Readers’ Favorite Book Review
“The roller-coaster life of Dr. Ray Silver continues in The Last Angel In Hell by Richard I Levine. In Eye of the Redeemer, the first book of the saga, Ray became a national hero when he found himself as an accidental key player in a covert CIA operation during his personal quest to substantiate his life. He continued to search for the truth regarding his long-lost brother, Frank, who was allegedly killed during a Navy SEAL mission in Beyond Redemption. It wasn’t an easy quest, as he tried to balance a family life with his new wife, while dealing with Francine Manetti, a powerful San Francisco Congresswoman, who was also searching for Frank Silver. Frank supposedly had secret documents that could prevent her from becoming the most powerful woman in America.
In this third book, we find a physically and emotionally exhausted Ray trying to finally enjoy a quiet life with his family. Unfortunately, his past comes back to haunt him, as his two eldest children are being used as pawns in a cloak and dagger war being waged by two NSA advisors competing for the top post in President Jack Walker's National Security council. Levine successfully maintains the multilayered and high intensity story line. A great concept for a series can sometimes feel stretched and thin, yet Levine makes sure that it’s widely explored. As before, the prose is superb and the plot twists as well as action scenes are nicely handled. The Last Angel in Hell exceeds the expectations of its predecessors. Simply put, a great work from Levine and I truly enjoyed this series.” ~Lit Amri, Reviewer
https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-last-angel-in-hell
THE LAST ANGEL IN HELL is the third book in the Dr. Ray Silver action adventure saga.
In book one, (Indie Reader Discovery Award finalist EYE OF THE REDEEMER) we meet this average Joe chiropractor in a story that explores the age old values of honesty, integrity, honor, courage, and morality. But in his midlife crisis search to make sense of his life and validate his existence, Ray gets suspended from his job, becomes the love interest of two beautiful women, and finds himself on a 60 year-old naval relic sailing for the Philippines—an accidental key player in a CIA operation to stop a terror group from unleashing a nuclear holocaust.It is during this mission in the jungles of Luzon Ray spies two CIA agents meeting with a contact who looks like his brother Frank—a former Navy SEAL thought to have been killed many years before.
In book two (5-star Kirkus reviewed BEYOND REDEMPTION), Ray’s search for his brother continues, even as his new wife encourages him to surrender to the simplicity of their Hawaiian family life. But his innocent search is not so innocent and he’s not the only one interested in the outcome. Red flags arise at the CIA, NSA, and with powerful San Francisco congresswomen Francine Manetti—preoccupied with Frank and a package of documents he supposedly had…documents, if in the wrong hands, could derail Manetti’s quest to become the most powerful woman in America. Ray and his family soon learn how far reaching and painful the effects of a vindictive power-hungry congresswoman can be. Francine Manetti also learns how far Ray will go to protect his family.THE LAST ANGEL IN HELL finds Ray physically and emotionally spent as he tries to recover from two back-to-back life threatening adventures he never imagined could ever happen to someone like him. His progress is slow but steady and as he tries to finally enjoy the warmth of the white sands of Lanikai and a laid-back family life with his beautiful young wife, Leigh Anne, and their twin baby girls, he continues to struggle with the guilt of having been the catalyst for attacks on his loved ones. Just when Ray thinks he’ll be ok, his past involvement with the NSA comes back to haunt him—especially since he holds a secret that could damage the president. Because of that secret his two eldest children are being used as pawns in a cloak and dagger war being waged by two NSA advisors competing for the top post in president Jack Walkers National Security council. Will Ray abandon the promise he made to Leigh Anne and allow himself to be drawn in to the fray? If he honors his promise to her will his children become collateral damage? If he jumps back in will it cost him his marriage? Will it cost him his life?
“As before, the prose is superb and the plot twists as well as action scenes are nicely handled. The Last Angel in Hell exceeds the expectations of its predecessors. Simply put, a great work from Levine and I truly enjoyed this series.” ~Lit Amri, Reviewer
EXCERPT:
Anbar Province, Iraq
November 7, 2004
Ray’s head bounced a little but he wasn’t aware of it. At this point he didn’t realize much of what was happening to him or around him. He kept drifting in and out, picking up an unrelated word or two that triggered fleeting but disjointed memories. Out of context, most of them didn’t make sense, but he couldn’t care less. He had no control, he offered no resistance.
Having experienced searing heat just moments before, he now felt—if he could put it into words—as if he were lying on a bed of feathers cooled by a constant breeze. It was an odd combination of feeling weightless while simultaneously sinking ever deeper into nothingness; a nothingness that was clean, white, and comforting. It felt welcoming—a far cry from the gritty desert wind that had been buffeting his face. But he no longer thought about that. He wanted to sink further, and yet at the same time he wanted to hold on. Not for fear of moving on but because of an innate resistance to letting go of all that he had known and loved. A part of him wondered if this was what she had meant when she cautioned him to choose wisely. Another part of him wondered if the choice was still his to make.
When he was conscious enough to hear and feel the thumping vibration of the rotor blades of the Huey helicopter, straining to maintain velocity, he thought of the slow-whirring ceiling fan in the bedroom of his house on Kaneapu Place. In a distant dream, he once heard these very same rotor blades and woke to the gentle hum of his ceiling fan. Now the sound and vibration of one was linked with the other. For a brief moment he was back in his bed, basking in the morning sunlight filtering through the wooden shutter slats. The bright glare of the sun was tempered by the long ferns and wide banana plant leaves flickering and dancing in the front yard. He could smell the scent of wisteria and passion flower floating in through the open window—until he choked a little on the toxic stench of battle-damaged oil lines spraying thick, viscous fluid over a hot exhaust manifold. A trail of smoke billowed out of the engine compartment, blowing intermittently through the main cabin of the chopper.
Ray didn’t feel the contrast of the hard metal floor against his back and the softness of his daughter’s thigh as she cradled his head. His mind kept telling him that he was lighter than air and that he was safe.
Casey removed the blood-covered gauze from her father’s right flank and tossed it out of the open cabin door—quickly replacing it with a fresh piece and pressing it into him as hard as she could. What the gauze didn’t soak up, her fatigues did. She was concerned that there was no exit wound, positive there was just as much blood pooling internally. She looked back between the aluminum frames of the pilot and copilot seats and yelled frantically over the noise of the straining engine. “Come on, Sandy, can’t this thing go any faster?”
“I’ve got her full-out, Case. Besides,” Sandy screamed back, “if this bucket goes any faster, I think she’ll break into pieces.”
“I don’t care. Fly it like you stole the damn thing; he’s losing too much blood!”
