I first started to read books by Linda Howard years ago and have been picking up her new books ever since. I just finished reading her newest book, Death Angel.

Drea Rousseau had cultivated the image that she was a dumb blonde bimbo because she saw that as the way to having security. She had been the mistress of Rafael Salinas, a powerful drug lord, for a few years and was content with that position for the time being. She was much smarter than Rafael or any of his men gave her credit for. She had plans for what she would do once he got tired of her. Drea realized that she could no longer live the lie she had cultivated after Rafael did something unexpected. Drea had done some research and planning and she quickly put things in motion. Unfortunately she wasn’t as prepared as she had thought she was and things didn’t go as smooth as she had hoped.

Rafael was not pleased when he realized exactly what Drea had done. He contacted a hitman he’d had a few dealings with before and sent him after Drea. Simon - Rafael didn’t know his name - had met Drea before and he was feeling conflicted about the job, something that had never happened to him before. There was an accident and Drea was left for dead. Miraculously, she came back to life. Drea was changed and no longer interested in the things she had thought she wanted before. She decided that she had to do what she could to make Rafael pay for everything he had done over the years. Drea’s second chance also changed Simon when he found out she was still alive and the two ended up working together.

Drea is not what I would consider a typical heroine character and Simon wasn’t a typical hero. That may bother some readers, even those who have liked other Linda Howard books. I did still enjoy Death Angel though. Drea and Simon weren’t all bad because they had some redeeming qualities. Drea had issues in her past, which were brought up later in the book, that helped to explain why she did certain things. She was just trying to look out for herself, though she did choose a somewhat questionable method. Howard wrote about a female assassin in Kiss Me While I Sleep, but she had been working for the CIA until a tragic event caused her to go rogue to get revenge. Simon killed people because he was good at it and he made a lot of money that way. He did have a few redeeming qualities, like how he became so focused on watching over and protecting Drea. He also had his own set of somewhat twisted values and he was selective on which jobs he took even though he didn’t mind working for criminals like Rafael. That is something else that some people may not care for.

Many of Linda Howard’s books that I’ve read have included at least a little bit of mystery in them. There really wasn’t much in Death Angel. Just from reading the flap of the book, I knew that Drea was going to be left for dead and be changed because she got a second chance. All of that did work out a little differently than I had thought, but there still wasn’t mystery to it. There was a little bit of suspense leading up to what caused her to be left for dead. It would have been nice if there had been more mystery and suspense to the plot, but it was still entertaining. Many of her books have also included a bit of humor which I tend to enjoy. That didn’t happen as much in this book either. Some people will probably be disappointed that there really wasn’t any mystery to the plot.

The relationship that Drea and Simon had wasn’t conventional in any way. Some people might even feel that it is a bit twisted, especially concerning the circumstances surrounding the first time they had sex. Their relationship really wasn’t realistic, but it did make for some entertaining scenes. Howard has been known to write some very descriptive, explicit sex scenes in previous books. This book did include some sex scenes, though I don’t think they were as explicit as some from her previous books. People that don’t like to read those types of scenes will probably want to avoid this book.

Drea and Simon, especially Simon, had secrets with many of them not being shared by the end of the book. As things progressed, a bit more was shared about Drea and why she had made the choices she had for her life and why she was acting like a living Barbie doll to keep Rafael happy. She ended up going through several changes that did help to make her a stronger, more developed character. Simon remained more of a mystery, but he went through some changes too. He was not a typical main character or hero, but yet he still managed to work. Rafael and some of his various bodyguards did turn up here and there without any of them being that developed or interesting. It was clear that Rafael was not a nice guy. A few other characters were briefly around as well without becoming very important or developed.

Death Angel was an entertaining book that I enjoyed. It would have been nice if there had been some mystery like Howard has done with several of her other books, but it was still an enjoyable read. Her fans should enjoy the book.

Linda Howard Book Reviews
All The Queen's Men ~ Cover of Night ~ Cry No More ~ Drop Dead Gorgeous ~ Dying to Please ~ Killing Time ~ Kiss Me While I Sleep ~ Mr. Perfect ~ Now You See Her ~ Open Season ~ To Die For ~ Up Close and Dangerous ~


Recommended: Yes