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Midnight Angels

Review

Midnight Angels

“…the Raven may have bitten off a bigger bite than
even he can swallow --- two desperate men and a young woman out to
claim her destiny. That’s a powerful force to push back
against.”

The young woman is Kate Wescott, and she has a dangerous legacy,
one that she views as a daunting challenge. Her parents died when
she was a small child in an attempt to preserve that legacy. And
her guardian, Professor Richard Dylan Edwards, has been keeping it
alive ever since. Now, as a university student, is Kate ready to
claim her destiny?

Recently arrived in Florence, Italy, Kate prepares to continue
her art studies, with a heavy emphasis on Michelangelo. She loves
Florence with the passion her parents did. She cherishes their
memory, believing them to be nearly saints for what she views as
their selfless pursuit of lost or stolen masterpieces. Professor
Edwards has perpetuated that belief.

The Wescotts formed the Vittoria Society in order to do just
that, with their goal to return the recovered art to its rightful
or intended owner. In the early days of the Society, things hummed
along smoothly. Then one of their own, a young man named David,
turned against them. Faced with the prospect of amassing a huge
fortune, he simply couldn’t resist the temptation to sell
whatever he found. So he formed his own society, The Immortals, and
transformed himself into the Raven. What followed were years of
bloody battles essentially between good and evil.

For the decades the Vittoria Society and The Immortals have both
existed, whenever they clash, they leave bodies in their wake. Now
the time for a final showdown has come. While Kate doesn’t
know for certain that she is intended to succeed Professor Edwards
as the next leader of the Vittoria Society, she does realize that
she is more than a simple university student majoring in art
history. She also is aware that a showdown is imminent.

With her new-found friend Marco Scudarti, Kate spawns a plan to
trace what she hopes will be a previously unknown piece of
sculpture. So far, everything she has learned gives her confidence
that she is close. And she isn’t the only one who believes
that. The Immortals are right on her heels as she and Marco dash
through the cobbled streets, in and out of the Uffizi, across the
Ponte Vecchio, and around the Boboli Gardens in their efforts to
elude the Raven and stay alive. But all this activity hasn’t
escaped the eyes of the police. Into the fray comes Detective
Rumore of the Rome Art Squad --- an elite group of hand-picked
policemen representing the best of the best. So, with all these
factions at play, it’s easy to see how gunfire and mayhem
erupt all over the Renaissance city.

It doesn’t take long before collectors and criminals alike
catch wind of a new discovery: Michelangelo’s fabled Midnight
Angels. Suddenly, Kate and Marco can’t make a move without
stalkers, kidnappers and common thieves in hot pursuit.

MIDNIGHT ANGELS is loads of fun and packed with serious tension.
Chock-full of thrilling chase scenes, Lorenzo Carcaterra’s
latest is sure to please mystery fans as well as travel hounds,
history lovers and art aficionados.

Reviewed by Kate Ayers on January 7, 2011

Midnight Angels
by Lorenzo Carcaterra

  • Publication Date: July 6, 2010
  • Genres: Fiction, Thriller
  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books
  • ISBN-10: 0345483901
  • ISBN-13: 9780345483904