The Fifth Angel

THE FIFTH ANGEL by Tim Green

Tim Green has been edging up to best seller glory for some time now. His novels have all been readable but none has had that special spark to make it a big hit. Well the wait for Green may be over. His new book THE FIFTH ANGEL has best seller written all over it.

This story asks the question, "Is there ever a circumstance which would justify cold-blooded murder?" If your answer is no, well read this book and see a possible scenario that might change your mind. And if your answer is yes, read this book and see if your justifiable circumstance and this circumstance mesh.

Jack Ruskin is a lawyer and a very successful one at that. He is earning money hand over fist and is on a fast track to full partnership. But Jack is a miserable man. His beloved daughter Janet was abducted, raped and tortured. Now she sits in a mental institution and stares at the walls. Jack feels totally to blame for what happened. He was running late to pick her up when the abduction occurred.

To assuage his guilt, Jack tracks down men who have committed similar crimes to this one and kills them in cold blood. He is a one-man jury and executioner and he feels no remorse for his crimes. He just looks for the next candidate for killing.

Amanda Lee is a woman who is torn between her work as an FBI agent and her role as a wife and mother. When she is assigned to work on the killings which Jack has committed she sees the case as one that will hold her interest. But even while she enthusiastically hunts for Jack, the nagging feelings of not being at home plague her.

When her path eventually crosses Jack's, she finds that she and the killer have a lot more in common than she thought. She knows deep in her heart that she would kill too if it came down to protecting her kids.

Green has written a complex story and he has handled the twists and turns competently. He gets inside his characters' heads and exposes their strengths and their weaknesses. All of the talent that has been indicated in previous books comes into full play with this one.

Green's story will affect different people in different ways, but no one who reads it will be unaffected. It is a gripping drama that holds your interest and makes you question your own sense of right and wrong.

THE FIFTH ANGEL is published by Warner Books. It contains 372 pages and sells for $24.95.