British author Smith’s so-so sequel to The Painted Messiah
provides more of the backstory of a major character from the previous book, Lady Kate Kenyon. In 1997, 21-year-old Kate and her 37-year-old husband, Lord Robert, are honeymooning in the Swiss Alps. While attempting to climb the north face of the Eiger, the couple are attacked by two men, who push Robert off the mountain and almost do the same to Kate before she turns the tables on her assailants. Years later, Kate works with a former CIA agent, Thomas Malloy, to battle the Knights of the Holy Lance, conspirators somehow connected with the Blood Lance of the Cathars, a relic the Nazis also pursued. The truth behind the tragedy on the Eiger will shock few genre-savvy readers, who may also be bothered by some inexact detail (e.g., Malloy’s fake State Department ID identifies him as a CPA, which is a professional certification, not a government title like senior auditor). (July)
