Product Description

Joseph Vaughan's life has been dogged by tragedy. Growing up in the 1950s, he was at the centre of series of killings of young girls in his small rural community. The girls were taken, assaulted and left horribly mutilated. Barely a teenager himself, Joseph becomes determined to try to protect his community and classmates from the predations of the killer. Despite banding together with his friends as ' The Guardians', he was powerless to prevent more murders - and no one was ever caught. Only after a full ten years did the nightmare end when the one of his neighbours is found hanging from a rope, with articles from the dead girls around him. Thankfully, the killings finally ceased. But the past won't stay buried - for it seems that the real murderer still lives and is killing again. And the secret of his identity lies in Joseph's own history...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #135 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 396 pages

My Weekly
"A meaty, involving drama which will catch you up in an emotional rollercoaster -- great reading"

Review
"A meaty, involving drama which will catch you up in an emotional rollercoaster -- great reading" (My Weekly )

"Very spine chilling... keeps you going right until the last page" (Amanda Ross )

Synopsis
Joseph Vaughan's life has been dogged by tragedy. Growing up in the 1950s, he was at the centre of series of killings of young girls in his small rural community. The girls were taken, assaulted and left horribly mutilated. Barely a teenager himself, Joseph becomes determined to try to protect his community and classmates from the predations of the killer. Despite banding together with his friends as ' The Guardians', he was powerless to prevent more murders - and no one was ever caught. Only after a full ten years did the nightmare end when the one of his neighbours is found hanging from a rope, with articles from the dead girls around him. Thankfully, the killings finally ceased. But the past won't stay buried - for it seems that the real murderer still lives and is killing again. And the secret of his identity lies in Joseph's own history...

Customer Reviews

Emotional rollercoaster!
I had seen A Quiet Belief In Angels at the top of the book chart for a while and decided it was time for me to see what all the fuss was about.

Rarely does a book live up to the hype that has surrounded it but R.J Ellory delivers such a haunting, emotional story that even 5 stars doesn't do it justice.

It starts during the late 1930's in the deep south of America and continues for three more decades. The story is based on a young boy, Joseph Vaughan, and a series of murders that desolates a town in Georgia. The raw emotion, fear and tension of the residents of Augusta Falls is almost life like and you have genuine sympathy for the nightmare that they are going through.

Its extremely well written and you will more than likely end up flying through it. If its a happy story you're looking for then I would advise you to go elsewhere but if you are after a thrilling emotional rollercoaster with heart wrenching content, then this is the book for you.

Brilliant!

Major New British Talent
Actually "New" probably doesn't do the author justice as this is his fifth novel but AQBIA seems to have made a real breakthrough after being highlighted by Richard and Judy. Having loved two of his previous novels, this book fully meets the high standards set by Candlemoth and A Quiet Vendetta (which is my personal favourite!).

It's very hard to categorise Mr Ellory's books; I know they tend to be labelled as crime novels and whilst they certainly work at that level, they're a world away from the formula "hook and twist" releases that you find in this genre which are often structured to simply deliver a 'whodunnit' moment in the last chapter. And for me, that's what makes RJ Ellory's books so refreshing; they are studies of character and emotion first which in turn, makes the crime element far more believable.

Beautiful atmospheric writing, engaging underlying historical themes and situations, I can't recommend RJ Ellory's books enough. If you haven't read any of his previous work, this is a great place to start!

Stunning!!
How many superlatives do you want? stunning, haunting, genius, provocative, distressing, pacey, heartbreaking, taut, gripping, unputdownable.................read this book.