Little by little, stop after stop, three-year-old Danny Becker wanders further from his inattentive, overworked dad on a San Francisco subway car. In the rush of people stepping onto and off the train Danny is bumped to the platform when the doors close behind him. Strange, strong hands carry him away.As the train leaves the station, Danny’s frantic father searches the moving car in vain.Danny … vain.
Danny Becker’s abduction evokes the unsolved murder of a toddler, Tanita Donner, the previous year, resurrecting the city’s anguish.
Tom Reed, a disgraced reporter with The San Francisco Star, pursues the new abduction. But he is tormented by the fear that he may have caused the suicide of an innocent man suspected of murdering Tanita Donner a year ago. His editor wants him fired. His wife has left him to wrestle with his demons. His life coming apart, the Danny Becker story is Reed’s last chance at redemption.
The lead investigator on the Donner case is one of Reed’s only remaining friends, San Francisco Homicide Inspector, Walt Sydowski, an outstanding detective and lonely widower haunted by the fact he cannot solve the girl’s heartbreaking death.
Both men grapple with the past while they race the clock to learn the truth behind the nightmare that has descended on the Bay Area.
IF ANGELS FALL, is the first book of the award-winning five-book Tom Reed – Walt Sydowski series. It is followed by COLD FEAR, BLOOD OF OTHERS, NO WAY BACK and BE MINE.
Rick Mofina is a former journalist who has interviewed murderers on death row in Montana and Texas, flown over L.A. with the LAPD and patrolled with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He’s also reported from the Caribbean, Africa and Kuwait’s border with Iraq. His true-crime freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, The Telegraph (London, U.K.), Reader’s Digest, Penthouse, Marie Claire and The South China Morning Post, (Hong Kong). He has written more than 20 crime fiction thrillers that have been published in nearly 30 countries.
His work has been praised by James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Jeffery Deaver, Louise Penny, Sandra Brown, James Rollins, Brad Thor, Nick Stone, David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Heather Graham, Linwood Barclay, Peter Robinson, Håkan Nesser and Kay Hooper.
The Crime Writers of Canada, The International Thriller Writers and The Private Eye Writers of America have listed his titles among the best in crime fiction. As a two-time winner of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award, a four-time Thriller Award finalist and a two-time Shamus Award finalist, the Library Journal calls him, “One of the best thriller writers in the business.”
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This was my first Rick Mofina book. When I saw all of the heavy hitters (Patterson, Connelly, etc.) praising all of his works at the back of this book, it made me almost embarrassed to say that I’d never heard of him before. Well I’ve heard of him now. This book is just really, really good. The bad guys are really bad. The victims are really …
Rick Mofina snuck up on me. I consume a regular diet of mysteries, thrillers and the occasional action story. Mofina’s style of narration is third person, yes, but more like an interpreter, letting you hear the thoughts of his characters without getting in the way. This story about a series of child abductions and a disgraced crime reporter who …
IF ANGELS FALL by Rick Mofina is positively chilling. Between the local police, the FBI, the Catholic church, and the local newsroom, it has pulse-pounding, page-turning excitement that kept me up way past bedtime.
I have enjoyed all of this authors books
Typical read by this author. Not great
All of Rick Mofina’s books are good reads. His style is easy to read and characters are all good.
Huge Mofina fan. Great stories, characters, and writing.
Loved this book!
If Angela Fall is a great read so realistic it could be in tomorrow’s headlines!
A MOST EXCELLENT READ!
This is the first in the series of Tom Reed, journalist for the Star newspaper. Even though I’ve read all the ones that come after this, it was still a great read. It did not take away from the intensity of the story about three killers that captured Tom’s curiosity. One of which would become very personal. Don’t want to give away details, but …
Excellent book: well-written and believable. I had to keep checking on my own children. His experience allows him to believably write about police procedure–even something as small as checking the house of a missing juvenile–makes his books so easy to read.
well written realistic action packed journalist and a police officer are friends journalist accused the wrong person of a crime children get kidnapped
Top of the line plot by top of the line author. Wholeheartedly recommend.
This book lives up to all my expectations for Rick Mofina and then some. The combination of newspaper and police work makes for an outstanding story.
This is an excellent series. I started with the third installment not realizing it was part of a series. As soon as I finished the third book, I went straight for this one. Now I will start the …
could not put tis book down. great character development and interaction. Very realistic for any parent and soooo realistic.
Sydowski, the bird lover, is a wonderful character. Very readable and I would go back for seconds!
Have liked the books with the reporter, Tom Reed, even though his self-deluding excuses for chasing his job to the exclusion of his family get a little boring. He seems to realize that he’s causing a problem, tries to fix it, then is right back to his previous behavior. He doesn’t seem to learn! Not sure that it adds a worthwhile tension to the …
I love everything Rick Mofina writes and this was just another of his wonderful books full of action and twist and turns to the very end. Wonderful book!
Gripped my attention and kept my attention to the very end.