Dirty Little Angels by Chris Tusa
Dirty Little Angels is a fast paced, edgy and realistic look into a realm where people are twisted and families are coldhearted. The writing is edgy, realistic and paced-paced. Told from the POV of Hailey, the 16 year old little sister of Cyrus who is on parole for stealing and getting caught with weed.
The very beginning of the book starts you right off with real life situations. Hailey’s mother has a miscarriage and falls into a deep depression. Hailey also worries that they are soon going to be living on the street because her father, who lost his job can’t pay the mortgage. Hailey’s friendship with her best friend Meridian falls apart after Meridian has an abortion and finds out that Hailey slept with her boyfriend.
Hailey starts hanging out with her brother’s friends, one of them being Moses Watkins, an enigmatic, ruthless but charming character with a black heart who thinks himself a Prophet. Hailey is forced to discover how hard the world really is through unexpected times of happiness, depression, suffering and ultimately murder.
Dirty Little Angels brings together characters you want to hate but come to understand and celebrate the resilience of the human spirit. The atmosphere the Author creates is dirty and real. You can sense the danger coming and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Chris Tusa’s style is perfectly paced and keeps your attention to the very end. I look forward to the next novel to crawl from the depths of Tusa’s imagination!
Reviewed by Mary Kirkland
November 2009