I'm not usually one to read a murder mystery, but I actually enjoyed this, perhaps due to the paranormal element. That being said, now that I am a mummy, I can no longer stomach violence towards children, even if it is fictional, so shan't be reading more of the series. ( )

The story was good. The premise of narrator and co-protagonist being a ghost added an interesting twist. I thought the self-reflection was a bit over done. I also thought the extensive and overly detailed descriptions of the things he "sensed" from other characters tended to bog the story down.

The characters themselves were real without being overly complex. I will definitely look for more in the series. ( )

The story had an interesting premise but I could not warm to the main character/ghost who was pretty unappealing, maudlin, and constantly bemoaning his fate. While he admits he deserves all the bad things that happened to him he was slow to accept that he brought ALL of hit on himself. ( )

First Line: A man lies dying on the grime-encrusted floor of an abandoned house on the banks of the Delaware.

The man who lies dying on the dirty floor is Kevin Fahey, a second-rate cop, a mediocre husband and father, and the narrator of this book. As Fahey himself now says:

"I am a ghost haunted by my regrets, doomed to walk through a world that is neither here nor there, tasting my fate in my solitude, seeking a redemption I fear will never come."

When it is proved that a young man Fahey and his partner sent to prison for the death of his girlfriend is in fact innocent, this dead detective knows that his best shot at redemption lies with Detective Maggie Gunn, a gifted, empathetic investigator who's taken on the task of not only finding the real killer, but of going through all Fahey and Partner's old cases to see if there's anything else in the files that needs to be straightened out. Although ashamed of how he threw away his life, Fahey is determined to be of as much help to Gunn as he can. Complicating matters is that Fahey's partner, Danny Bonaventura, has yet to retire and isn't taking this examination of the old files very well.

For those who aren't big fans of paranormal mysteries, you'll be happy to note that Kevin Fahey does not become Super Cop on The Other Side. There's very little he can do in this first book to influence the living except by planting the occasional thought in someone's mind. It will be interesting to see if he acquires new skills the longer he remains a ghost.

Maggie Gunn is the type of police officer we wish they all were-- compassionate with the families of victims, respectful (but not obsequious) with her superior officers, Maggie seems able to channel the Energizer Bunny and the most tenacious bulldog as she searches for a truly scary serial killer. In Desolate Angel, the killer's identity is no secret; it's how they're going to find the evidence they need to put him in jail that fuels the action. Knowing the killer in this case ratchets up the suspense by several degrees, and Fahey's despair at being unable to help is palpable.

I ordered this book primarily because I liked the different approach. This time the main character is a failure, a screw-up who gets a second chance to correct his past mistakes, and the author (Katy Munger writing as Chaz McGee) uses that to excellent effect. Aren't there times when every single one of us has wished for a second chance? Kevin Fahey has the best real, live partner to help him with his quest. I really look forward to its continuation. ( )

In Desolate Angel we meet Kevin Fahey, the dead detective. Killed in a drug bust gone bad, Kevin finds himself hanging around the scene of his former life. He doesn't understand why he hasn't gone elsewhere; perhaps he has unfinished business from his pitiful life. Fahey looks back on his life and his career with disgust. Blessed with a wonderful wife and two sons, he drank to the point of ignoring them and sabotaging his promising career as a detective. He can see the living world, and even experience its sounds and smells, but the living cannot see him.

Soon after his death, Fahey sees another ghost, that of Alissa Hayes, a young girl whose murder he and his partner Danny had investigated a few years ago. When she leads him to where another girl has been murdered in a similar fashion, Fahey realizes that he and Danny helped convict the wrong man for Alissa's murder, and her killer is still at large.

Detective Maggie Gunn has replaced Fahey as Danny's partner and comes to investigate the second murder. Fahey immediately becomes infatuated with Maggie, admiring her professionalism and caring for others, qualities that he realizes he lacked toward the end of his life and career. He follows Maggie, Danny, and others as they reopen Alissa's murder case and hunt for the killer. Fahey yearns to make a connection with Maggie and earn his own redemption by helping her to solve the case that he and Danny had bungled.

McGee uses the first-person point of view to let Fahey tell his own story. This enables the author to stay out of the way and not offer us a dissertation about what's happening to Fahey. We learn about his existence as he figures things out; some things are not resolved, including why he is in his current state, how he can possibly interact with the living and affect the course of events, and who the people are whom he sees on a couple of occasions, who apparently can see him. Fahey is the ultimate viewpoint character, in that he can go where he wants unobserved but seems unable to help determine the outcome. He gives us the play-by-play, but it's colored by his own situation and issues, giving us a fascinating mix of third-person-type reportage and first-person worries and hopes. He tries to influence people, but mostly he watches and wishes. He sees himself as a self-appointed guardian angel for Maggie, but we can also see him as an obsessed stalker who has more in common with the murderer than he would care to admit. This sort of ambiguity is one of the strengths of the book--McGee seems interested in poking at questions, not in providing answers.

Fahey's view of the world is interesting--it's rather simplistic and sentimental. There are fabulous people like Maggie and horrible people like the murderer. He seems to have quick insights into people's character and motivations, picking up emotional auras that they carry around and also leave in habitual places. This perceptivity seems somewhat at odds with the black-and-white morality he reflects. It's impossible to know how Fahey's worldview reflects the author's. I chose to regard it as the starting point for what I hope will turn out to be Fahey's maturing understanding of his new existence and what he must do with it.

We have a flood of books these days with paranormal elements. I've read a few and been largely disappointed. McGee's approach, featuring a person who must figure out his situation, capabilities, and purpose without the aid of an all-knowing mentor, posing more questions than it answers, is quite successful and leaves me eager for the next installment. ( )