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Critic's Corner
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"Jack Ruskin is uniquely qualified to commit a series of perfect murders. A former prosecutor, and now the respected partner of a prestigious law firm, he has the means and the knowledge to kill without leaving a trace of evidence behind." Tim Green, author of seven previous novels including "The Fourth Perimeter," "The Letter of the Law," and "The Red Zone," is back with "The Fifth Angel." This time out, Green gives us an antagonist who is a serial killer and one we not only can identify with, but one we dread to see caught. Yes, he's misled in his quest for revenge, and yes, he's wrong to take lives without showing any mercy. But his motive is one all readers will understand and have sympathy for. Jack Ruskin's teen-aged daughter was brutally raped and assaulted in such a way as to leave her mentally damaged, possibly for the rest of her life. Jack feels he left his daughter, Janet, in harms way when he failed to pick her up from school as he'd promised. It was on her way home that the monster attacked her. Then, to make matters worse, when the attacker is captured, a technical mistake allows the defense attorney to sidestep the law and get the most damaging evidence thrown out of court. The jury is left with only enough evidence to convict the man of assault. Four years in prison for destroying Jack's daughter seemed a mockery of the justice system. Jack's wife leaves him, his daughter now lives in an institution unable to speak and her fear of all men makes it impossible for him to even visit her. At first this intolerable situation seems to have only one solution. He can't live with the guilt he feels for all that has happened. The legal system is a board game and right does not always prevail. In truth, it rarely metes out the proper punishment to pedophiles like Eugene Tupp. This is a truth Jack will not tolerate. He unravels like an industrial spring. He drinks too much, and one night he puts the barrel of his gun into his mouth ready to put an end to his pain. He feels the barrel tickle the back of his throat, fights the urge to gag before bursting into sobs. His tears are for Janet, for himself, for the injustice and the futility of life. "Then he pulled the gun from his mouth and slammed it down on the table. If he was mad enough to kill himself, then fine. He could always do that. But he would be damned if he weren't going to kill someone else first." This determination starts Jack down the slippery slope of a murderer. His own horror grows until it is strong enough to commandeer his psyche, "steering it from the bounds of normality into the murky world of a psychopathic killer." His targets are criminals, sexual predators beyond reform. It's easy to find their names in public records. He has no connection to his victims. He's determined to save others from the same excruciating devastation suffered by his 15-year-old daughter. His plan is smart, geared to keep the police off his trail. The suspense builds as the body count goes up. One by one perverts who have escaped the bounds of the law die. David McGrew, a homicide detective with ambition to be a top cop is young and full of himself. His uncle is a high-ranking politician who David uses to further his career. When a sexual predator is murdered on his beat, David is confident he can solve the case. The only problem is the FBI wants to muscle in on David's glory. Amanda Lee, an ace FBI agent is assigned to work with McGrew. Amanda is married, has two children and spends far too much time on the job and away from her family. She's made some enemies in the department and in the field, but she's good and she knows it. The chase is on with David and Amanda on one side and Jack on the other. They're good, but Jack's better. The plot quickens as these three perfectly drawn characters match wits. Suddenly, you feel drawn into the plot to such a point you want Jack caught, yet on the other hand, you don't. Right and wrong become distorted as the story plummets toward its unexpected and stunning conclusion. Green has given his readers another thriller unlike anything he's done in the past. "The Fifth Angel" has a message for all readers, "There but for the grace of God . . ."
(Jones is a published writer & literary critic) |
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The
Fifth Angel 
