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A Vision Of A Serial Killer
The Angel and the Amazing Life of Maggie Love follows an angelic being tasked with evaluating the soul of a woman who has committed twenty murders and deciding if her soul should be saved. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I went to bed one night and had a vision of a serial killer named Maggie. My inspiration was to try something different with this idea. So, my first line, (Maggie Love is finally dead.), gave me a way to tell the story in a very different way. Almost all novels are written from beginning to end. Since she is already dead, her soul inspecting Angel can take her through her crimes out of sequence. The Angel tries desperately throughout to find one small iota of goodness in her, with the sole purpose of saving her soul.
Maggie is a flawed character that readers are drawn to despite her being a serial killer. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
I needed Maggie to be an extremely exceptional individual. She is beautiful and extremely intelligent. She had to be very meticulous in planning her crimes, thus she is never under any real threat from the authorities. She is an amazing actress and has twelve aliases. She changes her voice and appearance at will. In one chapter she transforms from a nerdy secretary into Maggie Love, right in front of one of her victims’ eyes.
I find that while writing, you sometimes ask questions and have the characters answer them. Do you find that to be true? What questions did you ask yourself while writing this story?
One question I had to ask myself was, “why is she killing so many?” Maggie needs justification. Without that, these are just random murders. Maggie answers that question throughout by justifying her crimes by getting revenge on the people that drove her parents to murder suicide when she was very young.
When I was describing Maggie’s mother, I wrote, “she had a crooked nose like it had been broken”. I questioned myself and asked, “why the hell did I write that?” In a later chapter when Maggie is conceived, her pregnant mother is punched in the face by one of Maggie’s future victims. It came to me backwards.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m working on a book called Illegal Immigration. The story of two generations of families on each side of the U.S. and Mexican boarders. It should be available in about 8 months.
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Inspector Lawrence (Chief Inspector of Souls)
Maggie Love is an enigma.
She has at least 12 aliases. Is Maggie Love even her real name?
She freely admits to murdering people—at least to those who care.
We shouldn’t root for her—but we do. Just like her angel inspector.
Why?
C. R. Fabis outdoes himself in his second novel. The mystery isn’t about “who dunnit” but about whether or not Maggie’s soul can be saved.
The Angel and the Amazing Life of Maggie Love
C.R. Fabis’s The Angel and the Amazing Life of Maggie Love is a gripping exploration of morality and redemption, told through the fascinating lens of an Inspector, an angelic being tasked with evaluating the souls of the departed. Maggie Love, the titular character, is no ordinary protagonist. A serial killer with a streak of charm and cunning, Maggie becomes the subject of a divine investigation to uncover whether there’s any good buried deep within her dark heart. The story unfolds in a blend of thriller, fantasy, and psychological drama as the Inspector relives fragments of Maggie’s life to find even the faintest glimmer of repentance.
The narrative’s bold choice of beginning with Maggie’s death immediately piqued my curiosity. Fabis dives into the twisted psyche of Maggie, painting her as both monstrous and magnetic. I couldn’t help but be captivated by the vivid description of Maggie’s manipulative charm, especially in scenes like her calculated murder of Clyde on the subway. However, the prose sometimes gets bogged down with overly detailed descriptions, which slows the pacing. For example, the meticulous breakdown of Maggie’s outfits or her preparation for a crime felt more like filler than crucial character development. The Inspector’s role as a neutral soul-searcher contrasts sharply with Maggie’s chaotic amorality. I found myself questioning the fairness of eternal judgment, especially as Maggie’s backstory reveals layers of trauma and survivalism. A particularly compelling moment comes when Maggie relives her abusive time in the adult film industry, and though her actions remain indefensible, Fabis succeeds in making her character disturbingly human. Still, some of the philosophical musings felt repetitive. While the Inspector’s reflections on redemption added depth, they occasionally veered into sermonizing. The story’s structure is a wild ride, and while this makes it unpredictable, it also felt disjointed at times. Jumping between Maggie’s past lives, her twenties as a rising adult film star, and her fifties as a cunning seductress created a jarring rhythm. That said, I have to commend the author for maintaining suspense throughout. The Inspector’s quest to find redemption for Maggie builds tension masterfully, especially in the climactic scenes where Maggie faces her past crimes head-on.
The Angel and the Amazing Life of Maggie Love is not your typical redemption story. It’s dark, thought-provoking, and often uncomfortable, but it also has moments of startling beauty and insight into the human soul. If you enjoy morally complex characters and aren’t put off by graphic content or philosophical ruminations, this book will leave you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page. It’s a fitting read for fans of dark thrillers or speculative fiction with a metaphysical twist. I’d recommend it to readers who love a challenge and aren’t afraid to grapple with the shades of gray in morality.
Pages: 240 | ASIN : B0DH5VCSVT
LITERARY TITAN 