Something More Than Night

By Ian Tregillis

ISBN # 978-0-7653-7578-0

Author’s Website: http://iantregillis.com/

Brought to you by Guest Reviewer Erin

Synopsis:

Somebody has murdered the angel Gabriel. Worse, the Jericho Trumpet has gone missing, putting Heaven on the brink of a truly cosmic crisis. But the twisty plot that unfolds from the murder investigation leads to something much bigger: a con job one billion years in the making.

Because this is no mere murder. A small band of angels has decided to break out of heaven, but they need a human patsy to make their plan work.

Much of the story is told from the point of view of Bayliss, a cynical fallen angel who has modeled himself on Philip Marlowe. The yarn he spins follows the progression of a Marlowe novel–the mysterious dame who needs his help, getting grilled by the bulls, finding a stiff, getting slipped a mickey.

Angels and gunsels, dames with eyes like fire, and a grand maguffin, Something More Than Night is a murder mystery for the cosmos.

Review:

I don’t normally read mysteries; I don’t like pieces of the plot being deliberately withheld for the sake of drawing the book out. So I had trouble getting into this at first. I would pick it up, read a chapter or two (they average 15-20 pages each), then put it down for a few days. Bayliss’ old-school slang was annoying at first too. But the concept was so interesting, and the metaphysics/science behind the world kept me intrigued enough to plow through. I love anything that takes a classic myth or legend and twists it (in this case, the idea that angels are our guardians and Holy Beings, and the lore built up by Thomas Aquinas). It finally started to pick up for me around page 100 (again, give me important information or I glaze over). By the time I got to page 200 though, I ended most chapters by saying “Holy Crap” and having to read the next chapter. I read the final hundred pages in one sitting.

I imagine fans of mysteries (especially noir style) will enjoy this. Tregillis obviously did a good job writing it: the reader is completely in Molly’s position the whole time, and the world building was top notch. This was my first time reading an Ian Tregillis novel, but I fully intend on reading his Milkweed series. The end absolutely made up for the bogged down beginning.