Our Darker Angel

By: Michael Segedy

Narrated by: Rene Grui

Winner of the 2022 Annual Awards for Best Thriller

Notable Mention in Shelf Unbound's International Indie Book Award Contest for 2013

In Our Darker Angel, the mystery begins with FBI Agent Rick Clark's investigation into a series of murders committed by a terrorist group identifying itself as ARC, Anarchists for Real Change. Terrorism has become a personal issue with Clark. Two years earlier, his daughter perished in a bombing orchestrated by EMMA, an acronym for Emergent Movement of Militant Anarchists. The ARC murders bear a striking resemblance to the killings by EMMA, as they, too, target the rich and powerful and morally bankrupt. There is one notable difference, though. ARC uses the Darknet to hire lowlife assassins to do their bidding.

While undertaking his investigation of ARC, Clark relies on the expertise, keen intuition, and psychological insights of Dr. Marty Robin, a forensics psychologist. Together, they research the backgrounds of the victims, while Marty attempts to construct profiles of the assassins. As Clark becomes more and more preoccupied with solving the ARC case, he is dragged down by personal ghosts. Fortunately, Marty manages to rescue him from his darkest hours and pull him safely to shore.

©2013 Michael Segedy (P)2022 Michael Segedy

Wonderful thriller, got me engaged all the way!

Segedy's novel is every bit as much a psychological thriller as a political thriller. We see what creates a certain type of terrorist and murderer and how terrifying or disturbing events in the past bring out our "darker angels."

He leaves it up to FBI agents Rick Clark and Marty Robin to piece together the scarred life of ARC's leader (Anarchists for Real Change) and end the group's terrorist attacks against what appear to be political targets. At the end of the novel, Marty, also a forensic psychologist, finally sees a pattern that links all of the killings.

I believe the cover captures the theme completely. After finishing the novel and looking at the cover again, I get chills. The image on the cover shows the darker angel arising from a world of chaos, the very world the leader of ARC was shaped by. To drive this point home, Segedy's hitmen are similarly affected by their impoverished and hostile environments. The pent up hate and desire for retribution that Billy Perkins has towards "whitely" is not unlike the feelings the leader of ARC has towards the moral monsters who bring pain and suffering into the world. No thoughtful reader could possibly miss the connection, nor the foreshadowing (which begins in the very first chapter) that helps construct the profile of a terrorist leader whose thoughts have become deranged as a result of the harrowing and heartbreaking events of the past.

And speaking of harrowing and heartbreaking events of the past, the way the author details them will leave you in tears. That is if you have any heart at all. And when it comes to details, the way he captures the colors and tones of the childhood world of ARC's leader makes you believe that the author grew up in Palestine.

Definitely if you like complex mysteries and political thrillers that delve deeply into the human psyche and show how the past writes much of the script of one's present life, you'll relish this novel. I know I did. For sure, its characters are unforgettable and their lives are depicted in such a way as to offer an explanation for a large part of the evil we witness in our world.

Wonderful mystery, unpredictable, but believable

The narrator's voice captures the personalities excellently, from the classy to the classless, the well-balanced to the unhinged. I enjoyed her handling of the story throughout. Great job Renee! Ignore the one star review. Judging from the reviewer's lazy writing it is doubtful that she listened to more than a minute of the audiobook.

Edge of your seat listen

A new terrorist group is terrorizing targeted people with inexperienced and desperate people needing funds. This makes it more difficult for FBI Agent Rick Clark to locate the ARC group that was fashioned by the most terrifying group called EMMA. Although rich and politically charged people have been targeted for assassination, the real reason behind the assassinations is breathtaking as is the true founder of the terrorist group.

Michael Segedy, the author, once again captivates his listeners with a mindboggling mystery that is solved during the last few minutes of the book. His ability to construct a storyline with unexpected plot twists is not only proven but continues to amaze the listener. The characters have a depth that makes them realistic including their dialogue.

The narrator, Rene Grui gives a performance that further enhances the storyline and character personalities. Rene speaks clearly and with a conciseness that brings not only the story to life but gives each character a fresh and rich presence. This is the first book I have heard Rene perform; I hope to experience more of her performances.

I have had the pleasure of enjoying several of Michael Segedy’s audiobooks over the last few months. Each book showcases his talent as an author and producer/publisher. In his search for voice actors, each performer he has selected has enriched his stories.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook, it was clear and crisp.

Great story full of action

I really enjoyed this one…. Even though I did figure out the twist well before it was revealed
The characters were described well and easy to visualize. The situations in the book seemed realistic and that’s actually a sad thing. The thugs hired were just your usually drugged up blubbering idiots. Their stupidity was almost comical.
Rene Grui did an amazing job narrating.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

NOPE

I was given this review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I could not listen to this book because I couldn’t take the narrators voice. The continuous up and down pitch while reading, not every sentence is a question stop making it sound like one, and she is definitely not the person to try and sound “street” or read about drug use/dealing and killings. She sounds like a kindergarten teacher reading to her students. Sorry I just couldn’t do it.