The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio
…charmingly old-fashioned…Cleverly resolves the mystery with her customary expertise and good taste.
Publishers Weekly
03/12/2018
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)
From the Publisher
Praise for Fall of Angels
“Charmingly old-fashioned . . . Cleverly resolves the mystery with her customary expertise and good taste. But she's human enough to take the occasional jab at men who make the rules of society, 'smothering female talent, gagging and belittling their wives and daughters.'”
—The New York Times Book Review
“The inspector’s earnestness is well-tempered by a good deal of wit and charm. And Ms. Cleverly displays a sure knowledge of the personal attitudes, social conditions, science and slang of a fascinating transitional period in history.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Cleverly, known for the intricate puzzles she creates and the depth with which she draws her sleuths, has another winner in Redfyre. With dry humor to leaven a frightening story, richly imagined characters and a sure sense of place and time, she leaves the reader eager for Redfyre’s next case.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
“A novel that will equally satisfy fans of Evelyn Waugh and Dorothy L. Sayers, Fall of Angels is a delicious concoction, showcasing Barbara Cleverly’s prodigious talent. John Redfyre is a detective for the ages.”
—Tasha Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Death in St. Petersburg
“I have been a fan of Barbara Cleverly's ever since her first Joe Sandilands novel, and find her new series quite exciting. I feel as if Dorothy Sayers has been brought back to life! Detective Inspector John Redfyre is Lord Peter Wimsey without the affectations. Many writers can tell us about the 1920s, but so few can transport us there, as Barbara Cleverly does.”
—Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of the Royal Spyness and Molly Murphy mysteries
“I enjoyed the excellent writing, the careful placement in time and place, and strong pacing.”
—Deadly Pleasures Magazine
“In this new series kickoff, Cleverly provides the requisite period detail, adds a cunning mystery, and acknowledges that the fight for equality continues to this day.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A brilliant sleuth with surprisingly liberal politics for the time, Redfyre combines the wit and willingness to defy convention of Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher with the polish of Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey, adding a hint of G. M. Malliet’s Max Tudor. The novel has the feel of a humorous cozy while exploring serious themes and boasting richly flawed characters . . . a promising new series.”
—Booklist
“Aficionados of Jacqueline Winspear and Dorothy Sayers will relish this atmospheric historical mystery, with its colorful period details that brilliantly capture post–World War I Britain.”
—Library Journal
“Imagine Lord Peter Wimsey attended Cambridge instead of Oxford, and needed a job of work to support himself. And there you have it, Inspector Redfyre, a toff as adept at detection as he is at wordplay. Fall of Angels is sharp, witty, and pleasingly surprising.”
—James R. Benn, author of the Billy Boyle WWII mysteries
“Excellent historical detail, humorous dialogue, intriguing characters, and a whodunit that will keep readers on the end of their seat until the very end.”
—New York Journal of Books
“Simply stellar . . . Reaches back to the works of P.G. Wodehouse and the great mystery writers of his time, but is written in such a way that the present-day reader can be totally engaged.”
—Reviewing the Evidence
“Fall of Angels provides a wide cast of smart women.”
—Kingdom Books
“Cleverly’s scene setting is vivid and skillful.”
—Crime Review
Praise for Barbara Cleverly
“Despite her mastery at vivid scene-setting, Cleverly never loses sight of the historical puzzle that is central to her story. Simply put, it's a stunner.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Fans of P.D. James, take note: Here's a worthy colleague.”
—The Seattle Times
“Stylish and intricate . . . Cleverly has perfect pitch for period and place, whether her hero is unearthing evil in India, England or France.”
—Richmond Times-Dispatch
Kirkus Reviews
2018-03-05
A series of murders roils suffragists in Cambridge, England.DI John Redfyre, a member of an upper-crust family, survived the horrors of World War I to become a valued police officer. Having grown up nearby and a Cambridge University graduate himself, he's especially sensitive to the gown side of town-and-gown problems. When his eccentric Aunt Hetty offers him tickets to a Christmas concert at St. Barnabas College, he agrees to go even though he'll be sitting with Eadwig Stretton, the youngest of a wild family whose members tormented him as a child. The concert is more memorable than he could have anticipated. One of the musicians is beguiling female trumpeter Juno Proudfoot, a first at Cambridge, where women still cannot obtain degrees. And Eadwig is an attractive woman instead of a grown-up version of Redfyre's male tormentors. During the interval, as they trade barbs and family history, he learns that her oldest brother, Wulfie, fought for the Germans in the war. As she exits the concert, Juno is almost killed in a fall down the stairs in what turns out to be the first in a series of attacks on women. The nasty poison pen letters Eadwig says Juno's received are the harbinger of an attack on another upper-class woman who's strangled and thrown in the river. The victim, Louise Lawrence, is another friend of Eadwig's who, after having left her unconventional school, took a job with one of her father's friends for a suspiciously high salary. At length Redfyre realizes that the work Eadwig, Louise, his aunt Hetty, and a shadowy group of women are doing on behalf of universal suffrage has enraged a misogynist with deadly intent, leading Redfyre to question his own feelings on the subject.In this new series kickoff, Cleverly (Diana's Altar, 2017, etc.) provides the requisite period detail, adds a cunning mystery, and acknowledges that the fight for equality continues to this day.
