Angelmaker

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In the end, for all its old-new, serio-comic hyphenation, Angelmaker turns out to be a solid work of modern fantasy fiction, coupling credit-crunch anxiety with an understandable nostalgia for the mythical days of "good, wholesome, old-fashioned British crime". More than anything, this book makes me sad because it could have been great, perhaps even exceptional. I will say the author establishes a fine amount of atmosphere that is evil and frightening, but the cramming of all the above sent me onto a dizzy mission. She did a really good job with this ensemble cast of characters, and her accent added to the overall vibe.

As Detective Laurence Page investigates, he is troubled by several things: the many signs indicating that Professor Hobbes seemed to know he was about to be murdered; that Chris Shaw seems to have been involved with Professor Hobbes; and that Professor Hobbes had an extensive collection of memorabilia from a notorious mid-century serial killer known as The Angel Maker.Angelmaker is more in the mold of Neil Gaiman, China Mieville or Christopher Fowler: the novel is set firmly in a modern day London, but there’s also a city beneath; the literal underworld, where the city’s shady characters and forgotten souls spend most of their time. Too late to be admitted to the secret places, too late to be a gentleman crook…" And it must be said that this interest in belatedness raises questions which are, for the admiring reviewer at least, a bit awkward. Special thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts. Joe Spork, the narrator, is expected to be a criminal extraordinaire like his father, but he rejects this legacy.

Thankfully, she is still married to the love of her life, Sam, and raising their lovely five-year-old daughter, Siena. All the leads point back to two old cases: the gruesome attack on teenager Christopher Shaw, and the despicable crimes of a notorious serial killer who, legend had it, could see the future.I enjoy the author’s flirtation of supernatural elements in his previous mystery books, but the use of the supernatural was too blatant in this one for me. The hero was so non-descript that every reader could easily identify with him, whereas all the secondary characters were mere caricatures. Joe gives her his hand, and she places his hand, palm down, on her chest and leans firmly towards him…With the heel of his hand Joe can feel the curve of one breast. They have long ago settled between them that he is to be disturbed between three and nine only in the direst of emergencies or if there is steak. Even though I didn't enjoy this as much as I initially anticipated, the ending and the audiobook are both excellent.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. I have to give the author credit because the story has a really intense atmosphere, and the ambiguity of the plot has contributed greatly to keeping the atmosphere steady and strong throughout the narrative. from the Crimereads interviewNorth flogs this theme throughout, which is a strength, giving the book more heft than relying solely on a scary story. My verdict on this book is that I wanted to like it more than I did because I think Alex North tried too hard to top his other books. Alan Hobbes is a distinguished philosophy professor who has been brutally murdered just hours after firing his staff.The story dips back from the present (2017), with scenes set in the 1950s, ‘70s, 80s, and 90s, offering explanations for what is going on today.