Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Book review - "The Song of a Dark Angel" by P. C. Doherty


Doherty opens his 8th Hugh Corbett novel, The Song of a Dark Angel, explaining to the reader that the Song of a Dark Angel is the sound the night wind makes as it roars off the sea and into Norfolk, England.    Then he describes two bodies, which have yet to be discovered, swaying in the Song of a Dark Angel. A pretty awesome way to start a book!

The Song of the Dark Angel has stories of King John, lost treasure and more naughty nuns.  Hugh, Ranulf and Maltote are sent to Norfolk to investigate the decapitation of a man on the beach, and the hanging of the baker’s young wife.  Hugh soon hears the legend of King John losing almost all of his fortune when he and his retinue tried crossing the Wash.  The tide came upon them suddenly, catching them unaware.  John and his retainers made it across safely but the pack train carrying his treasure was lost.  Although the event happened almost 100 years before, the people in the area are still looking for the lost treasure.

Thrown into the mix is the Pastoureaux, a cult, teaching enlightenment and freedom across the seas.  How are all these connected?  More murders occur and an attempt is made to kill Corbett.

I found this one to be a bit more exciting than some of the previous novels.  It moves at a pretty good pace.  However, there are a couple of scenes in which Corbett seems to pull a conclusion to a situation out of thin air.  Also, Maltote is just a periphery character as in the past novel.  He is usually sent on an errand for which he is gone for long stretches of the story.  I hope he gets more “air time” in the next few novels.  And Maeve doesn’t even appear.


Other than those couple of items, The Song of a Dark Angel was a fun read.  I liked reading Doherty’s notes at the end of the novel.  Apparently, King John’s treasure has never been recovered so it might still be out there, waiting to be found.

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