Fall of Angels

Set in Cambridge, England, in 1923, this disappointing series launch from Cleverly (Diana’s Altar) introduces Det. Insp. John Redfyre, the scion of a well-to-do family. When his Aunt Hetty persuades him to attend a holiday concert in her stead, he’s pleasantly surprised to find that one of the performers is a pioneering female trumpeter, Juno Proudfoot. A second surprise is that the other seat Hetty was unable to use is occupied by Earwig Stretton, an attractive childhood acquaintance whose “laughter frothed and gurgled like champagne being poured by a generous hand.” Less pleasantly, Juno is almost killed when she falls down the stage stairs after the music ends. John suspects the fall wasn’t accidental, a thesis buttressed when the woman who distracted the stagehand from his duties at the time of the tumble is later murdered. The banter between John and Earwig is labored, and having a toff who attended the city’s university assigned to the Cambridge beat as a policeman isn’t novel in concept or execution. Readers will hope Cleverly returns to form next time. Agent: Juliet Burton, Juliet Burton Literary (U.K.). (May)