Angels Fall (Roberts)

Book Reviews
Roberts's latest novel of romantic suspense is a cunningly calibrated portrait of a young chef's recovery from violent trauma. While driving in the Grand Tetons, displaced Bostonian Reece Gilmore stops in the small town of Angel's Fist, near Jackson Hole, Wyo., and considers the "Cook Wanted" sign in Joanie's, a local diner. Still rattled by a shooting spree at her Boston restaurant that left her wounded and the only survivor among 12 co-workers, Reece is easily spooked, as noted by her plainspoken new boss, Joanie, and the locals who frequent the restaurant. Among them is a wary, unattached mystery novelist, Brody. Indeed, when Reece claims to have witnessed a murder while hiking along Snake River, few except Brody are inclined to believe the skittish new resident: Sheriff Rick Mardson hasn't found any clear evidence of a woman struck down near the river; Doc Wallace is suspicious of Reece's fragile mental state; and Joanie isn't about to cut Reece any slack while running a busy kitchen. Roberts cleverly casts suspicions on the locals while developing the romance between the two feisty protagonists. A slow-burn start combusts in a satisfying denouement; Roberts's legions of fans will be enthralled.
Publishers Weekly


Once again, the best-selling, prolific, and endlessly imaginative Roberts deftly imbues a deliciously subtle sense of menace into a chilling and thrilling plot, thus creating yet another of her many irresistible and terrifically satisfying novels of romantic suspense. —John Charles
Booklist


(Audio version.) Reece Gilmore didn't mean to stop in Angel's Fist, WY, and hadn't planned to stay. Her job as a short-order cook is a far cry from her career as a chef, but it feels good. She is finally bouncing back from her life-shattering tragedy when she witnesses a murder. Reader Joyce Bean owns the town instantly: gruff, brusque, friendly, inquisitive, shy, suspicious, sweet—they all make an appearance in the diner soon after Reece makes hers. Reece is fragile, skittish, unnerved, and Bean makes the pain sound real, honest. She's no less successful with Brody, who doesn't want to fall for Reece but sees the person behind the tragedy and is attracted to her strength and gutsiness. Bean paces the story so that the tension builds to almost unbearable levels, and then she keeps it there, teetering on the edge. One of Roberts's best. —Jodi L. Israel, MLS, Salt Lake City.
Library Journal