Angel City

Returning from Angels in Arms (1992), Fitzroy McLean Angel drives a reconditioned cab in London as a messenger, cracking wise and struggling to make ends meet. Here he accepts the job offer of a flamboyant young homeless man named Tigger to help move mysterious packages by night. Angel, happy to pocket the tax-free income, wonders why his new partner remains on the streets and posts off his payments elsewhere. When Tigger vanishes, their employer offers Angel even more hard cash to find him. Angel wanders deep into the cold world of the city's homeless, talking to lost souls and encountering an occasional angel of mercy. Ripley breaks too frequently-and lengthily-from his plot to reach for laughs (e.g., an extended, very funny bit about a bar on gay karaoke night) to sustain his readers' interest in the narrative, despite the inherent appeal of most of his characters and the cleverness of his humor. The puzzle's payoff is adequate, but like many of the punch lines, it takes too long to get there. (Jan.)