Skip to Main Content

Book Club Kits: Desolate Angel

Alamance County Public Libraries offer Book Club Kits for check out to area book clubs. Each kit contains 10 copies of a book and a reading guide.

Cover Image

Check Availability

To request this kit, click link above.

Alamance County Public Libraries

Alamance County Public Libraries provide free and open access to lifelong learning, resources for everyday living, and reading for pleasure in a welcoming environment.  Our collections, services and programs enhance the quality of life for individuals, families, and communities. Contact the Library webmaster.

Alamance County Public Libraries operates as a Department of Alamance County Government.  Visit the Alamance County Website at www.alamance-nc.com.

Book Summary

Kevin Fahey has been dead for three months and in that time he has come to understand how he squandered his life while alive. But now he must face a terrible truth: a killer he thought he had captured has struck again, claiming the lives of several young girls and making it apparent that Fahey and his equally incompetent partner put the wrong man behind bars long-ago.

Can Kevin Fahey redeem himself by solving the case right this time around and undo   the damage his carelessness caused? Or will he be down to wander his lonely world forever?

Discussion Questions

  • The killer is revealed fairly early in the novel.  Does knowing the identity of the killer lessen any of the suspense or does it make the story more suspenseful?  Why?

  • Being dead, the narrator has a unique ability to be privy to events that most detectives would not be aware of.  Do you think this is an effective way for the author to reveal information?  Why or why not?

  • How does the old man who discovers the body at the beginning of the book have an effect on his own family?  How much of an effect do the things we do have on those around us?

  • Kevin Fahey was a lousy cop in life.  How do his actions after death reflect his desire for redemption?

  • Discuss the relationship between Kevin Fahey and his former partner. 

  • What did you think of Kevin Fahey? Are they wholly good or bad, or something in-between?

  • What did you think of how the mystery was solved? Was it probable? Would you have ended it differently?

  • Read your favorite passage from the book? How do you think the author's style adds to the narrative in this passage?

  • How would you describe the author's writing style? Did you enjoy it?

  • Discuss the characters in the book. Which ones did you like and why? Which ones did you dislike?