An overview of the novel:

In the opening chapters of this book, the murder of Terry King has been accounted. Terry King was pronounced dead at 2:02 am November 26, 2001 in his flaming house. It was revealed that the main cause of his death were fatal blows on the head. Detectives John Sanderson and Terry Kilgore were called on the crime scene to investigate.  Upon inquiry and interviews from James Walker, step-grandfather to Derek and Alex, Joyce Tracy, Terry King’s mother and some neighbours the detectives found out that, Terry used to live with his two children, Derek (13) and Alex (12) King. The boys were not found at the crime scene. The detectives interviewed the close friends of Terry. Lewis Tyson, a friend of Terry, reported that the boys and Terry had been at his house the night Terry was killed. Another close friend Rick Chavis, a convicted child molester, was interviewed but he did not reveal any significant information. He only said that the boys had been missing a couple weeks before, but were soon found. About 2-3 days later the boys were found. Chavis had found them. Detective Sanderson interviewed Alex first. Alex confessed to having murdered his dad, not exactly murder but encouraging his older brother, Derek, to kill their father who stroked Terry in the head several times with an aluminum bat. Alex reported that Terry had died instantly. Further on Alex admitted that they had used some flammable liquid in the house to burn it down, so that there was no evidence left. Alex had said that the main reason for killing Terry was the mental and physical abuse and torture he executed on the children.  

These chapters set off with the interview of Derek King. Derek King’s story is a carbon copy of Alex’s story. He confesses he murdered his dad. Derek also said that he had smashed a baseball bat in his father’s head several times until he died. And then started a fire in the bedroom using flammable liquids present in the house. In addition to Alex’s statements, Derek also said that the two brothers had gone to Rick’s house a few days after Terry’s death. Rick had kept them at his house for two days before calling Deputy Reggie Jernigan. During those two days Rick had washed their clothes, and helped them calm down. Derek also said that Alex and him trusted Rick a lot and were very close to him. Upon inquiry as to why he waited two days before handing Derek and Alex to the police, Rick said that he had found the boys in a state of shock. He wanted to calm them before giving them to the police. He even said that the reason for him to wash their clothes was that they were dirty. Following their interviews the two brothers were placed under arrest and each charged with an open account for the murder of Terry King. Alex and Derek became the youngest murder suspect in Florida’s history. Sanderson interviewed Kelly Marino regarding her past with Terry and the kids. Kelly stated that they were never a happy family. The family suffered financially. This was the main reason Kelly moved to live with another man, leaving Derek and Alex with Terry. The detectives were skeptical about Rick, hence they searched his house thoroughly. There they found some pictures of Alex. When the detectives searched Terry’s house, they found Alex’s diary. In it Alex had written that Rick made him realize that he was gay. Alex also wrote that Rick was his best friend and that he wanted to live with Rick forever. The diary even said, “Rick I luv u, plz be there for me always. We’re made for each otha.” King(84). Rick’s potential role in the case was becoming more and more obvious. Kilgore looked a Rick’s previous criminal records and found him convicted of child molestation, drugs and robbery.

In the third section of the book Derek’s past is revealed. Derek used to reside with Nancy and Frank Lay. Frank Lay was the treasurer of a church. Derek lived with the Lays for 7 years. He was soon adopted by the Lays from Terry, when Kelly left him due to financial reasons. Nancy and Frank reported that in the beginning, Derek used to be very quiet and shy, but soon he met other kids in the neighbourhood and at his new school. Lays said that Derek soon got out of hands. He began to lie a lot. He hung around with his friends for long periods of time, and retuned home late. The Lays even found drugs and cigarettes in his school bag. When they warned Derek against using these things, he threatened them that he would commit suicide. Things really went out of their hands when the Lays found a few switchblades under Derek’s bed. Under the threat of Derek harming himself, the Lays decided to return Derek to Terry. Derek was returned to Terry only 6 months before Terry’s death. The detectives found out from Derek that during those few months, Terry beat him physically almost everyday and tortured Alex mentally. The detectives then interviewed a few neighbours of Rick Chavis. Most of them had described him as a good guy who kept to himself. They had not known that he was a molester, and were shocked to know it. Alex and Derek were taken to juvenile jail detention center before their trial date. Rick was present at their first trial. James Stokes was Alex King’s attorney and Dennis Corder was Derek’s attorney. Judge Frank Bell was the judge at their trial.  

In the fourth section of the book, the story takes a major twist. Alex and Derek have changed their story. Now both of them confess that it was Rick who actually murdered their father. They say that the night when they returned home with Terry from Lewis’s house, they had left their house’s backyard door unlocked so that Rick could enter the house. They also said that Rick entered the house with a baseball bat and saw Terry sleeping on the couch. He had smashed Terry in the face several times until he had died. Then the boys had gone and hidden in the truck of Rick’s car, while he started a fire in the house. The boys and Rick then returned to Rick’s house. The boys had planned this with Rick earlier. During the time they were at his house, Rick allowed Alex and Derek to smoke pot, play video games etc. The boys went on saying that the story they had told before was just to save Rick from being imprisoned. Rick had told them that if he would get caught, he would be in jail for a very long time, while if the boys would confess that they carried out the murder, they would get mild charges as they were juveniles. The court now faced a big problem. Judge Bell was in a dilemma, as he had to decide if the boys were speaking the truth or not. Finally Judge Bell believed the boys, and Prosecutor Michael Rollo was assigned to defend Rick Chavis. In this section it was also revealed that Deputy Reggie Jernigan was a very close friend of Rick. Reggie was fired for having a relationship with Rick.  The press outside the courtroom interviewed Kelly Marino regarding Terry King. She reported that Terry was a very nice man. She said that Terry was her first love and she knew him very well. She even said that she could not believe Terry used to mentally and physically abuse the children, Alex and Derek.

The last section of “Angels of Death”, takes place mostly in the courtroom where the trials of Alex King, Derek King and Rick Chavis are being held. During the trial Michael Rollo called Alex and Derek liars and said that they had changed their story to save themselves. Prosecutors fro Derek and Alex argued that Rick was that one who caused Alex and Derek to mistrust their father, Terry. The Jury had to decide truth from false. After five hours of discussion the jury convicted Alex and Derek of 3^rd degree murder without a weapon, which meant that the two brothers were charged fro the intention for the intention of killing their father. Rick was found not guilty. Judge Frank sentenced Alex to 8 years in jail and Derek for 10 years in jail. Rick was set free. This caused uproar across Florida and America. Alex then shocked everyone by confessing some things about Rick. Alex said that though it was true that Derek and himself had committed the murder, Rick had convinced them to do so. Rick had convinced to them that Terry was mentally torturing them. Alex also said that after killing Terry they called Rick to pick them up. Rick took them to his house and kept them there. Alex further said that Rick should be help responsible for the murder, because he had influenced the boys to do so. Rick, Alex said, had sex with him many times. Derek also confessed the same things, but said that Rick had not actually had sex with him, but had offered to have it. Again Rollo tried to defend Rick by saying that the boys were liars. A new Jury was organized. This jury charged Rick for child molestation and acting as an accessory for a murder, which was when Rick let the boys stay at his house. Judge Bell sentenced Rick to an enormous 30 years in prison. This stunned few, but pleased many. In conclusion justice has been restored.