WOW! For a PR book, this had a ton of character development. First off, while the idea of a bunch of characters united for the sole purpose of revenge is not original, Maggie Shayne does it very well. It's funny how Briar calls them "The Scooby Gang" because they really are like a gritty, undead version of Mystery Inc.The cast features Briar, a jaded ex-prostitute, who was turned into a vampire by the man who betrayed her most and murdered her soul, Gregor; Ilyana, the ex-wife of Gregor, who lied to her, impregnated her, and then kidnapped her soul; Reaper, a project of the CIA who murdered his wife and loses control over his own mind and body every time someone says the one world that can make him kill everyone in sight; and Crisa, a mentally retarded vampire with a chip in her brain that's slowly killing her as it corrodes, who hears voices in her head...that are real. There are other characters too, some more adjusted than others, but these are the ones that really stood out.As far as villains go, she did a great job with Gregor. He's greedy and power hungry, brilliant, and almost assuredly mad, but he's not stock. You find yourself wondering at times whether he really might care for his son in some small, twisted corner of his heart. His plans were so well-thought-out and cruel that I found myself wondering towards the end how some of his victims would get out of them--if at all.I loved the last book I read from her, and this one is even better! I'm DEFINITELY going to keep reading if all of her books are as phenomenal as #15 and #12 (and on that note, does anyone have any recommendations as to their favorites in the series??) I used to be an avid fan of Maggie Shayne, but this series was just too torturous. I contemplated burning this book just to get it out of my sight, but my completionist nature wouldn't allow it. I had to finish it.The two main characters are constantly remembering one sexual encounter from earlier in the series and neither of them wants to admit that they want to explore their relationship. Briar, the lead female is portrayed as such a cold, hard and ruthless vamp that its hard to see that she'll ever get turned around. But as is accustomed to most romance novels, magically she sees the good within herself and all is right in the world. How boring.This book starts off incredibly slow and doesn't really pickup until Crisa runs away. Even then its a game of "will they catch her in time." The plot line is horrible and it seems like Shayne threw this one together just so all or Reaper's little gang had a happily ever after.
What do You think about Angel's Pain (2008)?
NOt as good as previous books in the Wings of the Night series, but still worthy of it.
—Read
very good..Im glad Reaper might get deprogrammed
—android328
