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BooksHorror

Angel Of Highgate by Vaughn Entwistle (book review).

‘Angel Of Highgate’ is a prequel to ‘The Revenant Of Thraxton Hall’ which commences the adventure Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde (yes, I know who would have thunk it). Alas, it does not feature those but explains a little background to Thraxton. It is the story of Lord Geoffrey Thraxton himself.

AngelOfHighgate

Opening with some rather curious sexual play in the cemetery, we are introduced to Sir Geoffrey, the epitome of the sensualist who appears to have not one scruple or moral. Despite his debauched existence, he does have a great friend in Algernon Hyde-Davies who shares his (slightly) more normal activities.

When Sir Geoffrey thinks he has met an angel in the tombs of Highgate, he follows her to discover her earthly origin. But he has enemies, not least the critic Angus Skinner who has been publicly shamed by Thraxton and finds an ally in wickedness and revenge in a Doctor Garrette who thinks this will make him some money to fund his other more dubious hobbies.

We follow the progress of Sir Geoffrey through the soups and stews of London and see if he may emerge into the light at any point. It feels a little like a pilgrim’s progress without any desire to ever have dinner with him.

I do not know how much the novel ties into ‘The Revenant Of Thraxton Hall’, as I have yet to read that. The female character comes across as a bit wet quite frankly and I feel she lacks substance. I feel the characters are plot driven but it does have an excellent period feel with definite overtones of Dickens at his most venal. There is plenty of suitably creepy violence and lots of action but I must admit I prefer the amateur detecting of Conan Doyle in ‘The Dead Assassini’ over this.

Sue Davies

February 2016

(pub: Titan Books, 2015. 336 page small enlarged paperback. Price: £ 7.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-78329-534-0)

check out website: www.titanbooks.com

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