The Trial of Fallen Angels

by James Kimmel

Overview

When young attorney and mother Brek Cuttler finds herself covered in blood and standing on a deserted train platform, she has no memory of how she got there. For one very good reason.

She’s dead.

But she doesn’t believe it at first. Trapped between worlds, Brek struggles to get back to her husband and daughter until she receives a shocking revelation that makes her death no longer deniable: She’s been chosen to join the elite group of lawyers who prosecute and defend souls at the Final Judgment.

With each dramatic trial conducted in a harrowing courtroom of eternity, Brek discovers how the choices that she and others made during their lives have led her to this place. She realizes that if she’s to break the chain, she must first face the terrible truth about her death. But before Brek can do that, she suddenly finds that she herself has been called to stand trial…and that her first client in the afterlife holds the secret to her fate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425261675
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/01/2013
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James Kimmel, Jr., received a doctorate in jurisprudence from the University of Pennsylvania and is a lawyer who focuses on the intersection of law and spirituality. This is his first novel.

What People are Saying About This

Stephanie Turza

As a successful lawyer with a loving husband and a beautiful baby girl, Brek Cuttler believes she’s made the best possible decisions in life. After finding herself on a train platform in her favorite suit, with fresh bullet wounds and only the vaguest understanding of how she arrived, she starts talking to an elderly gentleman who manages to look like all of the trusted male figures she’s ever known. She learns that the train station is Shemaya Station, a Purgatory-like space where souls await their final judgment. Upon being chosen to join the elite team of lawyers tasked with prosecuting and defending these lost souls, Brek learns that some long-forgotten pieces of her past, combined with the technicalities she prided herself on uncovering for her clients, hold the clue to her own salvation. In his first novel, Kimmel has created a thrilling and fantastic world, a heady combination of the movie What Dreams May Come, John Grisham’s best work, and Dante’s Divine Comedy. Sometimes dreamily lyrical and sometimes harshly realistic, Kimmel’s authorial voice is undeniably compelling. Raw, tender, and intelligent, The Trial of Fallen Angels is a fascinating glimpse into the judgment of lost souls and recovered memories. — Stephanie Turza

From the Publisher

“Kimmel has created a thrilling and fantastic world, a heady combination of the movie What Dreams May Come, John Grisham’s best work, and Dante’s Divine Comedy. Sometimes dreamily lyrical and sometimes harshly realistic, Kimmel’s authorial voice is undeniably compelling.”—Booklist (starred review)

“In a world seething with anger in search of so-called justice, James Kimmel, Jr., spins a heartbreaking story that delivers a rebuke with courage, intelligence, and elegant prose.”—Bryan Gruley, author of The Skeleton Box

“Kimmel pays readers a supreme compliment here by inviting them to take seriously the theological question of the Last Judgment.... An intriguing, intricate, and metaphysical novel—not your typical fare.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This powerful debut from lawyer Kimmel…explores a myriad of spiritual concepts expressed in various religions. He deftly unveils each new character and cleverly balances the positive and negative aspects of their lives. Building upon the memories of multiple generations, Kimmel has written a stirring spiritual thriller.”—Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

Kimmel has created a thrilling and fantastic world, a heady combination of the movie What Dreams May Come, John Grisham’s best work, and Dante’s Divine Comedy. Sometimes dreamily lyrical and sometimes harshly realistic, Kimmel’s authorial voice is undeniably compelling.”—Booklist (starred review)

“In a world seething with anger in search of so-called justice, James Kimmel, Jr., spins a heartbreaking story that delivers a rebuke with courage, intelligence, and elegant prose.”—Bryan Gruley, author of The Skeleton Box

“Kimmel pays readers a supreme compliment here by inviting them to take seriously the theological question of the Last Judgment.... An intriguing, intricate, and metaphysical novel—not your typical fare.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This powerful debut from lawyer Kimmel…explores a myriad of spiritual concepts expressed in various religions. He deftly unveils each new character and cleverly balances the positive and negative aspects of their lives. Building upon the memories of multiple generations, Kimmel has written a stirring spiritual thriller.”—Library Journal

From the Publisher

Brek Cuttler walks into a store with her daughter—and suddenly finds herself on a deserted train platform, with only arrivals indicated on the timetable board. She has died and, as a crack lawyer, has been assigned to the special team that prosecutes and defends the souls of the dead on Judgment Day. Word has it that this debut is unlike anything you have ever read. With foreign rights sold to eight countries and a reading group guide.

Library Journal