Partners in the bar as well as on the police force, Danny and Kevin were less than model cops up until the time Kevin was killed on the job. Now Danny is just marking time, with shot glasses, until retirement. He has been paired with a young, stop-at-nothing, meticulous cop, Maggie Gunn, to whom Kevin has taken an inexplicable shine, and who he vows to help solve Vicky’s murder, and thus Alissa’s, righting a wrong he feels he committed.

While investigating Vicky’s death, and attempting to work with Danny to learn about Alissa’s investigation, Maggie uncovers some things about Kevin and Danny’s partnership that she doesn’t know what to think of. And Kevin’s about to learn a few things about his murder that won’t change his being dead, yet may just change everything.

Kevin is very reflective and even a little sappy at first as he encounters people, especially former co-workers, for the first time since being dead, feeling a great deal of remorse for how he acted toward many of them in life. The telling clue is revealed very early on, as is the connection to the person who should have been the original (and current) suspect, illustrating further how lax Kevin and Danny had become.

Kevin will grow on readers - his frustrations at his limitations, and his regrets for a life not lived better, and they will admire his acceptance when he sees this wife has found a new partner. Desolate Angel is a thoughtful mystery with an unusual protagonist and a heroine who may never be able to learn more about Kevin, the man who may have a great impact on her career.                               

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry