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Of Love and Evil

by Anne Rice
Knopf. (Songs of the Seraphim). Dec. 2010. c.160p. ISBN 9781400043545. $24.95. F
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Former assassin Toby O'Dare (introduced in Angel Time) takes on his second mission to return to the past to right particular wrongs with the angel Malchiah. Here, he is called to 15th-century Rome to save a Jewish doctor from charges of witchcraft and murder. While in Rome he struggles with recent events in his present-day life: he just met a son whom he never knew he had. Although Toby is aware that his years as an assassin could come back to haunt him, he is shocked when his past quite literally catches up with him on the streets of New York City. Rice works the themes of past and present beautifully, weaving tale upon tale. This book improves on its predecessor by giving Toby a history and characters to care about.
VERDICT This metaphysical thriller will appeal to historical fiction fans and Christian fiction readers, but it still feels a little flat and will disappoint fans of Rice's vampire fiction. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/10; Rice recently announced on Facebook that she's no longer a Christian but will continue her metaphysical series about angels.]
Reviewed by Amanda Scott, Cambridge Springs P.L., PA , Sep 01, 2010
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