Fell the Angels

In this straightforward tale of passion, greed, and deceptive appearances, Kerr (A Rose in No Man’s Land) adheres closely to the known facts of an unsolved Victorian murder case. Cecilia Henderson, after the untimely death of her first husband, takes the water cure at the Malvern sanitarium of Dr. James Gully, a married man who soon seduces her. When their affair becomes known, the vain, self-indulgent Cecilia tries to salvage her reputation by pursuing barrister Charles Cranbrook, who can’t resist the allure of her beauty and her wealth. Four months after Cecilia and Charles marry, Charles is fatally poisoned. The doctors rule his death accidental, but might it have been foul play? Kerr tends to focus on surface details, such as Cecilia’s habit of stroking her dress-cuff, but gives short shrift to an issue crucial to understanding motive, the legal disposition of Cecilia’s fortune. Amid a cast of unlikable main characters, only the detectives earn any sympathy. (Jan.)