The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson

Final Rating: 1.8/5

   While all the ingredients were there to create a dazzling retelling of a story that is based on actual events, it just fell flat on its delivery. My regrets for requesting this book began within a few chapters. Sadly, I had an impression that Ms. Gregson didn't know exactly what to do with her main character, she is described several ways a few chapters and contradicts this all the next. This flip-flopping of personalities and traits gets rather annoying and delayed me really caring what happened to the main character. The other characters were just as maddening, and by the end I wanted it just to be over with.

   The lack of historical details were puzzling, we are supposed to feel the time period and imagine ourselves in 1916 and few years after but I kept stopping and thinking this story could be set anywhere. Not once did I read any event or could pin-point the time period. Also, what I really found the book lacked for me was a full in-depth self-examination of the characters. I wanted to know the ultimate "why?" of the character's actions. I wanted to come away after reading maybe understanding something of the dark side of the pushed human mind but my hopes were dashed and only were answered with the continued anachronisms, unexpected filthy language and yet another descriptive domestic abuse/rape scene from this work.

   In the end, The Angel Makers started out with such a captivating premise but then loses its way a few chapters in resorting to tawdry gimmicks, lack of consistent characterization and historical details that just made me roll my eyes and curse myself for being tricked into requesting and reading yet another mislabeled title disguising itself as Historical fiction.

-Reviewed in March 2012, review written March 2012/ copy of THE ANGEL MAKERS borrowed from local library