A KISS BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE by Thomas E. Sniegoski

Boston P.I. Remy Chandler has many talents. He can will himself invisible, he can speak and understand any foreign language (including the language of animals), and if he listens carefully, he can hear thoughts.

Unusual, to say the least - for an ordinary man. But Remy is no ordinary man - he's an angel. Generations ago, he chose to renounce heaven and live on Earth. He's found a place among us ordinary humans; friendship, a job he's good at - and love.

Now he is being drawn into a case with strong ties to his angelic past. The Angel of Death has gone missing - and Remy's former colleagues have come to him for help. But what at first seems to be about tracing a missing person turns out to involve much more - a conspiracy that has as its goal the destruction of the human race.

And only Remy Chandler, formerly known as the angel Remiel, can stop it.

Wow, just wow! This is one seriously awesome book. I enjoyed it heaps.

Remy Chandler is a PI from Boston, but he used to be so much more. He used to be known as Remiel, one of the Seraphim. Now, he's decided to take on the guise of a human, living among them. Of course, he's still kept a few of his angelic traits--he can make himself invisible, speak with animals, and sense preternatural things a normal human can't. I especially enjoyed reading his conversations with his lovely labrador, Marlowe. 

His latest case, which first appears to be a standard wife-suspects-her-husband of cheating situation, turns out to be the beginning of the Apocalypse. See, the couple he's just found cheating in a motel wind up dead. Well, at least they should be dead. But they're not. Actually, all around the world people are dying, but their souls aren't leaving their bodies.

Soon, Remy figures out that the Angel of Death has stopped doing his job. And instead, every dead person and animal in the world is left undying. Their souls begging for release. Yet, there are forces that don't want the Death Angel to do his job, and instead are trying to entice him to break the seals and bring the wrath of the Four Horsemen onto the world.

As Remy digs deeper into what's going on, he finds himself in the middle of an angelic situation that's darker than anything a demon would conjure.

This is such an awesome idea, and so well told that it's addictive. I found every single moment of this book to be not just entertaining, but amazing. It drew me in so deeply that I could hardly put it down. Remy's an awesome narrator with a very long history, and his dog Marlowe is a gorgeous animal. Not to mention all of the other weird and wonderful creatures introduced in this very excellent world. Oh, and the story between Remy and his wife was absolutely heart-breaking. :(

Yep, this one's going straight to my keeper shelf. Actually, I've just ordered the second book in the series, and pre-ordered the third. Can't wait to find out what else Remy and Marlowe get up to in future books...

H&UFRC books read: 3/24