before. You can't believe you're rooting for Drea and the Assassin, but you do!! I just grabbed another one of her books this afternoon at our library book sale. I hope to find another winner like this.

[Grrrrace · Rating 2 out of 5]

After a BANGIN' start, this got sooooo meandery and boring. How could it be boring? Antihero and antiheroine MCs who have a shot at redemption after a miracle! Spies-like-us action and danger! Car chases, near-death experiences; gangsters, assassins! How could it be boring?!? (It was boring.)

I managed to finish it but this was almost a DNF for me. For one thing, bringing the MCs together for wild sex on page 5 and then keeping them apart for 200 pages or so--bo-ring. And the whole heroine backstory for the bad choices she makes in life was weak (and the hero's backstory even sketchier). And it stretches credulity to think that someone who is supposedly sooooo sharp and insightful and resourceful would be arm candy for bad guys for years, hiding behind the facade of a nitwit trophy girlfriend so that she could--what exactly? Hit her payday in the jewelry she squirrels away for two years? Just made no sense that someone seemingly so smart could put up with the boring existence she endures for--well, no real reason that made any sense to me. And while not preachy exactly, the whole life-altering lynchpin event made me roll my eyes a little.

In a lot of ways, this reminded me more of Anne Stuart than LH, but Stuart had a gift for redeeming bad boys (and bad girls) believably and writing suspense that had an edge of desperation that just worked. LH didn't hit the mark in that sense, in this one, not for me anyway. I upped it a star for that hot and unexpected beginning but really this was not one of her better books, IMO. I can forgive shaky plots and backstories, but I can't forgive being BORED!

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books I probably would not have bought based on the synopsis. But it was Linda Howard and even her worst are worth reading at least once. The story grabbed you from page one and never let you go. It didn't matter that there wasn't a lot of "hearts and flowers" romance going on.

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly unique h/H characterization and relationship that keep you hooked for more.
The cold unemotional assassin and a woman who lives by her wits and sex appeal.
It begins with a bang but then gets slow and meanders (into pnr areas) for most parts before an unusually solemn hea.
But definitely with the LH stamp all over it.

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book from start to finish.....I just started reading her books and this is the best one yet!

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

If it were not for the first 40 pages I would have given this book -0 stars. As it is, it deserves only one star and gets one more as homage to the glory that was Linda Howard. And now that I've explained my rating to death, prodeo.

This was a truly embarrassing book and that is worse than being merely bad. The first part is quite interesting, and the sex scene in the beginning (and the only one in the entire book, I think) is vintage Howard, kinky and enjoyable and free from all kinds of KristenAshleyitis and faux-quirkiness. Alas, while you'll be primed to expect a romantic suspense of scorching delights and dark intricacies between a heroine who's a gangster's moll and a hero who's a professional hitman; while you'll be primed to expect something interesting and worthwhile to come out of this world of moral, emotional and social nihilism, the path la Howard chooses is so bewilderingly jejune that you'll think the book switched writers after the initial chapters.

This book is really no book at all, it is two different drafts submitted to a publisher as something to be considered for development and then haphazardly pieced together to meet some deadline. Rather than the interesting romantic suspense we were lead to expect from the strong beginning, we get a corny story of out-of-body experience served on a bed of trite metaphysics.

The only time a story about angels and dead children could have worked, and could have been truly moving rather than infuriating, would be if it were written from the standpoint of deep grief, of exploration of loss of such magnitude, of a boundless pain in which a mother is locked, but then you'll have to write a different book and not this. In 'Death Angel' we are simply told the heroine gave birth to a still born baby when she was very young but nothing else prepares us to believe that that baby became a symbol of all that she had lost, of all that remained unrealised in her life. Instead, we are left with the sappiest and most unconvincing cliches about motherhood. It sounds more like a writer's silly ploy to garner sympathy for a heroine she could not otherwise defend and open to our compassion. It is sad that a skilled and experienced writer like Linda Howard had to resort to stupid and cheesy views on motherhood, something you expect from amateur first timers in the genre. And as if that was not enough, the mumbo-jumbo about the 'after life' is treated as a true and genuine way of overcoming grief!!! Not as a pathological symptom of it.

The main reason I like (used to like) romantic-suspense writers like Linda Howard was for the dark moral horizons of their books (the nicely written hot sex helps too). In the past, quite a few of her heroines and heroes were the bearers of moral significance not in spite but because of their being flawed, damaged and ambiguous (within the parameters of the genre, that is). Here the good, i.e., the series of actions that offer release from the characters' nihilistic horizon, comes not from this duo of apathetic amoralists, the hero (who completely disappears under mountains of schmaltz) and the heroine, which would have made for a cracking story, but from the pseudo-metaphysics of what philosophers call, 'the bad outside', the 'afterlife' treated not as part of a symbolic narrative but as an empirical concept!

Extra disappointing, given that it could have been so good.

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read a lot of romantic suspense and it is a New Year's Resolution to amend that for next year.

This book had me after the amazing first chapter. I just felt the chemistry between the unlikely couple from the first and was intrigued to see how it played out. The unlikely twist in the middle of the novel was totally unexpected and made for a very interesting turn of events.

Yes, you have to suspend belief for a few aspects of this novel, both the spiritual and the possibility of falling in love with a killer from one amazing sexual encounter. Somehow Linda Howard was able to do this successfully and the ensuring twists and turns and change of direction in the middle of the novel made this a great read.

[Ira · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

This should be an easy 5 stars for me but something happened with Drea which I didn't want that in my Suspense books it's perfectly ok in paranormal books tho! because just plain silly! Having said that it didn't ruin the story.

In a few earlier chapters I feel like reading Anne Stuart's book but then our Hero just 'too nice' to our heroine to be a gamma hero and yes I like the heroine more later on too.

If there is a complaint from me, the villain not that evil in fact I found him amusing, so I feel a bit sorry for the mob guy at the end:(

But in overal this is a very good book for me and managed to pull me from my Olympic Games extravaganza on Telly! LOL:))