Angelology by Danielle Trussoni

Us girls finally have our very own Da Vinci Code novel - with angels. Lauded as the new bad-asses of supernatural fiction, with Legion and Supernatural as prime examples, this new offering cuts a hefty swathe through the reams of pithy vampire-fiction out there, (anyone for a sparkling vampire?) courtesy of Stephanie Mayer and co. This one definitely ain't one for the tweenies.....

Angelology follows Evangeline, a young nun in Upstate NY who stumbles onto a millienia-old battle between the fallen angels of old Testament fame who took a fancy to human women; their offspring, The Nephilim, and a group of anti-angel secret service agents. Richard Dawkins would just be salivating at the thought. In the meantime, a young art historian is approached by a mysterious family, headed by a menacing old man who appears to be hiding something....

The story jumps between present day New York and World War II Paris and Eastern Europe, where the quest is on to find an item of impossible value which holds the key to human salvation. Or destruction. Whichever way you want to look at it.

What results is a taut, suspenseful and richly decorated thriller, sometimes bogged down with too much detail, which Trussoni seems desperate to include as proof of her research. The action scenes are vivid and terrifying, and this could easily be scripted into a film (in fact, Sony Pictures has bought the film rights) which may or may not be released in the same vein as the Da Vinci Code. I am hoping Tom Hanks is not in it.

Trussoni's use of real-life historical figures sometimes raises an eyebrow (elusive philanthropist Abby Rockefeller is heavily used as a plot device) but its New York City backdrop provides some much needed reality against the supernatural events.

All in all, a success, and 4 out of 5 stars. I like to think that Dan Brown must be kicking himself for spending six years writing about Freemasons.