Something More Than Night

I must have seen this book reviewed on Powell's book blog because I am unfamiliar with author Ian Tregillis, although he written other books. Everything gets turned on its head in his version of the world. The premise is that there is a coup brewing in the celestial realms; the archangel Gabriel has been murdered, though it's not clear why until the very end. Heaven is not the realm of peace and harmony we stereotypically believe it to be, and the various levels of creatures who reside there are imprisoned in a sense and not at all happy about it. When earthly Bayliss is tapped to find a compliant human replacement to fill Gabriel's spot in the Choir, he accidentally kills the wrong person--a dame instead of the mugg he had targeted. Did I mention that Bayliss fashions himself after Philip Marlowe? You only think you know what is going on in this book, because Tregillis leads us all astray. Bayliss is not who he claims to be, i.e., just a low level angel who has to bend to more powerful forces, but who, like Marlowe, has a code of honor requiring him to protect the dame in distress from those same dark and very dangerous and very weird beings. Molly, said dame, is also quite a bit more than your ordinary "monkey"--er, I mean human. The celestials have a decidedly low opinion of earth's two legged occupants.  Tregillis writes with flair and color and will leave you gasping for breath trying to keep up. This was a totally entertaining and surprising read from start to finish and I will definitely look for more of his books.